KET stands for Kentucky Education Television. This is a network of PBS that serves the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. The network has programs such as Doc Martin, Comment on Kentucky, and Big Family, among others. On November 12, the Jacket Journal staff went to KET’s Lexington location.

When approaching the door to enter, we were greeted with grey-tinted glass walls and lettering above the door that read “KET The Kentucky Network.”

When we walked inside, there was a front desk straight ahead and to the right a lobby. The room was filled with awards KET had won throughout the years. It also had some trees by the huge glass wall. “Where Learning Comes to Life” was plastered above the entrance. Two of the walls had murals on them. One of them was of the Sesame Street character, Big Bird. The second was a variety of characters from the shows Sesame Street, Curious George, Cat and the Hat, and many more!

Our guide, Cynthia Warner, led us into another room and showed us two paintings of the founder of KET, Leonard Press and the KET Executive Director and CEO, Virginia Gaines Fox.

We were then led into the video room for students, which included a few rows of computers, a TV upfront and camera equipment, along with a green screen off to the side.

Cynthia gave us a wonderful lesson on video production, during which we learned skills like how to pan cameras, what the movements are called and some quick tips on recording and editing videos. 

Afterward, she provided us a tour of Studio A as well as other various video and sound rooms.

The Jacket Journal Staff left KET feeling knowledgeable and eager to start creating thanks to Cynthia Warner, the Multimedia Education Consultant who provided our tour and lesson.

Cynthia Warner

Multimedia Education Consultant

How long have you been working with KET?

20 years.

What made you choose KET?

Everything fell into place. I was teaching via a grant that ended and needed a job. KET needed an education consultant.

How did you get interested/involved in video production?

It was all on-the-job training since it was one of my responsibilities as an education consultant.

When do you think the prime age to get involved in video production is?

4th grade.

During the lesson you mentioned you used to be a middle school teacher, what school did you teach at and what subject did you work with? How did you transition from that job to KET?

I taught MS Drama and English in Albuquerque. I met my husband, married him, and we moved back to Carlisle, Kentucky (my hometown) and from there I taught English, Drama, and Media at Nicholas County High School. This is how I met Jeff Gray, my KET education consultant. After a year and a half, I accepted a job as a K-12 Arts and Humanities consultant with Nicholas and Robertson County Schools. This is how I met Liz (Coogle) Jewell, KET Distance Learning teacher, who asked me to come to KET to help present a PD (professional development day). While at KET, Jeff Gray entered the meeting and announced a job opening. I filled out the application and Jeff walked it to HR (human resources).

Although you are the one teaching people, what valuable things have you learned from your students through working with KET and/or middle school?

I have learned so many things from students throughout the years. From foley art examples to tech tips and, especially, how to look at ideas and processes through different perspectives have all taught me more content and how to be a better teacher.

Do you feel video production quality is going to increase or decrease dramatically over the next 10 years?

Though I think that video creation will be here for a long time, I think the quality is already decreasing. Everyone is a media creator these days and I think that will just continue to be the case. The way modern productions are shot is much more raw. I think it is nice that it is much more personal, but I believe the old way of constructing a story with pictures and sound will always be important. I believe we are moving toward a more virtual world, but the fundamentals of video production are important to any visual story.