Mass Communication undergraduates from the American University of Sharjah (AUS) have broadened their horizons by creating one of the first student-produced talk shows in the country.
The talk show Final Cut was produced as a final project for the Media Producing and Project Management class. Although the Department of Mass Communication offers many production courses, this is the first class to combine everything taught in other courses and provide something solid to the media.
Understanding the process
Dr Abeer Al Najjar, assistant professor of Mass Communication, guided the students through their final project.
For students to understand the process of producing a TV show, Al Najjar said, they had to be adept at different roles that involved directing, editing, presenting, camera work and technician work. She added that for the students to realise what part of TV production they were skilled at, each individual was required to perform every task.
Al Najjar said the talk show achievement was important because it provided the chance to present professionals in the industry as "there's a need in the market for people who are capable of producing high-quality content".
Topics of discussion
Besides being a final project for the students, the purpose of Final Cut was to discuss topics about cinema production and issues regarding the media. In one episode, students got to interview the first female director and filmmaker in the UAE, Nayla Al Khaja, and discuss women's work in the media and the challenges they face. The second episode saw them interviewing the director of the new Emirati feature City of Life, Ali Mustafa, to discuss the image of Dubai in relation to cinema as well as the image of Arabs portrayed in the media.
One of the student presenters from the show, Yusur Al Bahrani, described her experience as a tough one, although she was pleased to have gone through it. She has previously been on professional TV stations, but the talk show was her first opportunity to actually play the host. "The talk show was the best example of crisis management for me as one has to be creative in unexpected situations that might arise on the show."
Dubai TV was generous in providing the class with assistance, time and a studio to film the show. Al Najjar said that this was an "extraordinary experience for the students to be able to film in real-time", other than the usual podcasts and one to two-minute commercials they do at AUS.
When asked whether other universities would follow her lead, Al Najjar responded "why not?"
Setting an example
She explained that talk shows are going to be popular soon and that it's becoming a trend in the UAE. With all the sources available in the country, universities can train their students. Al Bahrani also said that training students in such production courses would further help them in their career as media professionals.
While the course will be offered every spring semester, there are plans to keep the course on a yearly basis and make a number of episodes. Al Najjar said she was hopeful of finding a TV station to host the show.
The writer is a mass communications major at the American University of Sharjah
