College Will Offer Multimedia Program

With an eye toward tomorrow, Mission College is offering a program to help students develop the skills they need for careers in the high-tech world of computer telecommunications.

Starting in August, students can enroll in the college’s multimedia program, a two-year course that will teach them Web-page design, video editing, animation, desktop publishing, special effects editing and graphic design, among other skills, said program director Mark Pracher.

“There is such a fascination with the topic of multimedia, but few places where people can go to get instruction in it,” Pracher said. “This is a way for people to be creators of multimedia and not just consumers.”

The program will be taught in the college’s new $12-million Library and Learning Resources Center, Pracher said. The state-of-the-art facility houses the latest in computers and software, satellite communications as well as electronic media production studios.

The course is to be taught in five phases, Pracher said. In the first phase, students will learn basic computer graphics and design before moving on to video production in the second phase.

During the third phase, he said, students will study animation techniques. In the fourth phase, students will combine script writing, audio, video and special effects for their own productions.

Pracher said the fifth phase will center on graphic design for print publications.

“We are hoping that once people finish the program,” Pracher said, “they will be able to find entry-level positions in companies that produce multimedia projects used in the advertising, marketing and entertainment industries.”

More information about the program may be obtained by calling Pracher at (818) 364-7873 or by e-mail at pracher@laccd.cc.ca.us