Electrical Jobs With Movie Studio

Students unleash creativity with Studio Dynamix

Where can middle school students use state-of-the-art equipment to create movies, music videos, commercials, public service announcements and animations? At JFK Middle School in Enfield. Through Educational Resources for Children’s after-school program, JFK students have the opportunity to participate in a class called Studio Dynamix.

The class is taught by Rob Lamagna whose background is in movies. As an electrical engineer, Lamagna implemented equipment for movie studios and worked with companies including Disney and Universal Studios. He initially developed a program for ERFC called The Making of Technology, but later expanded it to include Studio Dynamix.

“Studio Dynamix is unique,” said Claire Hall, executive director at ERFC. “The kinds of equipment we have are often not available to students, even in college.” The program began five years ago, and the studio was built a year later. Hall said it was all made possible through funding from Mass Mutual, the Connecticut Department of Education and Cox Charities.

Students rotate through various jobs, learning to work video cameras, microphones, lighting and audio and mixing boards. They also work on computers, using a 3-D rendering software called Poser to create their own avatars and other animated projects.

What Hall and Lamagna love most about the class is that students are learning without realizing it. “They read, write and socialize,” Hall said. “They have no idea they are truly learning because it’s project-based.”

In writing their own scripts and storyboards, students hone language arts skills. Lamagna incorporates science by taking apart microphones and other equipment to show students how the technology actually works.

Studio Dynamix is also a way for students to let loose and use their imaginations. Gabriella Maloni, a seventh-grader who is working on a film she wrote called “Twisted Revenge,” said the class is “a way to get energy and creativity out.”

“They’re able to use the studio to voice things,” Hall said. When students come in after school, she said you can see the stresses from the day and watch them interpret those into their work.

Deanna Capp, a special education aide, works with students to create PSAs. The most recent one was related to bullying. Capp takes time to discuss the focus with students and allow them to share experiences related to the subject. She said many of the issues she worried about in middle school are still present in her students.

Penny Singleton | In The Stars Of Hollywood

Penny Singleton

Everybody likes to find new ways to save money. Whether it’s shopping at a new discount supermarket or getting a friend to cut your hair, it’s fair to say that if you look after your pennies the pounds will eventually take care of themselves.

With some things, it really is best to pay for quality; cutting costs by cutting corners can be a false economy and it can be dangerous too.

Research by the Gas Safe Register and the Electrical Safety Council (ESC) showed that some people were prepared to become DIY electricians and gas engineers for the day, if it meant they could save a mere £60.

Besides the potential to make a real mess of a job that really should be left to a professional, the dangers of carrying out DIY electrical and gas work at home shouldn’t be ignored. A wrongly fitted fuse or an un-earthed electrical appliance can cause serious injury or even death.

It’s estimated that half of all domestic fires in the UK are caused by an electrical appliance. Research by the ESC indicated that a tenth of all people would rewire their own home despite the clear dangers of doing so.

With this in mind, to ensure your home is safely wired and you don’t pay over the odds for electrical services, the ESC recommends that you get at least three quotations for your domestic electrical jobs. Don’t necessarily go with the cheapest – any ‘sparky’ that works on your wiring should be approved by a reputable body and should be a qualified electrician. The last thing you want is to pay someone who is no more skilled or qualified than you are.

Furthermore, any electrician should have public liability insurance of at least £2m – just in case anything should go wrong.

Of course, there are other measures you can take to ensure your house is safe from electrical accidents. Keep an eye out for hot plugs and sockets, flickering lights or fuses that frequently blow – they could be indicators of loose/faulty wiring. Also look to avoid plugging too many electrical appliances into one socket as this can lead to overheating.

Crucially, never leave any electrical appliance switched on at night – unless they are designed to be left on, such as fridges and freezers.

Following these simple measures will help ensure your home is safe – but there is never any 100% guarantee that something won’t go wrong.

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