Bromfield students Rebecca Turner  (left) and Elizabeth Swain take a break from editing videos during a training session for Avid video-editing software held at the school last week. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

A dozen high school students had a chance to indulge one of their passions during April vacation, thanks to the combined efforts of the town’s Cable Committee, the Parent Teacher Organization, and Superintendent Tom Jefferson. The 12 students reported to the Bromfield library three days running, eight hours each day—along with digital arts teacher Martha Brooks—for a course in video editing using software employed by most major movie studios. There they were under the tutelage of John Lynn, one of only a handful of instructors in the world certified to teach Avid Xpress and Avid Adrenaline, video editing products of Avid Technology, headquartered in Tewksbury. Lynn has provided training in the software for high profile agencies such as NASA, Lockheed Martin, MTV, and the U.S. Army. The course is also offered at Boston University—to the tune of $2,000.

Cable Committee member Keith Turner met Lynn by chance at a presentation both were attending. Turner found out that Lynn, who was between assignments, had some time available, and set the wheels in motion to bring him to Harvard. The cost to have Lynn onsite, he discovered, would be $3,750. He took his idea to the Cable Committee, the superintendent, and the PTO, and secured enough funding to pay for most of the program, while offering the course to students for only $90 each.

The students earned no course credits by attending. Some had prior experience with video editing software—two had actually used Avid before—and all elected to spend part of their school vacation learning about the tools the pros use, just for fun.

Lynn explained there are plenty of opportunities for fun—and making money—for students who have video editing in their bag of tricks. He said there are websites, such as ExpertVillage.com, looking for well-done “how-to” videos, and willing to pay $200 to $400 for each one they accept. He added that students with the skills and available software could “immediately make money shooting and editing wedding videos, family history videos,” and more. “Post-production places are going out of business because they can’t compete with students,” he said.

For their part, the students are very aware that opportunity is out there for people with video editing skills. Junior Annette Chu said, “[Avid] is a really useful tool. Technology is on the rise; I want to be part of it.”

Arjuna Hayes, also a junior and a member of the Cable Committee, said he may be interested in video as a career choice after high school.

“This is what the people in Hollywood use—this is ‘it’,” he said, speaking about the Avid software.

Sophomore Rebecca Turner said being involved in video is sort of a family tradition, and added she expects to be doing editing next year on projects such as filming sports and theater events at Bromfield. “It’s interesting,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot I can do [with this software] in class.”

Turner’s classmate, Peter Young, said he’d been doing video editing for awhile, and saw this class as a great opportunity. “It’s good experience, and could help with college admissions,” he said.

Another sophomore, Mac Devlin, commented, “I do computer stuff all the time. This was a chance to use the software and see how good it really is. It’s amazing.”

For senior Jesse Wolff, the class was a new experience. He’d had no experience with computer media before taking the class. “It’s opened up a lot of doors and windows for me,” he said.

Brooks said that, going forward, she expects to have two computers with Avid software in her digital arts class, and one in the school library. She said that the video program may be offered to students as an independent study program in the fall; she’s also hoping to incorporate it into her digital arts program, depending on the level of student interest.

“It’s the next step for the digital arts program,” she said, adding that having the video software available would allow her to incorporate animation, web design, and video editing into one program.

“It’s great—something the kids love,” she said. “It’s something they can use in real life.”

Brooks seemed to be enjoying the video class as much as the students.

“I enjoy learning. …this is something new and exciting. If we can touch a kid’s life with something that’s exciting and worth learning, that’s a good thing,” she said.