Southern Methodist University (SMU), a private university serving 11,000 students in Dallas, has acquired 12 JVC GY-HM100 and three JVC GY-HM700 ProHD cameras. The camcorders are being used by SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts Cinema-Television Division to teach the fundamentals of HD video production.
“We chose the new JVC camcorders after an exhaustive evaluation of all the top HD camcorders on the market. Our goal was to transition to HD and solid-state media recording for a fully tapeless production workflow,” said David Sedman, director of technology and associate professor at the Meadows School. “Our students are very excited about these new camcorders and the creative possibilities they afford.”
Located in the Umphrey Lee Building on the SMU campus, the Cinema-Television Division features dozens of Apple Final Cut Pro edit suites, plus graphics labs, digital audio editing and mixing suites, and screening rooms. The JVC camcorders were integrated into courses offered during classes last summer and fall. During the spring 2010 semester, more than 100 students are using the units to develop their cinematic and TV production skills.
“We want our students at SMU to be ahead of the curve; when it comes to jobs, they will already be working with the next generation of equipment,” said José Bowen, dean of the Meadows School. “It is also a huge recruiting tool for our students who want to be digital and tapeless. They really love these cameras.”
The GY-HM100 is a compact, handheld, three-CCD camcorder with a built-in Fujinon 10x lens, while the GY-HM700 is a shoulder-mount model that ships with a Canon 14x zoom lens but features a 1/3in bayonet mount to accommodate additional lenses. Both camcorders feature native Final Cut Pro file recording to dual SDHC memory cards for a low-cost, tapeless workflow. Because of the ProHD product line’s uniform operational approach, entry-level students find it very easy to transition from the GY-HM100s used in the basic courses to the full-featured GY-HM700s used in the advanced courses.
