This month 14 students from Mackay district primary schools turned their hands to the multimedia labs of Central Queensland University (CQU) Mackay to see what life is like for people who engage in the digital media industry for a living.

Hundreds of nominations were received by Education Queensland for the Days of Excellence workshops in which students could participate in real-world activities or master classes.

The lucky 14 students who were selected for the digital media workshop at CQU Mackay were introduced to Photoshop; a software tool used by industry professionals and developed animations using the most up-to-date technology.

Students learned about digital manipulation by taking pictures of themselves and cleverly placing their image beside a picture of their favourite celebrity, producing an illusionary snapshot.

The digital media workshop was led by Multimedia experts and lecturers at CQU Mackay, Dr Steven Pace and Associate Professor Cathie Sherwood.

The students received a CD of their own work as well as the work produced by the other participants. Associate Professor Cathie Sherwood was very impressed with the calibre of the students.

“They learnt quite difficult digital design techniques very quickly and were able to also help each other when necessary. I hope that by giving these students a taste of what they could learn in a university degree, they will stay interested in this area in high school and keep CQU Mackay in mind as their university of choice in digital innovation,” said Cathie.

Photo: Associate Professor Cathie Sherwood over sees the creative work of Fitzgerald Primary School student Madison Paice as she manipulates a picture of herself and her favourite celebrity at the Mackay Media Days of Excellence.