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State of the Media Arts: Metro Manila Institutional Survey Results, 2000Now available in printed form in the Graduate School Research Journal, University of the East, December, 2001, Volume 6, Number 1, 52-61.
In perhaps the first-ever survey of media arts/communication programs in the Manila
Metropolitan area within recent years, this paper reports highlights of the results of a small survey of institutions who participated in the forum, "Visualizing the Future For Media Arts Education in the
Philippines," sponsored by UE-FRASI and the Fulbright Scholar Exchange Program of the Philippines (Philippine-American Educational Foundation), December 8, 2000. Although this paper was intended to present its
findings during the forum, too few survey forms arrived in time to be analyzed and presented.
The scope of this survey was framed by questions pertaining to how schools within the
Metro Manila area are preparing for challenges posed by rapid advancements in digital
technology. Survey questions included the following areas of concern: academic program size, current course offerings, curriculum
and facilities development, media library resources, student internships, software and hardware tools used, computer languages, animation, interdisciplinary courses and the CHED Guidelines for Communication curricula.
This paper will not burden the reader with a lot of statistical detail, but will, instead, focus on a number of concerns which have arisen in light of technological changes within the media industry at large. Also
included are graphs featuring results of a comparative analysis of program staffing, which includes
full- and part-time faculties and
administrative/technical resources,
internship programs and course emphasis areas
by school across the survey sampling. Before addressing the survey content some discussion of this researcher's methodology is in order.
 Methodology
The principal tool was a three-page questionnaire1 which was distributed via fax to over 20 institutions within Metropolitan Manila. In spite of a great deal of UE-FRASI staff
skepticism about need for an on-line survey, the author scoffed at the notion and insisted that he develop an on-line version (http://www.okara.com/ue-frasi_survey) and place it
within an area of his Columbus, Ohio multimedia firm's website, thinking that the majority of respondents would execute the form on-line via their web browser. Surprisingly, only one
out of a total of 11 survey forms was filed on-line; the overwhelming majority of respondents chose to use the low-tech fax machine for returning the survey. Due to the
vagaries of sometimes malfunctioning machines on either end of the telephone line (meaning, there were lost, partial or faded pages received), some forms were incomplete. Worse,
some forms were incomplete even though all of their pages were received intact. This state of affairs suggests that many of the author's target audience are not yet comfortable with the
notion of filling out website-based forms as the UE-FRASI staff had warned and/or having insufficient time to get the information requested.
Perhaps another shortcoming of the survey was that it may have been too wide-ranging in requiring enrollment, budgetary and statistical data no single respondent could have
obtained immediately even though the scope of the survey was restricted to
"communication" programs, not entire institutions. Some respondents dismissively filled in
fields asking for information about computer hardware and software with, "This falls under the Computer Center and Information Technology Development Office,"2 betraying the fact
that they do not talk to the "computer people". This points up one of the serious problems within some institutions when it comes to matters of the new technologies. In this day and
age, information technology has now become everybody's business, not just that of the computer people any longer.
Computerization of Video Editing
Perhaps the most disturbing although not surprising finding was the near-total absence of
computer-based nonlinear video editing systems at participating schools except for one (De La Salle-Taft) reporting survey results. Such systems are now considered de rigueur for
training students planning on careers in broadcast television and/or video post-production. Any program purporting to be preparing students for careers in both the broadcast or
corporate world should be providing students with some form of nonlinear editing training. In fact, the smaller the organization, the more likely they will employ such nonlinear systems
as they are actually cheaper than traditional hardware-based linear editing systems and provide higher production quality for less cost. Institutions need to seek expert advice on
inexpensive systems to acquire and start on the path to state-of-the-art in terms of media training.
