Series Explores the Similarities and Differences among People – Posted 4/8/15
In life, there are many big questions that confront us. What do we fear? What might the future hold? What is the impact of social media on society?
Curious about how the answers to such questions might be similar, or different, across generations, County College of Morris (CCM) Television Production II students over the last several semesters have produced a video series, “Generations,” to shed additional light on how Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, Millennials and Digital Natives view the world.
Each episode in the series asks a set of questions to people of different ages followed by commentaries from experts on the topics addressed. Included among those experts are several members of the CCM faculty and administration.
“It’s a thought-provoking analysis of the similarities and differences among generations,” notes Ray Kalas, professor of communication, who teaches the Television Production class and serves as director for “Generations.”
Kalas explains that the fall 2013 class came up with the initial concept for the program and the final product was so intriguing he used it as a template for a continuing series to be produced by each semester’s Television Production II class. To date, three episodes have been completed and are airing on the Morris Educational Television broadcast on Cablevision Channel 77 and Verizon FiOS Channel 40. A trailer of the series and the program also can be found on the CCM YouTube channel on the “Generations” playlist at http://tinyurl.com/p5dyuqz.
The first episode focuses on the philosophical – asking the questions “What is the one thing you want to accomplish?” “What is the best advice you ever received?” “What do you wish for future generations?” and “What is your biggest fear.” The second asks people for their thoughts on communication and social media, and the third explores self-expression and people’s thoughts on the future of medicine, technology and law enforcement.
“It is the responsibility of each class to come up with the theme and the questions they want to ask, to film and then edit their work into a final program,” explains Kalas. “These have been entirely produced by students, from soup to nuts, offering them valuable hands-on-experience they can include in their portfolios and on their resumes.”
Episode four, which currently is in production, focuses on how education is viewed across the generations and features Dr. Edward J. Yaw, CCM president, and Gabrielle Charette, executive director of the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. Episode five will tackle the topic of the influence music has on people’s lives.
To date, approximately 60 CCM students have worked on the series.