Akaku offers new and improved classes

Akaku education gets innovative with mobile technology. PHOTO BY AKAKU: MAUI COMMUNITY TELEVISION.
KAHULUI – Akaku: Maui Community Television’s Education Department has introduced new class offerings, a revamped curriculum and new price structure, with a call to outside contractors to help broaden the scope of its training programs.
Akaku’s educational program is a foundational pillar in its mission for “empowering the community’s voice through access to media.”
Akaku’s training, with cable access to tell Maui stories, gives residents an opportunity to produce and submit video to air on channels 54 and 55, as well as on the web.
Current classes in Field Production and Studio Production have been revised to emphasize a hands-on approach. Classes will include crewing Akaku field productions and real studio shows, which will qualify students for certification.
The Final Cut Pro X classes will now include both basic and advanced offerings.
In January, the department will launch the MoJo Mobile Video Production class, modeled after the successful YBEAM training curriculum, that trains participants to shoot, edit and distribute field stories from iDevices. The class will use Voddio editing software developed by a journalist specifically for field news gathering with seamless story publishing to a proprietary video portal on the web, mauitube.org.
The price for the Introduction to Public Access and Akaku TV class has dropped to $10, with further discounts for groups. All other classes, except Advanced Final Cut Pro X, are $150 (only $75 for youth 12-18 years old). YBEAM currently remains free.
Once certified in a class, if you desire to check out equipment or use the Media Lab editing bays or studio, an annual $35 associate producer fee guarantees continued access and discounts on workshops and other classes.
Akaku will also hold workshops, screenings and events. Outside contractors interested in teaching a workshop or a new class at Akaku should call Education Director Kat Tracy to discuss their idea.
“I am very excited to make Akaku education relevant, thorough and usable,” said Tracy, “while being a firm building block to professional careers and internships!”
To get more information or discuss an idea, call Akaku at 871-5554 or Tracy at 283-7961.