Student Spotlight: Kole Ross

New media is an aspect of electronic media that is growing bigger each year in curriculum and in the real world.  New media focuses on web design, producing multi-media content for the web, as well as the production of video games.  It’s a relatively new part of our program.

Kole Ross, is a junior in UC, but a second year E-Media student.   I asked what kind of classes he was taking this quarter to get an idea where his interests were leading him now days. 

 “I’m still kind of exploring. I’m looking at taking new media classes.  So I’m going to end up coming out with a real focus on video production and new media, not so much on audio.”

He also mentioned Professor Kevin Burke's Single Camera Production class as one that tied in with his interest in video games.

“It’s such a cinematic thing when you play some games.   You get to learn the video elements of storytelling in a class like Single Camera Production or Digital Sight, Sound, and Motion. “ 

“I think the interactivity of a video game creates an awful lot of freedom for the consumer. What I really liked about games opposed to films (which I love too by the way) is it gives the person consuming the game a way to directly engage with it.”

Kole said his various E-Media classes have taught him how to produce as well. 

His radio show is about video games and technology (though he does explore some other topics as well, such as politics).  The show is called  “Stand Under the Don’t’ Tree and Riddle Me This.”

“In Bearcast you learn how to self manage.  You learn how to self produce. I probably spend ten hours a week of my show, all said and done; researching the stories I want to talk about, writing my documents, planning how I want it to go, just everything being orchestrated.

That’s not an exaggeration, that’s how we do it for a five minute block. I think that the benefit of learning those things outweigh the benefit of the specific technology because the technology will change.”

Kole plans to move out west where most of the video game industry is.

“There are an awful lot of opportunities for [video game development] there; just not here. But the good part is the opportunity to learn how to do it is here. You get to learn the skills you need to be an effective producer here.”

I asked Kole Ross what kind of insight he could help give to incoming E-Media students.

“I would just say know what’s happening and don’t take any thing you hear as doom and gloom. Don’t take what people say like broadcast is dying or print is dying in a bad way. Don’t let that discourage you. I would say take that knowledge and use it to stay ahead of the curve.

“The E-Media division here at University of Cincinnati is very well ahead of that curve.  The benefit that we have here is that we learn the logic and the thought process and the work flow behind creating a very good piece of media.

“We’ve got the audio, web, and video and it’ll remain the same, no matter how much everything else will change. Good writing will always be good writing. A good audio piece that is well produced will remain good. You just have to keep your mind open to the opportunities that are opening up.

“We’re not just a tech school.  You would come here to be a more educated and a more effective professional. That’s what I think people become out of this program. That’s what I feel myself becoming as I take more and more classes. I feel like a more effective and professional person. I would say that there are a lot of opportunities here.” 

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Written by Jaramy Carmody, March 2009