For the past few years, the University of Dayton School of Education and Health Sciences has collaborated with the Department of Communication’s advanced video production class to produce a cooking show.
This year, junior Julia Pallozzi hosted the show for a second time. “Last year, I was super nervous; this year went a lot smoother because I felt more comfortable on camera, thanks to the video production team,” said Pallozzi, a dietetics major from Detroit.
The video shoot, which took place Saturday, Feb. 21, required the video production students to move their equipment from the Roger Glass Center for the Arts to the Raymond L. Fitz Hall ProduceOne Foods Lab on Thursday before shooting. This included cameras, lights and microphones to transform the lab, typically used for cooking demonstrations for dietetics and health science classes, into a cooking show set.
“I’m excited to get more experience working with an industry-standard product. It's important to know what goes into making this, and it's a skill that can help me down the road in my future career,” said Carson Caprella, a junior communication major from Lima, Ohio.
Caprella, who has a concentration in media production, worked on editing the show in post-production. Lily Watson, a senior communication major from Oak Park, Illinois, was in charge of directing the production team of 16 students.
“At first, I was nervous to be the director because of all the pressure that came with it, but as we got going, it became really fun. It was such an amazing learning opportunity, so I'm glad I leaped to direct,” Watson said.
On the menu was a Mediterranean bowl with a couscous base, chicken meatballs and tzatziki sauce, topped with tomatoes, onion, cucumber and feta cheese. Pallozzi points out the health benefits of her ingredients, her kitchen skills and how to pick the best quality products.
“This activity empowers our students in how to share clear and concise nutrition messaging via cooking,” said Rebecca Gonter-Dray, assistant clinical professor and program director within the School of Education and Health Sciences. “These skills support the student's future clients and patients with healthy cooking and in delivering clear and concise nutrition messaging.”
Before this collaboration, Gonter-Dray met with Roy Flynn, principal lecturer in communications with expertise in television production. Once arrangements are made for filming dates, the video production students begin selecting their roles and planning for the project, while Gonter-Dray selects the talent.
“This is one of those real-world-type assignments where students will be working on this type of production after they graduate. Being able to do it while they're in college is a real plus for them,” Flynn said, “I also think that anytime we can collaborate with other departments around campus, it's a good thing, not only for the Department of Communication, but for the other departments as well.”
Students spend three to five hours filming and produce a five-to eight-minute video, which appears on FlyerTV, the student-run station that produces original programming for the campus-wide cable system (Channel 205). Those programs include newscasts, sports talk, interview shows, dating shows, short films and series, documentaries and more.
All of the cooking shows from past years are also posted on Gonter-Drays' YouTube channel.
“When faculty from different disciplines collaborate, they learn from one another through shared interactions with students and their approaches to teaching,” Gonter-Dray said.
“This reflects the University's commitment to experiential learning in so many ways, it starts with collaboration and mentoring. Then, the students gain, as they work together, knowledge, skills, appreciation and confidence that will assist them as they make an impact in their future professions and for the common good.”
