Hobbs News Sun | Sunday, November 28, 2021

Community colleges have long been known as training grounds for a variety of technical
jobs, from welding to automotive technology.
One of the newest programs at New Mexico Junior College is embracing those technical
training roots with a creative twist. As the name implies, the Entertainment and Music Tech
program at NMJC gets its students ready for a variety of jobs in the broadcast media,
entertainment and music industries.
“It’s a really good opportunity for students who maybe don’t fit into other categories or
departments,” said Luis Gomez, program director — and for now — the program’s lone
instructor.
“If they don’t find a fit or interest in nursing , automotive tech, welding, they’ve got this
as an option,” Gomez said. “Especially if they are the creative type, the technological type,
then this program is a good fit for them.”
Gomez was born in Hobbs and raised in Lovington before attending a similar program at
South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, to learn his skills. From there, he worked in the
industry, broad- casting both college professional sports before coming back the Hobbs and
NMJC about three years ago.
“It’s really nice to have something like this in this area, ” Gomez said . “ Now this is being
offered locally, it’s a great opportunity for students to get this type of experience, then
ultimately find their way into a career that is more suited to their interests.”
Students can learn how a recording studio works, how a major network broadcasts sports
or how to set up sound for a concert, and more. Classes start with a solid grounding in the
basics of video and audio capture using the same technology major studios and broadcasters
use, Gomez said.
“That skill set is pretty transferable across the board; the discipline in itself can be very
versatile,” he said. “We equip the students with that foundational skill set — here’s a camera,
here is how it works.
“At the end of this two years they can have a taste for what sports broadcasting is, they can
have a taste for documentary work through projects we do,” Gomez said. “Then, they can
chose to continue to pursue a four-year degree or pursue an entry-level job, for example,
with Netflix or an agency or something.”
And that’s just some of the possibilities available through the video production program,
he said. Students can also opt for audio production with an eye toward music, spoken word
through audio books and more. Gomez said several students have come through the program
to learn those basic skills to apply to their own recording studios set up in their homes,
where they can then produce their own music album and more.
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It used to be artists had to find a professional studio and “pay big bucks” to get their music
recorded, Gomez said. But advancements have made technology available to just about
anyone who wants it to produce their own albums at home.
“All these items are accessible,” he said. “When you pair some training and good technique
with the accessible technology … that’s when those artists can get the results they’re looking
for.
“And there’ve been several songs that have been distributed that have come straight out of
our studio,” Gomez said. “We have students who’ve produced albums for other students and
those albums now live on” music streaming services.
The program is so new it’s still evolving. Gomez is constantly working and researching new
technology, new techniques, to share with his students.
“We’re constantly trying to update it, to get it to where we’re offering students the best
opportunity to get equipped for a real-world job in entertainment and music technology,” he
said. And, as the technology continually evolves, students “have to learn how to learn. That’s
what I try to teach my students.
“There might be a camera that has new features come out, for example,” Gomez said. “And
I try to squeeze in some values — just have the value of being hungry. As technology
continues to advance and innovate, they have to be hungry enough to want to learn how to
use that new technology, how to continue to evolve along with it.”
Another part of what Gomez does leading the program is develop partnerships in the local
community and the larger industry to provide more opportunities for his students to practice
the skills they’re learning. Currently, Entertainment and Music Technology students are
working with the Thunderbird basketball program to provide live streaming services of home
games.
Gomez and his students approach the live streams the same as a major sports network
would, combining both the video and audio skills learned in the program. They operate
multiple cameras under the leadership of a technical director whose job is to select images
from each camera and combine them into a whole that can go out to fans at
livestream.com/nmjc .
But it doesn’t stop there. Gomez crew place microphones on each backboard to capture the
sounds of the games as well. It goes back to teaching those basics and then putting what
they’ve learned into practice, he said.
“After they get the basics down, it becomes second nature, with practice,” Gomez said.
Andy Brosig may be reached at reporter1@hobbsnews.com