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Creative team travels the world to produce exciting, gem-rich 'mini-videos'
By Jordan Clary
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Valerie Power (second from right), photo editor for GIA, shoots images for the new Pearls course on location at a freshwater pearl farm in Zhejiang Province, China.
Photo by Doug Fiske
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The small, open-air lift descends 12 stories down the shaft of Colombia's Puerto Arturo Emerald Mine where temperatures sometimes soar to 125 degrees.
"It felt like I was standing in a shower," Eric Welch, a photographer in GIA's Course Development department recalls. "By the time we got to the bottom, everyone was soaked."
The extremes of heat and humidity in remote locations of often dangerous areas are just some of the conditions that the veteran team from Course Development – Welch; Pedro Padua, video producer; and Andy Lucas, product manager of Gemology; among others - endure to create podcasts that enable GIA students to experience the culture, environment and work that occurs at a gemstone's source.
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GIA's Course Development teamdescends deep underground to gather data from the source. Eric Welch (left), and Pedro Padua (center) talk with a supervisor at the Monte Bello emerald mine in Minas Gerias, Brazil.
Photo by Andy Lucas
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Lucas says these "traveling and gathering expeditions" serve many purposes. "We are not gathering information just for podcasts, but also for lectures, course assignments and seminars, as well as for general GIA use. The podcasts open up another dimension for students. They give an insider's view of what is involved in bringing a gemstone from mine to market. This enables the future gemologist to better express the mystique of a gemstone to potential customers."
Before a student is able to download a podcast from GIA on iTunes U onto their home computer or iPod, a team of writers, photographers and technicians spend a month or more shaping the video pieces into a coherent whole.
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Pedro Padua (left), Andy Lucas (center) and representatives of the Oro Preto Imperial Topaz Mine, discuss the site while videotaping on its rim.
Photo by Eric Welch
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According to Angela O'Hara, a writer/editor in Course Development who also does video editing, podcasts may come about in various ways. If a team has recently visited a mine or cutting factory, for instance, a podcast may be developed utilizing that information. Or a podcast may be created incorporating information previously used on a DVD, but segmented into smaller sections to make it easier for students to absorb the information in a single sitting before moving on to the next one.
Lucas says that GIA is also moving toward developing more podcasts built completely around GIA subject specialists or trade member interviews.
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Pedro Padua videotapes Instructor Angus McColl as he demonstrates jewelry manufacturing techniques for a podcast.
Photo by Eric Welch
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Duncan Pay, director of Course Development, says one advantage of the podcast over a DVD is that it's more immediate – a timely transmission of information directly from GIA to the student.
"The students love that [the podcasts] are candid and realistic because they know the information is current like a documentary," Pay says. "Their very nature encourages interactivity."
Strong, vivid visuals contribute to that, making them an important part of the podcast presentations. Welch says that the photographer will shoot thousands of photos and the videographer hours of film at each site they visit.
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Padua says that as well as education, podcasts are about mood and movement - how to create the right effect.
Photo by Eric Welch
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Welch says he "looks for something that establishes a mood" when he goes on location. "It needs to grab my eye, but it should also say something about the culture. When a salesperson can communicate all aspects of a stone, including where it came from, the people who work in the mines to bring it to the surface, and the journey the gemstone makes from there to the cutting factory, and finally, to the jewelry store, that salesperson is going to be more effective than someone who just sees the physical properties of a gem."
Padua also stresses the importance of finding the story behind the stone. When they shoot on location, he says, their goal is to visually recreate an entire experience.
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Nancy Powers, education research analyst in GIA Course Development, compiles the different parts of a podcast and puts them together.
Photo by Valerie Power
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"You have to tell a story or viewers will lose interest. And within that story you need to develop an idea and communicate a concept," Padua says. What the short story is to the novel, podcasts are to full-length documentary films. Although short, their creation is no less difficult than a longer piece.
"In some ways, a short piece is more challenging because there is so little margin for error," Padua says. "Every second needs to count. No word can be wasted. Each picture and strain of music needs to be perfectly integrated to create the right tone and to deliver the maximum amount of information in a brief time frame." Some podcasts are no more than two to three minutes long, while others may stretch up to 10 minutes or more.
The term "podcast" is perhaps a little misleading because these productions are really mini-videos, Padua says. The same steps that go into producing a feature-length movie are also involved in making a podcast – only on a smaller scale. Padua calls them "vignettes that encapsulate the high points of a topic," synthesizing education, entertainment and storytelling.
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GIA students appreciate receiving timely information from the field, says Duncan Pay, director of Course Development. Once a podcast is complete, they can access it through the GIA Student Portal. Graduates can access some of these podcasts through GIA's Continuing Education program. To learn more about that, see page 36.
GIA file photo
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O'Hara says that once all the material has been collected from a trip the team will get together to brainstorm ideas on the storyline and what information to highlight. The creative team sifts through the raw data and begins to streamline the information until a clear focus and educational objective emerges. The subject specialist decides on possible topics and the content of the podcast, writing notes so the podcast can begin development, and the scriptwriter composes the text. The photographer corrects color and cleans up the photos and, along with input from the team, chooses which ones will be used. A three-minute clip may use 25-30 photos.
Back in the studio Padua works his alchemy on the visuals, sifting through hours of tapes, still photos and interviews until it finally coalesces into a consistent piece. The studio is where much of the creative editing takes place. "When I go on location I often have a visual idea of what the story will be," Padua says. "But when I get into the studio it always changes."
He may do more filming, such as expert interviews to add a scientific dimension to the podcasts. Padua also uses the studio to take "beauty shots" of gemstones for possible inclusion in a podcast. The gems are placed on a turntable that can be spun against different backgrounds to maximize effects of color and light.
The last person in the creative process is the video editor, who compiles all the parts – the script, images and sound – and puts them together so they match up.
Once the video editor finishes, each podcast goes through several reviews before it is ready to be uploaded. A subject specialist checks for accuracy. Someone from the GIA Laboratory looks it over to make sure all the technical aspects are correct. It's checked over and over by a number of reviewers for content.
Finally, it's ready for students to upload through GIA on iTunes U; there's also a program for the hearing-impaired to watch with a written script. There are 150 podcasts available for Distance Education students to access and more are constantly under development.
Pay says student response to the podcasts has been "very positive." Students working from home feel they give them more of a connection to GIA.
They also add a little excitement, O'Hara says. "The podcasts add to the Distance Education experience. We are constantly expanding, trying to see the gaps in the program and develop new podcasts for courses where none currently exist."
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