School Video News Buying Equipment Part Three

Purchasing Equipment

By Phillip L. Harris

Contributors: Janet K. Kerby, Rob Munzig, Phil Harris

Story-telling skills and many production skills can be taught with a bare minimum of equipment. With today’s technology becoming more available at the consumer and prosumer level, it is possible to offer students new digital technology without huge investments.

In order to interest and encourage this generation of students in a field which is highly technical, a school system must make every effort to make modern technology available. However, the terms “modern technology” and “school budgets” rarely can be used in the same sentence.

Technology changes so rapidly that this document would be instantly obsolete if it listed specific brands and model numbers of equipment recommendations when it comes to the equipment outfitting needs for your studio. Some generic suggestions of equipment you might consider are offered below. There will be some explanation of options available on the equipment. As much as possible, the equipment will generally be presented in the order it might be purchased as funds become available.

Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a SINGLE RIGHT WAY to build your equipment inventory. You must stay within your prescribed budget – that is a given. Your approach should be to pay homage to two separate philosophies:

(1) Get as many pieces of gear as you can afford in order to occupy as many students as possible at the same time

(2) Try to get the best quality gear possible while remembering #1 above.

In other words: Get the most bang(s) you can for every buck you have to spend.

In this final installment, we continue from the March issue with suggested configurations for Level Two and Level Three purchases.

Level 2

Suggested Product:

· 12-15 minute taped newscast in style of “nightly news” with readers, VO-SOT’s, packages, sports, etc. Audience: student body via closed circuit and/or cable or webcast/longer podcasts This could be live-to-tape (non-stop studio newscast) or all done in post-production (anchors taped separately and edited in.)

· Production of DVD’s for customers in student based enterprise

· Cablecast of the program throughout the community

· Location gear:

· Increase number and quality of cameras available

· Wireless mics both handheld and lapel style

· Boundary mics to mic an entire room or stage

· Fluid Tripods heavier duty than above for all cameras

Notes on Tripods:

A camera tripod can make the difference between professional-looking video and video that screams "amateur at work." Tripods are essential in studio production. They are often mounted on a dolly for easier movement throughout the studio. Do not opt for the cheaper, plastic models. They will not hold up and will not give you the fluid pan and tilt that you will need.

Although a tripod may be a hassle to carry and set up in the field, the results are well worth the effort. The better tripods come with ball-leveling mechanisms that make level shots in the field a snap.

The smaller a camcorder is, the more likely the student will prefer to hand-hold the camera. Hand-holding a camera should always be the option of last resort – not the option of first choice because the student is too lazy to carry a tripod.

Light kits for each camera

Notes for Light Kits:

The newer fluorescent light kits available from various manufacturers are much more economical than the older quartz-type light kits. The individual lamps are phenomenally less expensive than quartz lamps and there is no heat issue at all with the fluorescent kits. Quartz lamps get extremely hot while in use and can provide a serious burn to skin or ignite flammable items which are too close.

WARNING: a professional TV fluorescent lighting instrument is not the same thing as a fluorescent instrument and lamp available at your local hardware store. Use onlyTV lamps!!! The lamps available in hardware stores provide a very green or blue tint – both of which will severely inhibit the quality of your TV image.

Field monitors for each camera

Studio gear

Again, upgrade cameras as much as possible

Wireless communication via headsets (actual professional systems not the inexpensive electronics store system) between the control room and the camera operators and the floor director

Character Generator for superimposing titles and graphics

Preview monitor added to monitors above

Teleprompter

Replace A/V mixer above with:

Audio Mixer

Notes on Audio Mixers:

Audio boards and consoles are designed to:

1. amplify or reduce incoming signals

2. allow for switching and volume level adjustments for a variety of audio sources

3. allow for creatively mixing and balancing multiple audio signals to achieve an optimum blend of sound

4. route the combined effect to a transmission or recording device

5. Sophisticated audio boards or consoles also allow you to manipulate specific characteristics of audio. These include the left-to-right "placement" of stereo sources, altering frequency characteristics of sounds, and adding reverberation.

Connectors:

Audio equipment most commonly employs three types of audio connectors for microphones, mini, ¼” phone, and XLR connectors. You are familiar with the mini as the connector on your headphones for your iPod and the ¼” connector is the connector you had on your stereo system at home 10 years ago for headphones. It looks like a large version of the mini connector. You already know the greatest disadvantage of both of these connectors – with the slightest tug, the wire disconnects. The XLR connector uses a locking mechanism and it is impossible to disconnect accidentally without depressing the release button. The XLR is the type of connector used in professional video. If at all possible, do not purchase equipment without XLR connectors. If you can not avoid it, then you will need adapters to convert from mini or ¼” to XLR. Once again, consult your vendor for help.

Video switcher/mixer

Add a music library with re-recording rights OR let students create their own with software such as Apple Garage Band.

A lighting grid with studio lights

A light board

Dollys for Studio Tripods

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