I got this lovely letter from Dave Gorrie about an article in the current issue of The Creative COW magazine by John Woody, about the cutting-edge lab at James Madison University. Dave graduated in 2000 and clearly did his homework! He cut over 1500 promos at The Discovery Channel, and has since started his own production business...
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Hello Bessie!
Thank you for publishing the article about the School of Media Arts and Design at James Madison University. I'm glad there are outlets like Creative Cow that help give insight into the challenges of industry educators and professionals alike. Articles like the one written about the SMAD program can only help inform and inspire others along their path to create up-to-date facilities. It's my hope that other media publications can spotlight more and more success stories to help ease other institutions conversion to newer technologies.
I can easily give credit to resources like the greater Cow community, and my college education from John Woody (and a host of other great professors in the SMAD program) for my advancement in the video production field. The best thing is that I know I'm not alone, there are dozens, maybe even hundreds of others that can claim the same thing. I can't imagine where I would be today if my curriculum hadn't included the latest applications, tools, and techniques. I know the applications and techniques are only a brick in the overall foundation, but it's these principles that led me to stand strong and have a successful career in the production/post production industry. Anything you can do to help promote cutting edge learning environments is greatly appreciated.
So Bessie, tell everyone in the herd thanks...and keep up the good work!
Dave Gorrie
SMADdie, class of '00
