The life and times of a video productions student involves endless hours in the video lab slaving over hours of footage to condense it to a few minutes of entertainment. Yet it is a small price to pay for the chance to voice creativity.

Chris Schultz, a 1995 graduate and video productions teacher and originator, began the class in 1998. The class provides students the opportunity to have extensive experience with state of the art cameras, computers and software.

?The ultimate goal of extra curricular activities is to give kids the opportunity to learn tools to inspire a vision for them to possibly move on to the film industry,? Schultz said.

The video productions class has provided a group of students the knowledge for them to pursue a career in the video industry.

Kyle Gentz, ?05, started working for Valley Christian Center church making promotional videos and announcements. He also works for Temple Productions, filming services at Peoples Church.

While working at Comp USA selling Apple computers, Gentz met a local representative from LA Weight Loss. After viewing a demo Gentz made, he was hired on a trial basis.

Gentz continues to work temporarily making commercials for LA Weight Loss. His project calls for creatively focused ideas on the particular subject, to make a montage of various weight loss testimonials.

Along with his more stable job, Getnz carries many side jobs like working for Party DJ Party filming weddings and making sermon illustration videos for sermonspice.com. Gentz?s most recent project, found through a connection with his father, includes a promotional video for Cal Trans.

Gentz is currently enrolled at Fresno City College taking website and animation classes. He hopes to move on to a tech school and further develop his skills in the trade.

?My ultimate goal is to make independent feature films with underlying Christian messages,? Gentz said.

Involvement in the video industry depends greatly on hands on experience and creativity. It is also about having the desire to learn from others and instructional manuals.

?I encourage students to take a class and begin reading manuals to try to teach yourself about different programs,? Gentz said.

Fresno State also offers video production opportunities with their own broadcast studio and produces various types of projects. Evan Sanders, ?03, works in the Kremen School of Education and Human Development in the INTERESC department.

Sanders is in charge of producing, filming and editing projects for students and faculty. He also helps make documentary type videos and takes live events and creates promotional DVDs.

?Through my experiences, I have found that I absolutely love working with videos and creating projects,? Sanders said.

CJ Haydock, ?03, participated in the class for two years with extensive involvement in the school?s large movie making project event, Night of the Stars. He found a video job through a friend at his church, Fresno EV Free.

Haydock works as a graphic designer for an advertising and production agency called Digital Attic. He makes videos, billboards and designs websites.

?The video class gave me the interest and opportunity to pursue a possible career,? Haydock said. ?Through the class I was given the chance to discover a passion for the field.?

For those who desire to pursue a technical career outside of high school, there are important things to know. Video career opportunities most often arise from connections, clever networking and a willingness to learn.

?It?s all about networking within the field,? Gentz said. ?I found a job through a friend my dad knew and by meeting different people.?

?My advice would be to stick with it and keep trying new things,? Sanders said. ?Do your own projects and create a portfolio of work so that you can show your future employers what you can do.

“It is also important to always be open to criticism, especially when working with different types of companies and people.?

When working for different companies a video producer needs to remember to please the public. Some projects require a particular focus that may deviate from a photographer or editors viewpoint.

?I do not like the creative restrictions that are placed on you when you have to work for someone else,? Sanders said.

Though a creative career appeals to most given the opportunity to explore the field, the reality of making a living off of filmmaking is questionable.

?I enjoy my job, but will not pursues it as a career,? Haydock said.

Many simply enjoy the creative process and visual challenges. The depth of interest often remains a pleasure, yet not a career actuality.

?I will continue to pursue video work as a hobby and maybe use it as a side job,? Sanders said. ?I can honestly say I don?t see it being a career that I will pursue.?

Despite optimistic hopes for available jobs in the media industry, there are some drawbacks to the morally conscious video student.

?Remember that it is primarily a secular industry,? Gentz said. ?There are people I have experienced on some jobs that I would not want to work with on a daily basis.?

The video productions class provides a creative outlet for students. The apparent available job options in the Fresno area continue to encourage current video students to pursue a career in the visual media field.

?The class is what got me into video in the first place,? Sanders said. ?From then on it has been a passion of mine and the class gave me a great outlet to hone my skills and try new things.?

Like academic classes, students often need more than one year to become proficient or develop skills.

?It is encouraging to see previous students like Kyle Gentz moving up,? Schultz said. ?His first video project as a sophomore featured horrific death scenes and inaudible music and now a major corporation hired him to create promotional videos. Now that’s progress!

?It is exciting to bring back those students to FC to share their experiences that can help current students,? Schultz said.

The video productions class continues to encourage current students to explore new possibilities in the film and graphic design field.

?I like having the power to decide what project I get to do,? Phil Unruh, ?07, said. ?The class has married understanding with my desire. I now know what to do and how to do it.?

Currently students are working on various commercials and remakes of popular movies for the upcoming Night of the Stars. The future of the class will include visits from past successful video students like Gentz and Sanders.

Valuable tips and knowledge as well as tricks of the trade will be passed along to help students move on to better quality productions. Opportunities are endless with a creative mind and willingness to learn and commit to projects.

For more information on what previous campus students are involved in go to go to www.digitalattic.com, www.partydjparty.com, www.csufresno.edu, and www.sermonspice.com. For campus video opportunities, contact Schultz at 299-1695, ext. 109.