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
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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