SEVA Training

Through partnerships, SECC empowers educators not just with the equipment, but the expertise necessary to teach media today. Additionally, SECC reaches students directly to help train the next generation of media producers, instilling skills they can use regardless of the career path they take. Check back often to find out about exciting opportunities to network, learn and share! For individual resources, including SEVA category highlights, curriculum, and more, visit the SEVA Resources page.

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#SEVACON

#SEVACON is a free, online convention for media students and teachers in the Sacramento area. Connect with fellow student producers and industry experts to learn about media production through Zoom events. Learn more: secctv.org/seva/training/sevacon

#SEVACON: Home Studio

The kick-off event for #SEVACON was all about producing from home. Learn about simple equipment you can use to create a great video regardless of where you are. Go behind-the-scenes with KCRA morning anchor Deirdre Fitzpatrick as well as SEVA’s own Vanessa Gomez to learn about their home studio setup.

#SEVACON: Pitch-Fest

This event put great story ideas in the spotlight, and students brought their SEVA video project ideas to share! Participants learned about the process of pitching video ideas to others from Veronica Serrano-Padilla, KCRA Programming Director and Jessica Mathies, Executive Producer of Program Development for Hearst Television. Get the “Dev Template” from this session.

#SEVACON: Virtual Studio Tour

#SEVACON traveled to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to go behind the scenes at ABC/NBC Dakota News Now with SEVA’s own Vanessa Gomez. Vanessa got her start in news by anchoring the Carnegie Connection at Andrew Carnegie Middle School. She went on to graduate from Casa Roble High School and USC. She gave participants a behind-the-scenes peek at her life as a morning news anchor, and let us know how she turned her early passion for media in to a successful career.

#SEVACON: Content Creator

#SEVACON welcomed Kenneth “KJ” Johnston, CEO of KJ2 Productions to give his pro tips on how to create content that is gripping and inspiring. As a writer and director, KJ and his team have produced film and TV projects in over sixty-three countries on six continents. KJ went through what it takes to tell a story in just 30 seconds and producing content during COVID. Use the Daily Production Report from this event.

#SEVACON: News Stories

#SEVACON shined a spotlight another SEVA success story from Andrew Carnegie Middle School’s media program. Olivia DeGennaro virtually joined students to give her experiences and tips as a current KTXL Fox40 reporter.

#SEVACON: Post Production

Editing combines all of the production elements into a final presentation. The post production team at PBS KVIE visited SEVACON to share their workflow, tips and techniques for a successful edit. Participants looked inside the edit of an actual show to see what it takes to go from script to your television.

#SEVACON: Camera Presence

#SEVACON connected with one of the most well-known voices in the Sacramento area. Sacramento Kings public address announcer, Sacramento Republic FC VP, and Fox40 host Scott Moak shared tips and tricks for developing your camera presence and how you can use your voice to share powerful stories in our community.

#SEVACON: CalOES

#SEVACON went behind the scenes with Bryan May at Cal OES (Governor’s Office of Emergency Services). From single camera field reports to weekly studio news conferences, Bryan and his team share vital information with the people of California to help plan for and mitigate the impacts of emergencies.

#SEVACON: Contest Kickoff

#SEVACON answered your questions about this year’s SEVA 2021 Contest! The event provided an overview of the categories, entry form, releases, copyright rules, music resources, the captioning process and how to shoot your official SEVA 2021 Producer interview. This was an interactive opportunity to make sure everyone is SEVA ready!

#SEVACON: Creativity & Pixar

#SEVACON connected with Bob Peterson to learn about his journey and experiences as an animator, screenwriter, director, voice actor and member of Pixar’s Senior Creative Team. Some of Bob’s credits include: writer and co-director of UP, voice actor (Roz in Monsters Inc.), co-writer on Finding Nemo, co-writer on Cars 3 and writer/director of Forky Asks a Question. Bob also shared how he embeds life experiences into the stories he creates.

 #SEVACON: PORTS Field Trip

#SEVACON connected with the PORTS project to visit the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve with interpreter Daniel Williford to experience the parks’ marine life, geological formations, endangered archeological sites live, through technology.

#SEVACON: Symera Jackson

#SEVACON met teen actor Symera Jackson. Symera has been working in television and commercials since the age of 9. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she can be seen in Disney’s Sydney to the Max, ABC’s Alex, Inc., as well as starring as a series regular playing Jackie Murphy in the hit Netflix series, TEAM Kaylie. We learned what it takes to be a full time high school student and actor.

 #SEVACON: Sports Reporting

#SEVACON had a sports takeover! Fox40’s Scott Moak and KCRA3’s Michelle Dapper joined us to talk sports broadcasting. Professional mentors broke down what it takes to make a compelling sports report.

#SEVACON: The Perfect Interview

#SEVACON connected with students and teachers to share tips and tricks for the perfect interview. SECC’s own production team was joined by SEVA Teacher and former reporter Melissa May to go over all the technical aspects of filming an interview as well as the skills needed to ask the right questions and get the right answers.

