BALDWIN COUNTY, Ga. — It's the start of a new era for Baldwin High School, making its first appearance into the world of television.
"We have a new program here, pathway for the high school for audio-video, technology and film," instructor Steve Rudd said.
He teaches 15 students in a traditional classroom-style introductory course.
Now, they'll put those lessons into live action with the help of a new state grant.
"Roughly a little over $40,000 in grant money that we've received that buys all of our studio equipment, from new TriCasters, state-of-the-art, to teleprompters, green screens like you see behind me," he said.
"Our goal's been to make sure that we have plenty of technology programs that meet the needs of our students and meet the needs of industry," said principal Jason Flanders.
He sees the program as a opportunity for students to explore their career options before graduation.
"The film industry is one of the biggest industries in Georgia right now. It's a multi-billion dollar industry that's been growing, and it didn't exist just 10 years ago," Flanders said.
"It literally puts a school on the map and what the school can do for its community and in turn what it can do for the school and its students is tenfold. There's so many jobs in this industry that kids don't know about," Rudd said.
The studio set-up is a three day process. Once it wraps up, students will start training in spring.
Rudd says they're planning to make their grand debut on the district's YouTube channel next fall.
"I did send a couple of students in here yesterday. They saw it, and got so excited. The technology is what's driving these kids' imagination," Rudd said.
He says they plan to partner with local businesses to have students film videos and advertisements for their companies.
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