DOD video training is rapid-fire

Defense Information School home page

Public support is vital to the armed services' ability to carry out their

mission of protecting the nation. Spreading the word to engender that support

is where the Defense Information School (DINFOS) enters the scene.

DINFOS trains students from all the military services on leading-edge

broadcast and video technology, said Army Lt. Col. Rick Sims, director of

broadcast and video production at DINFOS.

The students are trained in less than 60 days to produce broadcast and

video projects to be viewed by troops and the public worldwide.

"We need to turn 18- and 19-year-old kids from story consumers to storytellers

in just a few months," Sims said at the recent Government Video Technology

Expo 2000 in Washington, D.C.

To help make that accelerated learning curve possible, DINFOS has a

shared-storage computer system that serves as an archive for the school's

digital footage.

"There are 24 students using the editing system to pull pieces of footage,

take parts out and build a product," Sims said. "They use it independently

but can get it all at one time," which saves at least a day, compared with

the old method of making video duplicates and passing them around.

Sims showed examples of student- produced pieces that included a short

documentary from the Marine Corps about the Korean War and a video about

an Army training program in a Pennsylvania town that encourages kids to

avoid drugs.

Sims, who is also a pilot, helps train more than 650 students a year

in six major courses of instruction, including basic broadcasting, electronic

journalism and video production documentation.