The Communication Department is preparing to unveil its Creative Communications Lab in the 2023-2024 academic year, providing Boston College students interested in audio and video production with a new, state-of-the-art facility to help them develop skills and showcase their creativity.
The CCL will be located on the second floor of Lyons Hall, adjacent to the department鈥檚 Media Lab. Communication faculty say the new lab will be geared to the instructional and professional-development needs of students interested in broadcast, film, and other media-related fields.
Communication Chair Matthew Sienkiewicz, left, and Christopher Citorik, assistant director of the Creative Communications Lab. (Lee Pellegrini)
鈥淭he goal of the CCL is to enable students to work in a realistic setting, with equipment that is much like what is used in professional situations,鈥� said Associate Professor Matthew Sienkiewicz, the department chair. 鈥淭he lab will help familiarize them with techniques and procedures in audio and video production, and develop the skills and knowledge to create content with laptop or smartphone.鈥�
Christopher Citorik, who as assistant director will oversee the lab on a day-to-day basis, said that while the Media Lab will be incorporated into the CCL, the latter will serve a different purpose.
鈥淭he existing Media Lab is more for individual use, with individual workspaces,鈥� explained Citorik, whose professional experience includes working in a variety of roles at WBUR and WBZ. 鈥淭he new lab is geared toward teaching and group projects, so there will be many opportunities for collaboration.鈥�
The CCL鈥檚 features will include 20 moveable workstations for student use, a green screen (used for combining two still images or video frames, such as in weather forecast broadcasts), and studio lighting. The lab will include four wall-mounted monitors arranged in separate areas for group breakouts, and a fifth monitor that will serve as an instructional screen and connect with the other four monitors. 聽
鈥淭he emphasis is on being modern, flexible, and modular,鈥� said Sienkiewicz. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to get locked into a piece of technology that might be obsolete in several years, but what we鈥檒l have will be very useful for students to get a basic grasp of audio and video production鈥攅nough to help them get internships, for example.鈥�
Sienkiewicz and Citorik said the addition of the CCL represents an enhancement to, not a change in, the study of communication at 51茶馆.
鈥淎s a department, we are focused largely on teaching theory and history in communication; the addition of this lab will not change that, but rather will incorporate some basic elements of audio and video production into our curriculum鈥攚hich, in the 51茶馆 tradition, emphasizes critical thinking,鈥� said Sienkiewicz, noting that Citorik will utilize the CCL in teaching the new Fundamentals of Creative Communication course. 鈥淪o now, when students learn about basic film theory techniques鈥攁 close-up versus a wide shot, for instance鈥攖hey can try these for themselves and get a fuller understanding of what鈥檚 involved.鈥�
聽Sienkiewicz used a historical metaphor in describing the CCL鈥檚 role: 鈥淲hen writing implements were introduced in schools, students learned how to create letters and numbers, not just read them,鈥� he said. 鈥淏y using the CCL in concert with our media classes, we鈥檙e teaching penmanship.鈥�
Sean Smith | University Communications | May 2023