I need to post a list of things that students in the Television & Video Production program won’t be able to touch from this point forward:
- 3/4″ VTRs
- Black and White Monitors
- Video Typewriters
- Amiga Computers
- Cassette Tapes
- Audio Carts
- …and more
And the reason for the inability to touch this equipment is that we’re getting rid of it all. This is what our hallway looks like right now:
The guys who have to dispose of all of this old analog gear have their work cut out for them.
While some of this equipment has served us well over the years, we’ve been replacing it with networked video servers, new character generators, iMac edit suites, and High-Def Cameras.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been assembling a “yearbook” of sorts, from the behind the scenes production photos I took during our commercial productions this term.
When everyone is back in September I’ll be taking orders if anyone wants a high-quality hardcopy version for themselves.
Summer reno time is here!
First up is a new install for TV Audio 2 to replace the old audio board with something a bit newer, including a new iMac 24″ for playback.
Thanks to all of the students and staff who volunteered their time on Sunday, as BCIT Television & Video Production took our portable production system “on the road” down to Stanley Park to handle video Production for the World Partnership Walk.
World Partnership Walk 2010
Everyone had a great time and we put on a show that the crowd really enjoyed, helping to showcase the events of the day, as well as producing short video vignettes telling “walk stories”.
Thanks to our tapeless production workflow (and some great work from our camerapeople & editors), we were able to turn the segments around and push them directly to the server for playback onto the bigscreen in a matter of minutes
Special thanks to the crew that helped bring the equipment back to the broadcast centre, and spent some time washing the mud off of the tarps and cabling.
Also, special thanks to Tim and Sandro at ProShow Vancouver for helping out with some extra broadcast cabling to make the production run even more smoothly!
For the second year, BCIT Television & Video Production will be providing volunteer live event television & video production services for the World Partnership Walk!
World Partnership Walk
We had a great time with the walk last year and both students and staff alike will be on-site in Stanley Park this Sunday, May 30th.
Come out and walk to raise money and increase awareness to fight global poverty. If you’re in the area, feel free to drop by the production tent and have a chat with us!
The regular semester has finished, and our Broadcast students are current involved in Practicum, where the Broadcast Center turns into a leaving, breathing Television station.
Television & Video Production students perform the roles of:
- News Camera (aka “Shooters”)
- News Editors
- Graphics and Animation production
- Newscast production (Director, Assistant Director, Technical Director, Audio, Floor Director, etc.)
Our Broadcast Journalism students are responsible for the stories and interviews that make up the content of our weekly BCIT Magazine production.
Practicum is an intensive 4-week process that ensures that all students get exposure to all aspects of Television & Video Production in a live environment, with the challenges and deadlines that exists in a real station.
Practicum begins another first this year, as BCIT Broadcast has installed two video servers as we move closer to gracefully retiring our tape infrastructure.
Our Facilis server is an 18 terrabyte storage server that provides us with almost 1400 hours of storage for our edit bays. The Omneon server is a play-to-air server which takes the final edited stories and allows playback through our control rooms.
Most of our aquisition and editing facilities are currently using digital tape formats, however we’re moving towards a totally tapeless workflow that allows us to go from acquisition to broadcast without any physical media (aside from memory cards) involved in the process.
Tape, old and busted…
Our Television & Video Production advisory committee, composed of broadcast and film professionals from Western Canada are very supportive of us making these changes.
Employers demand students and alumni trained in digital and tapeless production technology. BCIT delivers.
