Monday, October 1, 2012

Canadian Teens Prepare for Careers in Audio and Film Production


Career counseling often starts in high school. In career orientation sessions, students are asked to reflect on their future careers, and the choices that they will have to make to get where they want in life. Students aiming for sound technology, cinema or film school in Canada are well advised to start this reflection as early as in their high school years to take full advantage of all of the related courses and activities that their secondary schools offer.
Knowing that you are headed for audio school, for example, can even influence your choice of high school. Some schools offer introductory sound engineering classes and clubs, where students can discover the field, while helping the school community, for instance, by working for the student radio station or helping with sound in the auditorium for talks and for theatrical or musical performances.
Music rooms in today's schools no longer contain only the tambourines of yesteryear. They are rigged up with microphones and sound systems that require student involvement. A good way to prepare for audio school is to get involved in your high school's music or drama department.
Students aiming to take DJ courses in Canada may want to make their choice of high school accordingly. Does their high school have an in-house radio station, like École St-Louis and Westmount High School in Montreal? Does it have a tradition of sparking school spirit by participating in move dub competitions, like Collège Regina Assumpta in Montreal? Are students invited to DJ at school dances? These are important questions for students headed for audio school in any province.
Similarly, students aiming to attend film school in Canada may want to start their cinematic explorations while still at the high school level. Some schools, like the Etobicoke School of Arts in Toronto, have entire programs and curricula dedicated to film and film production.
Aspiring filmmakers may want to find out if their high school encourages students to participate in the same competitions that they might eventually contemplate at film school in Canada, for example Montreal's M60 60 second film festival or Toronto's YoungCuts.
But in the case where your high school does not have an audio school club, or any film or DJ possibilities, it may be possible to create them. Students can consult with teachers in the music and drama department, or with members of student counsel. They may be able to create partnerships with other institutions that do have the necessary equipment or facilities (for example, partner with a local theatre or drama school as Montreal's École St-Louis does with Le Gésu and the National Theatre School).
There is more than one way for a high schooler to prepare for audio school or other specialized multimedia studies. All it takes is a willingness to do the research and to propose changes, where necessary.

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