Production Tips

EQUIPMENT OVERVIEW

CAMERAS - The Express Studio is a three-camera studio that allows you to get a variety of shots by simply being creative with three different camera angles.  The cameras are numbered 1, 2, and 3. 

A standardized shot composition for both cameras 1 and 3 would be a either a close-up or medimum shot on one particular person on stage (one camera for the host and one camera for the guest), and camera 2 would be a wide shot of the whole set.  Compositionally, this camera set-up works best for a Q & A interview program.  Ask your studio technician for other camera set-ups and options.

COPY CAM - The Copy Cam is actually a fourth camera within the studio.  It’s a small camera attached to an  arm on a flat base that’s lit by overhead florescent lights.  It’s primarily used for close-up shots of slides, photographs, posters, and flyers.  It’s located near the studio technician during your show, and with prior instructions the technician can cut to specific shots of any of these kinds of items at your cue throughout your program. 

SOURCE (or “PREVIEW”) DECK - An SVHS tape deck that that plays your pre-recorded video roll-ins throughout your program.  Once again, please consult your technician prior to the show to check correct roll-in cue times and total running times for each tape segment submitted.

            NOTE:  All roll-ins MUST be recorded in SP speed or the deck will not read them correctly.

RECORD (or “EDIT”) DECK - An SVHS tape deck that records your show onto a videotape that becomes your master tape. 

            NOTE:  Purchases of master tapes must be made prior to the shooting of your show. 

AUDIO BOARD - All audio from the talent, CD player, cassette deck, and the source deck will pass through this audio mixer, then out to the record deck, allowing the technician to mix any of those audio inputs independently from one another or all together allowing for smooth fades and/or mixed audio integrations.

            NOTE:  The audio board has a maximum of FIVE microphone inputs.

LAVALIER MICS - Small inconspicous microphones that attach to your clothing around the collar area.  These microphones are the most widely used in the Expess Studio.

OMNI MIC - A hand-held directional microphone best used to interview a mutitude of guests at one time or to give the host better freedom of movement on stage.

CD & CASSETTE PLAYERS - Both are seperate units that you can use for greater audio options during your show.

RECORD MONITOR - This 25” TV monitor faces the stage allowing all the talent to see the visual flow of the program as it happens.

AMIGA COMPUTER/SCALA - This is a computer that is used for character generation (CG), which creates titles and credits for your program.  Your technician can create these titles prior to taping.

            NOTE:  To ensure that ALL your credits are are correctly completed, please give your studio technician a typed-written or legible script of each item to be added into your program at least a half an hour prior to taping.

COMMON TERMS

MASTER - A master tape is the original tape shot during production.

DUB - A copy of your master tape.

GENERATION - Distance from the original master tape, in terms of how many times it has been dubbed, from dubs.

HI-FI (HIGH FIDELITY) - Every Express Studio show is recorded in HIFI audio.  This means that the audio signal being recorded onto the master videotape is not only imbedded into the tape’s two existing audio tracks, but also into its VIDEO TRACK portion.  Recording in HIFI gives the sound a much truer and bolder tonality while maintaining the integrity of your audio over a longer period of time.

BARS & TONE - At the beginning of every tape created at BCM you will find 30 seconds of bars and tone, and 30 seconds of black before the first frame of a program begins.  Colorbars of a video signal signify a standard color test containing the primary and secondary colors used in television broadcasts, plus black and white.  These color bars guide your studio technician for setting all the correct color calabrations between the cameras.  The audible tone applied to the color bars represents a constant audio frequency signal set at 0 dB (decibels) also put in place to calabrate, but only for all audio inputs.

DECIBEL (dB) - A unit of measure applied to both sound and electrical signals, based on a logarithmic scale.

TRT (TOTAL RUNNING TIME) - Length of final program from first frame to final frame.  In Express Studio production, the TRT will either be 28:00 minutes or 58:00 minutes depending on then length of the time slot reserved. 

            NOTE:  To reserve special extended time slots over an hour please contact the Programming Director when you sign up for the slot.

WHITE BALANCE - After each camera has been calabrated to color bars, the technician will perform a “white balance” on each camera, which involves focusing each camera into a white board and setting a reference for reading the color white.  In the Express Studio, the overhead lighting grid is made up of bright florescent lights, and under this kind of lighting, cameras read their immediate environments with a blue hue.  (An effect caused by the temperature of florescent lighting)  By doing a white balance, the blue hue is eliminated by giving the cameras a reference for white and then adjusts all other colors accordingly.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN MAKING RESERVATIONS

NO eating or drinking in the studio except talent, which may have water at a table on stage.

Studio reservations must be reserved at least 14 days in advance and confirmed with a staff person.

Cancellations must be made 14 days in advance and must be made in person or over the phone with a staff person (DO NOT LEAVE A VOICE MAIL MESSAGE, YOU MUST SPEAK WITH SOMEONE)  Failure to cancel propery will result in a minor violation.

You must be present at least a half-hour before the show is set to air.  If you are late or do not show at all you will recieve a minor violation.

Reservations are limited to 3 a month.

You must have an active program proposal on file to reserve a slot.

May reserve a show:

            Single show - 4 weeks in advance.

            Series show - 13 weeks in advance.

If you have any questions, please see a BCM staff member or consult the BCM Red Book.

BERKELEY COMMUNITY MEDIA HOURS

Monday - Thursday 1:30 pm - 9 pm, Friday 5:00 pm - 9 pm, Saturday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm.

TO CANCEL RESERVATIONS OR CONTACT STAFF VIA PHONE CALL:  510-848-2288 EXT. 10