Vincent Muccino: Translating My Education Into Real-World Experience

My name is Vincent Muccino, and I am a Videographer and Editor at IdeaBase. Last semester, I had the pleasure of creating a series of promotional videos for Kent Roosevelt’s Career Technical Education Program. This was no small feat, as I had a relatively small period of time to capture and create a series of 30-second videos for each of their 11 programs, alongside another long-format video showcasing the program as a whole.

While a semester seems long, production did not begin until mid-October. Continually having to work around school and work schedules and the ever-changing schedules of the high school made getting started feel complicated. Over time, we began working with Kent Roosevelt’s Director of Career Technical Education, Brian Bachtel, to better understand the schedule of his students and make sure we could capture every detail both successfully and efficiently. Luckily, my great peers at IdeaBase helped me along the way.

Working alongside our lead videographer, Ryan Moore, on the first day of shooting we were able to capture 40 student testimonials during a 3-hour period, while also dealing with complications such as morning announcements, lack of outlets and noise from class changes. It was a very tight schedule, but with our diligence and problem-solving skills we were able to make it work. Our second shoot date was even better but came with more scheduling issues to hurdle. I was lucky enough to witness and capture the students in their classrooms working passionately on hands-on projects. The students were naturally behind the camera and offered much personality and knowledge. You could tell they were having fun while learning about their interests and building a foundation of knowledge for their future careers. 

On the shoot, I required a photographer to help me capture more candid moments. The team at IdeaBase did everything in their power to make this happen. To account for scheduling gaps, I was able to work with three different photographers who worked in shifts visiting the school as available. Special thanks to Sarah House, TJ Laryea and Kristin Dowling for showing up and helping me to turn the client’s vision into a reality. Kristin, the Director of IdeaBase, who’s never been formally trained as a photographer, was able to jump right in and learn how to use the camera on location. 

The last shoot I shot alone. Conducting interviews with more students, I witnessed students from the Teaching Professions Program apply what they have learned in the classroom by student teaching at Stanton Middle School. I was also able to capture students in the Forestry and Environmental Studies Program working with machinery outdoors and climbing trees. It was so exciting to see these students accomplish so much at such an early age.

As filming came to an end, it was time to sit down and edit everything. The skills I learned in my Motion Graphics class at Kent State University were imperative for this. Taking the course while working on these videos, I was immediately able to apply the skills directly to the client’s project. It showed me how much value I receive from my education and how great the opportunity to work at IdeaBase and translate my education into real-world experience is. 

From beginning to end, I learned a lot during this project. From the importance of communicating effectively with clients to improving my editing workflow, I came out on the other side of this project as a better videographer. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work on this project, and I am happy that the videos I helped create are now being used to promote such an important program for high-school-aged students. I feel that through this project, I was able to aid our local community, and I am excited to see the impact that my work will have on future students who consider attending the Career Technical Education Program.