ACS to Host Media Conference

For the first time, the Alliance City School District will be hosting the annual Central States Conference and Trade Show Friday, Oct. 26 to Sunday, Oct. 28.

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The conference is held each year for professionals in media related fields and students who are interested in pursuing a career in media in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky. Each year the conference is located in a different city. Kyle Schwarz, director of Spectrum Channel 1022, is responsible for the festival being held in Alliance this year.

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“We are honored to be hosting this,” Schwarz said. “I wanted to show off our facility. We have such a  great high school and media arts program- I wanted to spotlight this school and this town.”

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The conference will take place, for the most part, at Alliance High School. It will feature a number of speakers, many of which are from Alliance or who have graduated from the Media Arts program at AHS. A reception will be held at the Glamorgan Castle on Friday along with tours.

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A few of the presentations include “Marketing Yourself, Teamwork in the Workplace in the Media” with John Hampu, an employee of channel 1022; “Drone 101 and Demo” with Eddie Williams; “Directing Actors on Camera: Moving Beyond ‘Hit Your Mark’” with Kevin Kern, a theater professor at the University of Mount Union; and “Motion Graphics” with Brock Schwarz, a graduate of the Media Arts program.

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A number of other presentations will be available for the attendees to take part in.

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“I just think for anyone interested in the media field, the conference is a great networking opportunity for the people in the district,” Schwarz said.

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The conference will feature David Phillippi as the keynote speaker on Saturday at the luncheon. Phillippi is a graduate of AHS and of the Media Arts Program. He attended Ohio University where he earned a degree in communications and later returned to the university to earn an associates degree of applied science in electronic media.

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Phillippi has worked as a video producer and as a television and film executive in his career. He has over 30 years worth of experience in the media field. He is currently a sales and marketing director for the PPS Group in Covington, Kentucky.

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While the presentations are the main focus of the conference, there will also be an awards ceremony on Saturday evening from 7-9 p.m. at Jupiter Studios, 346 E. Main St. The Philo Festival of Media Arts Awards will be presented by Scott Robertson, president of Robertson Heating Supply Company. He was a Marlington student who took part in Alliance’s Broadcast Arts program.

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The current Media Arts students will be in attendance at the conference. They will have the opportunity to watch the presentations and meet the various speakers. Chelsea Shar, the Media Arts teacher at AHS, has even worked the conference into curriculum. Each student will attend at least one presentation and write a paper about what they learned.

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For additional information about the conference, visit http://csregionacm.org/philo-festival-of-media-arts/. To register for the conference, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2018-conference-trade-show-philo-festival-award-ceremony-tickets-48186214264?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=escb&utm-source=cp&utm-term=listing.