School Video News Equipment Purchase Part Two Cont

Wireless microphones- can solve many audio problems in production. Most of the above mentioned microphones are available in a wireless configuration. Wireless mics are especially useful when talent must be free to roam, such as when doing an ENG report. Wireless mics are not without their own set of problems, however. They must employ the use of batteries. Not surprisingly, the quality of the signal from a wireless mic is directly related to the strength of the charge of the battery. Lesser expensive ones also can be susceptible to a variety of interference from lightning during a storm to walkie-talkies and baby monitors. Expensive wireless mics are less likely to be affected.

Wireless mics come in two types: the self-contained (all-in-one) unit and the two-piece type. In the self-contained, handheld unit the mic, transmitter, battery, and antenna are all part of the microphone. When small, unobtrusive clip-on mics are desirable, a two-piece wireless unit is the best choice. In this case, a thin wire connects the mic to a separate transmitting unit that can be clipped to user’s belt. In both cases, the receiver is located near the camera and connects to the Mic Input on the camera.

Studio gear for television production:

1-2 cameras to use as studio cameras

2 friction tripods

Studio monitor

4 small monitors (1 for each camera, 1 preview monitor, 1 program monitor) for control room

2 lapel mics (or one per anchor)

Audio/video switcher

Notes on Switchers and Special Effects Generators (SEG’s)

A switcher is a device that allows for the cutting from one video source to another.

Some switchers allow for dissolves and fades as well. A SEG will provide everything a switcher will do along with a wide variety of special effects. Clearly a SEG is more expensive than a simple switcher. One consideration should be the number of inputs the switcher will accept, the smallest number probably is six but in planning for the future, you might consider something with no less than 10 inputs. Discuss this with your systems designer.

Some units will provide audio mixing and switching as well as video switching.

These devices can be purchased as a stand alone piece of equipment or as a piece of software/hardware which is installed into a computer. Which you choose should be the result of discussion with your systems designer.

You are reminded that if you are trying to engage as many students as possible at the same time, purchasing things designed to be combined and installed on a single computer will occupy only one student at a time.

3-5 lighting instruments and stands or means to attach them near the ceiling.

Luxury item:

Headsets for camera operators and director. Your local electronics store can offer low cost wireless headset walkie-talkies which should be clear in the short distance between your control room and your studio space.

Post-production/ non-linear editing for television

production:

You must have a way of inputting your raw video footage into the NLE editor and outputting your editing footage to your distribution device. Typically you’ll need recording/playback deck(s) for this purpose in order to avoid unnecessary wear and tear by using the cameras a the source. Of course, if you are using cameras with on-board hard drives, you’ll be able to connect the camera’s hard drive directly to the NLE editor and transfer the file with a simple click and drag operation that takes mere seconds. It is highly recommended that any deck you purchase have firewire inputs and outputs.

A small program such as such as the free-ware which usually comes with new computers works just fine and is a way many teachers start out. It does not typically offer extensive editing options but will do simple editing adequately. Face it, you do not want to start out with a program so complex that you, yourself, are not ready to use it. Both PC and MAC computers are shipped with this software. Which platform (MAC or PC) you purchase is often a decision that is made for you by the technology departments of your school system. Many school systems have policies of only purchasing one platform of computer for the entire system. This decision is entirely based on economics of having the tech support personnel only needing to be trained on one platform instead of two.

While PC and MAC users often will defend their platform as the “best” with a near-religious fanaticism, the reality is that both platforms provide entirely acceptable results and both platforms are found in the television industry. Moreover, as you move up to more complex editing software, the some of the best and most popular editing programs are available in both the PC and Mac versions. If you are in a situation where you are offered the choice of either platform, make your decision based on which platform are you personally more comfortable with AND which platform you have the largest group of people nearby who can help you if you run into difficulties. For example, if you are a PC person and nearly all the “gurus” you know are PC people, then purchase a PC.

Luxury item:

It is critical that you involve your systems designer in any decision related to editing equipment. This is true whether you are just starting out with free-ware or you’re about to upgrade to a multi-station $300,000.00 system. Rare is the purchaser who truly knows the exact requirements and “nit-noids” necessary for the effective purchase of a non-linear editing system.

Here are some suggestions and talking points:

1. Involve your tech support at the start. That way, they can better troubleshoot when problems arise.

2. Max out your RAM. The biggest mistake people make in system configuration is not adding enough RAM.

3. Get as large a hard drive as you can afford. Digital video is a huge drain on hard drive space.

4. Get a fast processor. Dual processors are now available for even faster editing.

5. Limit your machines exclusively to doing digital editing. Do not put these computers on the internet.

(Is any teacher fast enough to outwit crafty students who download things from the internet?) NLE editors are very sensitive. After installing them, obtain a program from your technology department which will essentially “lock” all the primary editing program data preventing computer savvy students from getting creative and accidentally or purposely corrupting the program. Many editing programs do not come with unlimited re-installs. Do not load extraneous programs like word processing programs on these machines. Make your NLE’s exclusively editors!

6. Decide on a single editing program. You don’t want to take up all your time with teaching different editors.

7. Consider “turnkey solutions.” These setups make a lot of sense for school situations and offer a onetime setup that is consistent from machine to machine. A turnkey system is one where the computer, monitor, keyboard and all software is distributed and serviced and maintained by one single manufacturer. Use the definition we have been using for your systems designer and apply that to the NLE editor. Get everything from your normal vendor but make sure the vendor gets the entire NLE from one manufacturer.

A supply of tapes.

This is a real and present cost! Mini-DV tapes are expensive and short-lived. Most mini-DV tapes have a 9-pass lifespan. “Pass is defined as one trip by the video heads either in record or play or scan. Therefore, if you shoot, rewind and view, then rewind and play into an editor, you have already used up 3 of the 9 passes a mini-DV tape is good for. Certainly, a tape can be used more than 9 times but the likelihood of distortions and artifacts appearing in the video increases dramatically. When creating your budget plan for purchasing tape as an ongoing expense. A good starting point is at least two for each student and a new tape for each program you decide to produce and event you plan to tape such as games, programs, graduation, etc. Also, encourage students to keep using a tape until they reach the end of the tape rather than use the beginning of a tape over and over again and leaving the high quality second half of the tape in pristine condition.

A budget to replace consumable batteries for condenser microphones, remote controls, etc.

Next month: Level Two and Three

Phillip L. Harris taught Television Production for 34 years in Fairfax County, Virginia, before retiring in June ‘06. As a consultant, he helps to design curricula and build production facilities throughout the country. His students produced Focal Point, a 30 minute weekly magazine as well as operated Digital Wave Productions, a school-based TV production enterprise earning approx. $50K yearly to purchase new equipment. The motto of his class: “Doing the real thing, With the real thing, Training to be the real thing” is Phil’s teaching philosophy. In February, 2006, his high school textbook Television Production (http://g-w.com/products/detail.asp?id=253) was published by Goodheart-Willcox, Co., Inc. (Available in the SVN OnLine Store) Also, that year, his program received an “Exemplary” rating by the National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education at The Ohio State University. Phil is passionate about sharing his successful curriculum and facility design tips with fellow TV broadcasting instructors and, to that end, is a session presenter and contest judge at many conferences (SIPA, JEA, STN, ITEA, and ACTE to name a few). He can be reached at 703-975-7038 or at pharris11@cox.net.