2020 SEVA Summer Workshop – Reimagined: A Virtual Experience

The annual summer training was modified to meet the new standards of health and wellness while providing an opportunity for local media teachers to gather virtually to learn new skills and share best practices. With a new virtual platform, teachers had the ability to participate in sessions that best fit their needs including round-table discussions about best practices and ideas for the future. Visit the Google Drive for a collection of shared resources.

Basic Shooting Tools
Presenters: Thuy Pham – CCAA & Nick Conklin – SECC
Looking for DIY solutions for shooting at home? During this session inexpensive tools, techniques and workflows to help your students produce content from home will be shared. Anyone can become a video producer with these simple tips and tricks.

Resource Links:
Resources from this video via Google Drive

2019 SEVA Summer Workshop

In support of our region’s media teachers and the SEVA Studio Lab Grant project (funded by the Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission), SECC held a one week intensive video journalism training in June 2019.  Over 30 SEVA teachers attended this event at Center High School, including first-time broadcast teachers and veteran teachers looking to refresh and recharge.  The workshop provided inspiring sessions in the morning and challenging, hands-on assignments in the afternoons. Instructors Dave Davis, Brandon Goodwin, and Mehleena Maigi from The Academy of Scholastic Broadcasting group in Springfield, MO led teachers through the week with the support of SECC staff.  Attendees utilized only the video equipment that their students are able to use at school.

SEVA Training Series: Special Edition

The SEVA Training Series is a resource brought to you by Sacramento media teachers, in collaboration with SECC, on how to use media production tools. The videos can be used to advance your skills and are also a great asset for your students. Two Special Editions have been released so far. Read on to learn more.

Special Edition: SEVA Home Studio Equipment

In this edition, featuring SEVA’s Nebaiot and SECC’s Nick, learn about the three different home kits suggested by SECC as well as the microphone. For more information on equipment, view the SEVA Home Studio Equipment PDF.

Special Edition: Original SEVA Field Kit

This edition, featuring SEVA Teacher Trevor Harding, provides videos ranging from 2 to 7 minutes long about how to best use your SEVA Studio Field Kit including basic camera functions, how to use a tripod, cable management and more.

Field Kit Unboxing
Congratulations on getting to work with your SEVA Studio Field Kit! Inside are a few key pieces of gear to help you create awesome videos. In this edition, you will learn what to expect when first unboxing your SEVA Studio Field Kit.

Basic Camera Functions
The camera is obviously the most important part to creating your video. Therefore, it is important to know how to operate correctly and safely. In this edition, you will learn the basic functions of your video camera.

Tripod Setup
A tripod is an essential part to any video production as tripods are very useful for obtaining steady and quality shots.  In this edition, you will learn how to set up and use a tripod.

Cable Management
Cable management may seem to be an easy task at first, but there are many misconceptions about how to store your cables. In this edition, you will learn some common mistakes when putting away cables and see best practices for storing and managing cables.

Wired Microphones
Having a microphone to capture good audio for your video is essential. While there are many different type of microphones out there, in this edition you will learn how to use simple XLR wired microphones.

Sony Wireless Microphone
A wireless microphone can be super useful to have on set for audio capture. That being said, many people have trouble with setup and operating these more advanced microphones. This edition explains how to setup and use Sony Bluetooth wireless microphones.

Audio Monitoring
Audio is just as important in your finished project as the video itself. However, many people forget to check their sound on set while recording. In this edition you will learn how and why to monitor your audio while recording.

Field Kit Pledge
Getting students to take proper care of equipment is a big concern for many teachers. Learn how you can help ensure students treat video equipment with respect in this video.

Sacramento Student Media Day is a joint project of the Center Unified School District, Center High School Media Communications Academy, Sacramento Alliance for Women in Media, and SECC. Since the first #SacStudentMediaDay in 2017, nearly a thousand students have gained valuable knowledge and skills from Sacramento area media professionals. Watch some of the sessions from past years below.

The 2020 Sacramento Student Media Day was re-imagined into the virtual #SEVACON! Visit secctv.org/sevacon for more.

2019

2018

2017

CapCUE 2018 Sessions

Opening Keynote
Be a HyperDoc Hero and Save the Instructional Day!
Let’s Bring Creativity Back Into the Classroom
My Primary Students can do WHAT?!?!
Bring VR & AR Into Any Classroom

CapCUE 2017 Sessions

Opening Keynote
Cooking up the News
Digital Storytelling: Students Creating in the Classroom
Making Movie Magic with Stop Motion
Primarily Google: The Google Suite for Little Learners
Reading Across The Curriculum with Newsela PRO
Unleash the Power of Creativity with WeVideo

CapCUE 2016 Sessions

Opening Keynote
3D Printing
Formative Assessment
Moving Magic with Stop Motion

SECC has always focused on providing professional development for teachers and media training for students. Take a look at some great past SEVA training events.