Interdisciplinary Courses
The topic of interdisciplinary courses is a bifurcated tree with forked branches heading in
opposite directions: one toward the liberal and fine arts, the other toward computer
information sciences. In regard to the first, 40% respondents agreed with the survey's
assertions about the need for additional art and music appreciation courses in light of the
digital revolution occurring in the classrooms. The concern is that knowledge of the arts
(which includes understanding color, composition, typography, history of art, both globally and locally, and photography, music appreciation and scriptwriting) not only prepares
students to execute their productions well but enables them to develop non-derivative imagery which does not primarily reflect the 800-pound gorilla called Globalization. As this
researcher said in the forum, the best antidote to the encroachment of pop culture is to revive and reinterpret the many folk traditions of the Philippines within mass media
productions. Respondents from the following schools reported interdisciplinary courses3 like DLSU's Literature & Film; FEU's Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition is offering
Graphic Design & Animation; UE-Caloocan's CommArts is offering Art Appreciation; St. Scholastica is offering courses in Art and Music Appreciation, World and Philippine
Literature and Communication Arts; and FE's Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts is offering collaborative research.
On questions regarding the necessity of communication programs to begin requiring some
computer language instruction4 such as HTML (website development), multimedia languages such as Lingo (re. Macromedia's Director software for interactive CD-ROM and
DVD-ROM production) and MS Visual Basic (for development of website interactivity), respondents were nearly unanimous in their recognition of this need. Most agree that
training students in appropriate programming languages (like Lingo) will have an important place within the future course offerings involving "interactive" media. Several institutions
indicated that they were offering courses in interaction and visual interface design5 (DLSU, Technical Univ. of the Phil., Polytechnic Univ. of the Phil. and Technical Inst. of the
Phil.-Q.C.), a notable development which needs to be adopted by more multimedia-oriented programs. Only two institutions reported offering courses in game design6
including National Polytechnic Inst. and Technical Inst. of the Phil.-Q.C. However, many of the schools that were in agreement about programming languages and multimedia
have not yet introduced courses in interactive media as evidenced by the findings of this survey. Within the question and answer session at the UE-FRASI forum, it was clear that
many programs neither had the money nor the faculty with the requisite training to offer such courses. The question of faculty and staff training in the digital technologies is a worthy topic
for a follow-up survey with these same institutions and others not participating in this
survey.
Animation, Computer Game and Comic Book Design
Perhaps this is an obscure concern to most in educational circles in Metro Manila, but these are the areas "where the money is". As was stated in the UE-FRASI forum, the Philippines
has historically served as an offshore "sweatshop" for the animation houses of Hollywood and Tokyo. It is the assertion of the author that the Philippines can produce world-class
animation for exportation to TV markets in the West, especially now with the advent of computer tools not available just a few years ago. With English language and a keen
understanding of American if not Western culture, Filipino animators and game designers have a distinct advantage over other ASEAN countries when it comes to being able to
exploit this field of media production. Animation and computer game design and production call upon a multiplicity of skills from scriptwriting and drawing skills to computer language
programming and music/sound effects composition. Schools responding to this call in the survey included National Polytechnic Institute, UE-Caloocan and Manila, and FE's Institute
of Architecture and Fine Arts. Ms. Margarita "Midge" K. Manlapig, a guest speaker at the UE-FRASI forum made it abundantly clear that there is a future in the Philippines for
animation, and schools should begin rethinking their curricular offerings in light of these potentials. Schools that are able to offer rigorous courses within this realm will attract
industry funding and support in many forms such as software and hardware work stations. This is what the Silicon Graphics-level of companies are doing with institutions offering
programs in 3-D modeling and animation in the U.S., for example.
Curricular Approaches: Specialist vs. Generalist
Survey results show sharp differences of opinion about the question of specialization7
versus a generalist approach which convergent digital technology tends to suggest.
Approximately 30% indicated that the specialist approach was outdated, while another
30% disagreed and a final group of "undecideds" made up the last 1/3 of respondents
answering this question. A St. Scholastica respondent ticked the "No" checkbox,
commenting, "I believe in specialization. One can learn a little of everything (e.g., a
generalist curriculum) but must still specialize in something (breadth vs. depth...I'd rather go for depth.)." A proponent of the generalist approach from FEU-Biochemistry- Nutrition
Department said, the specialist approach was outdated "because of the electronic media that crosses between these specializations." The DLSU respondent, taking the generalist
position, noted that "Emerging industry practices point to increasing interaction between all media." And finally, the respondent from UE-Caloocan ticked the "No" checkbox,
commenting the CHED-prescribed curriculum meets the current needs of the industry. Besides, the technology needed for this new thrust or direction in communication is still
inaccessible to the schools." The researcher believes change within the educational community must begin with a revision of the CHED guidelines they appear to follow,
according to 80% of the respondents of this survey. To say that because the new digital systems are not available is no reason to believe the existing guidelines are somehow still relevant.
