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Cameras: News and Updates
| Texas High School's Broadcast Journalism Program, Based on Panasonic AVCCAM Acquisition, Generates Content for Texarkana Cable Supplier's Educational and Government Channels By Staff posted Dec 10, 2009, 09:12 |
Texas High School's Broadcast Journalism Program, Based on Panasonic AVCCAM Acquisition, Generates Content for Texarkana Cable Supplier's Educational and Government Channels
Sophisticated New Performance Studio Features AG-HPX300 P2 HD Camcorders, AV-HS400A Multi-Format Switcher and PT-DW10000U HD Projectors
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On location. Photo courtesy of Texas High School.
(Secaucus, NJ) Texas High School (Texarkana, TX) will debut a new state-of-the-art performance space, the Sullivan Performing Arts Center and John Thomas Theatre, which features three Panasonic AG-HPX300 P2 HD camcorders outfitted for studio use, an AV-HS400A HD/SD switcher and two PT-DW10000U 10000 lumen 1080p DLP projectors. In addition to Jazz Band, drama and choir performances, the new theatre will present the multifaceted work of many of the high school's 220 broadcast journalist students, who shoot their projects on Panasonic AG-HMC150 professional handheld AVCCAM camcorders.
On location. Photo courtesy of Texas High School.
The broadcast program, named TigerVision in honor of the school mascot, began
in 1989 as an elective class for students to learn video production. At the
time, the students worked with second-hand video gear. Since then, TigerVision
has grown into a highly-supported, award-winning program whose output airs on
four channels, including three CableOne (the local cable supplier) channels
and one on-campus closed-circuit channel. TigerVision students compete annually
on a national level through organizations such as STN-Student Television Network,
Channel One News and many others.
On location. Photo courtesy of Texas High School.
"Thanks to our Board of Trustees and Superintendent James Henry Russell, over
the past 20 years, as TigerVision has expanded in terms of enrollment and curriculum,
we've been able to ride the technology curve as well," said Charles Aldridge,
faculty director of the program. "When our students leave us, they are absolutely
prepared to further their broadcast education, and we want them to be working
on 'real-world' gear here. The HDV camcorders weren't measuring up in terms
of professional controls, especially audio, and we wanted to go tapeless."
On location. Photo courtesy of Texas High School.
"Based on our years of positive experience with Panasonic cameras, we checked
out the AVCCAM models," Aldridge continued. "The HMC150 delivers most of the
controls you'd find on a full-scale ENG camera, including the two XLR audio
inputs, which gets us away from consumer-level audio. The camcorder is tapeless,
lightweight, cost-effective and uses widely available, low-cost SD media. We
promptly purchased an additional four HMC150s, and once the kids got their hands
on them, they never touched the tape cameras again!"
Texas High School students can begin studying broadcast journalism as early
as eighth grade (TigerVision Junior). Upperclassmen (10th grade and above) take
"Basics of Shooting" and "Learning to Shoot ENG" classes that rely on the HMC150s
for instruction. Content creation is largely the purview of 11th and 12th graders,
and ranges from the "Eye of the Tiger" magazine-style show to locker-room coverage
to stories about civic events to producing the Miss Texas High School. Stories
can air on multiple channels, including the school's closed-circuit network,
and CableOne's educational (TEACH Texarkana) and government access channels.
TigerVision also produces a bulletin board channel for CableOne.
"CableOne has been instrumental in TigerVision's growth," said Aldridge, "even
to the extent of hooking up a fiber optic connection between us and their head-end."
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