Danville Area Community College’s audio and visual production areas are undergoing an expansion to better serve the needs of students in today’s learning environment.
Laura Hensgen, who works in community education at DACC and is in charge of the video department, says she has worked to upgrade the technology recently, going from old video tapes when she first started to a state-of-the-art production studio. Students are able to use the old news set from WCIA-TV, and she says a new audio production room is currently being constructed.
“We’re currently building an audio production room to really ramp up our music program, so we have the great microphones, the sound boards, so students can come in here and mix music, and create music as well as video down here,” she says.
One of the areas that has received the most attention recently is the E-sports platform. Hensgen says that DACC’s team has been competing with other colleges around the country in the growing sport, which continued to compete while others were shut down due to COVID-19. She says that the platform allows students who might not feel comfortable on campus to stick around.
“With E-sports and what we’re building here, they can come in here and feel comfortable, be able to hang around with other people like them who may not necessarily excel as a typical athlete would, but they excel and feel comfortable in this environment,” she explains. “I think what we’re growing here is something that’s very special.”
Hensgen also explained that although many video production students are communication majors, others are in early childhood education and automotive technology. She says videos can cover multiple majors and fields.