Obviously, this question of curricular approach -- specialist vs. the generalist -- will not be easily resolved. The degree of specialization being practiced in various sectors of the
communications field is probably determined by the size and scope of the businesses in
question. For example, the broadcast industry in the Philippines is highly organized along
lines of job specialization due mainly to their dependence on traditional broadcast
technology, which requires specialists to operate these systems. However, in smaller firms
such as corporate A/V divisions and NGO media departments, no such specializations exist any more, due to the adoption of digital technology in which there is a convergence of
capabilities and functions within a single workstation. Even within the television broadcast industry, many specialist jobs are being eliminated in favor of hiring fewer staff who can
operate the cheaper and more productive digital systems. For example, CNN's news operation is built entirely around AVID nonlinear editing systems. A cursory look in the
classified advertisement section of the Sunday Inquirer reveals that the qualifications for multimedia jobs reflect interdisciplinary trends in industry as a whole.
CHED Communication Guidelines Current?
Again, respondents split three ways on the question of whether CHED guidelines8
were in step with developments in digital media technology, but many abstained from taking any position saying they had insufficient information on which to formulate a position on this
question. Respondents indicating that CHED Guidelines were NOT in step with
developments in the industry made comments like the following: "There is still so much to be
learned about digital media technology. The academe is not yet ready to prepare students for this new direction in communication, although we are slowly laying the grounds for it."
Another said, "CHED curriculum has yet to figure out the place of digital technology in the communication curriculum."
This researcher has concluded that the guidelines last published in 1997 are no longer in
step with developments in the digital media due to its "specialist" orientation. Drawing from
recommendations presented at the UE-FRASI forum, four areas of the CHED
Communication Guidelines are in need of attention. Journalism: Courses dealing with the
following issues need to be developed: Question of integrity of the digital image, reliable attribution from Internet sources, statistical analysis within the journalistic context and
visualization of data from statistical analysis, including the study of maps as a means for displaying data. Communication: Greater emphasis should be placed on the "art and
design" side of communication curricula in terms of applied studio courses utilizing
Photoshop, Flash and Director software, including 3-D modeling, drawing, graphic design
principles and typography; liberal arts content to include more courses in the history of art and music including Asian and Filipino ethnic music; writing for hyper-narrative media such
as the website, CD-ROM applications, hypertext literature (electronic books), branching video narratives, documentaries, games and animation. Broadcast: Students should be
prepared for the coming "change-over" to digital broadcasting, 2006 for U.S. which will include Enhanced TV (for both analogue and digital television) utilizing HTML language for
the interactive content and conceptualizing interactivity within the context of broadcasting.Other observations: The bibliography is, for the most part, out of date as it
neither reflects the advent of the Internet world nor the digital age we now live and learn within. Furthermore, the guidelines must come to address gender issues and the implications
of Globalism for the Philippines as we confront its varied forms. To its credit, the CHED Guidelines do mention it being a "borderless world". It further stated, "...it is imperative that
the broadcaster be conscious of his role in helping promote our cultural heritage and traditional Filipino values."9
Notes
1
See page 10-12 of this document for a review of the questionnaire or log onto
URL: http://www.okara.com/ue-frasi_survey
2 Survey, St. Scholastica, page 2, Desktop Computer Labs.
3 Ibid. Page 1. Interdisciplinary courses.
4 Ibid. Page 3, Computer Languages.
5 Ibid. Page 2, Courses offered (continued from page 1)
6
Ibid. Page 2, Courses Offered (continued from page 1)
7 Ibid. Page 3, Specialization
8 Commission on Higher Education Communication Curricular Guidelines, 1997?
9
Ibid. Page 1, AB in Broadcasting section
10 Graphs, pages 8 and 9 of this document show the following data: Staffing
Communication Programs; Internship Programs; Full- and Part-Time Faculty;
Spectrum of Emphasis Areas Among Survey Schools. |
