NNU Mass Comm: Fusing Art & Literature

Writing
Producing
Directing
Crewing
Film & Television

Artists tell their stories with light, color, and shapes. Musicians use tones, timing, and tempo. Writers employ word choice, subtext, and metaphor in their storytelling.
     In the Mass Communications major at NNU, we fuse all of these into one art form which has far greater impact than the sum of its parts. We combine image, sound, and text and put them in motion -- juxtaposing each against the other, and against itself, to tell stories which challenge the intellect, excite the imagination, and heal the spirit.
     We do that through the mediums of film and television.
     Welcome to Mass Comm. We're here to tell stories, and to tell them well, by combining the tools of the artist, musician, and writer. We're here to enrich lives by learning to communicate, entertain, and impact. We're here to help students create new worlds, or comment on those that already exist.
     We're here, to touch lives, and to teach our students how to do the same.
     Explore the links on the left and those below to discover who we are, what we teach, and how we approach the business of education. Then come and visit us -- work with us on a film shoot, sit in on a few classes, talk to us about your dreams. See for yourself what Fusing Art & Literature is all about.

Just Wrapped: Recent Mass Comm News

Junior Troy Watters spent two weekends at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver B.C. manning a satellite uplink station. Watters worked with a crew interviewing Olympic stars for live broadcasts across the country. He was hired through industry contacts with Professor Ytreeide after those contacts had seen his work on other department productions.
Preparations are beginning for an all-department film shoot this spring. Students in the Advanced Directing class will control their own scene with the rest of the department filling various crew positions. In addition to the experience of shooting on film, students will be faced with the unique challenges of creating a period piece, with everything from sets to props needing to look genuine.
Mass Comm students were called on to head a special crew for the annual Wesley Conference. The conference was webcast live to a national audience, with students from all ages filling the production roles.
Students of all ages and faculty returned from the Sundance Film Festival, where they employed their film theory knowledge to analyze new independent films as well as older classics. Participants studied the role of philosophy in film, as well as pragmatic ways to improve their own film projects.
The entire department played a part in returning An Idaho Family Christmas to NBC affiliates across the Northwest. In addition to local musical groups, this year the 60-minute show also focused on showcasing a wider variety of Idaho's talents in skits. Senior Producer Troy Watters describes it as "a mixture of Saturday Night Live and The Carol Burnett Show." The special aired over ten times during the holiday season.
Senior Mass Comm TA Matt Henry returned from a six-month study abroad experience in Tokyo, Japan. In addition to studying the language, he was also able to bring the lessons learned in his Mass Comm classes to a part-time video production job. "Because of my experience with large-scale productions at NNU like An Idaho Family Christmas, I was able to apply principles to smaller projects," Henry said. "By the end, my boss was trusting me to make important decisions regarding the way videos were produced."
Professor Arnie Ytreeide spent a week in Memphis, Tennessee shooting a pilot program for The Learning Channel in October. Professor Ytreeide was asked to direct the show about Christian music star Clay Crosse and his family. As part of the deal, Ytreeide arranged for the company to hire four of his students to work on the crew as well. The students worked shoulder-to-shoulder with professionals brought in from around the country, and helped film the show from early morning to late night. The program is now under consideration by TLC.
Four Mass Comm students were recently hired to crew a national Satellite Media Tour with Olympic Gold Medalist Kristin Armstrong. Besides enduring a 3:00a.m. Crew Call, the students were well paid as camera ops, director, and audio tech and, more importantly, came away with a wealth of real-world experience and industry contacts. Mass Comm students are often sent on such jobs through Professor Ytreeide's contacts in the industry, and are often given more than just PA jobs due to the level of training they receive at Mass Comm.
Two Mass Comm sophomores made a successful pitch to a major corporation this week to secure funding for the annual Christmas show. After being prepped and rehearsed by faculty, the two students met with the officers of the company in their board room and convinced them to be the Title Sponsors of the show.
Students and faculty of Mass Comm just completed a very wet film shoot for a documentary on Mark Twain - "wet" because both the crew and the 12-year-old actor playing Huck Finn spent 4 hours standing in a stand-in for the Mississippi River.
Junior Troy Watters has been named the Senior Producer for this year's Christmas show. Troy and his staff of producers are busy breaking down the script to see what needs to be done to pull off this one-hour special which will air on NBC affiliates. The show will be taped by Mass Comm in November.
Freshmen and new transfers completed Mass Comm Boot Camp this week, making them full-fledged members of the department with codes and passes to prove it.
Graduate Lynelle Thompson was recently offered -- and accepted -- a full-time job at DreamWorks Studios.
Graduate Jeremy Wiese recently prevailed after a long and rigorous application process to land a job as head videographer for a college.