The concept of a summer workshop was first
developed in 2002, when NHTV and Northern
Arizona University were working on the terms of
their partnership for the first time. At this point,
the Media and Entertainment Management
program was still being formed. Brandon Neuman, one of the lecturers at NAU, played a big
part in setting up the IMEM program as we know
it today. When asked about the beginning of the
Flagstaff workshop, he mentions that the concept
of the workshop has come a long way since it
began. “Paul Helford and I began brainstorming
(in 2002) to figure out what the workshop would
look like. The two of us worked out the scope
of the work that would be produced, the sched-
32 THE CONTRIBUTOR
ules and the three different tracks.” The general
structure of the course has remained the same
over the years, but the scope of the work has
become much bigger. “During the first couple of
years the workshop was much more modest and
the students primarily shot stories around NAU
and Flagstaff. The workshop has since expanded significantly. The production teams now also
shoot stories throughout the rest of Northern
Arizona.” The expansion of the program is largely
due to an increase in faculty and a lot more student workers that volunteer. When asked what
the most memorable show was, Brandon finds it
hard to focus on just one. “With every story I have
watched I have learned something new about the
different places around Northern Arizona. Some
of the stories have even inspired me to visit or
revisit places like Sedona and the Grand Canyon.”
Over the past 11 years many of you have been
able to enjoy the international experience that
the NAU summer workshop has been able to
offer them. Even though a lot of hard work is
involved, the fun trips and activities that are
organized make for an unforgettable trip. In fact,
it’s been so successful, that a third option for the
Media Production course will be offered, starting
in the academic year of 2015 – 2016. Aside from
the usual choices of joining the course in
Hilversum or Flagstaff, students will now also
have the option to travel to Bournemouth University in England for three weeks. These trips have
proven to be an integral part of the international
experience that the IMEM program has to offer,
and provides students with invaluable production
lessons and techniques that they will apply in
later courses and career paths.
If you are curious as to the shows students
have produced most recently, click the play
button to watch them online!
THE CONTRIBUTOR 33