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In the beginning I had ten Canon Elura 100s to run my broadcast program at Ronald E. McNair High School. Two were heisted over the past few years. Of the eight remaining, two have tape carriage problems and three (not the same ones of course) had the threads stripped in the tripod holes. The latter is fixable…just drill out and insert a slightly larger bushing with the correct diameter threads for the tripod (thanks to Larry Nance for his suggestions and a couple of samples).
Now…I have to make a rather quick decision about whether to fix the cameras with carriage problems or purchase new. Now these cameras can still be used for still photos (I do have a couple of assignments that require stills only)…so what to do?
The cost of a Canon fixit via mail runs around $160 including shipping. Been there done that and they do a good basic job. Pretty quickly too – in time for school in a few weeks.
Now for the hard part (oh I dread this) – checking out what is on the market. Used to be simple.
But there’s more out there and many more formats. Mini DV, flash cards, hard drives, DVD. Personally I reject the hard drive and DVD camcorders. The latter is a gimmick – the only real use I would have for them is shooting sports when I need to do a quick turnaround and get copies out for other teams. Camcorders that record to hard drive would cause issues in determining who shot what – I will have two periods of about 36 students each this coming term (July-December and then a second batch of 72 in the spring). Tapes and flash cards allow the media to be labeled with student names and removed from the camera.
So here goes. My dream camera would have the following:
Removable media
Manual iris/aperature, focus, white balance
Mike input (and I think this will be the issue this time out)
Decent zoom (15x or more)
Headset out to monitor sound
Variable shutter speed
Top loaded (if tape)
I’m not concerned about the CCD/CMOS size…they’ve gotten better over the past few years. I am very concerned about the non-tape cameras being compatible with my antiquated eMacs.
So now on to my favorite photo site in the whole universe – B&H Photo Video to check the specs.
So here goes…first choose “Camcorders,” then “Standard Def,” cause I don’t think our eMacs can handle high def. I’m checking out both Mini DV and Flash formats. “Standard” camcorders (we can’t afford even Prosumer). I’m not choosing an optical zoom…want to see pricing first. LCD size is not an issue. And I’m not choosing a price range…want to see what you get for the bottom/top ends.
My choices are two Aipteks ($59 and $89), eleven Canons ranging from around $219 to $599, six DXGs from $79 to $89, six JVCs from $179 to $269, ten Panasonics from $149 to $359, nine Samsungs from $149 to $299, four Sanyos from $174 to $219, and eight Sonys from $229 to $329. Fifty two possible candidates.
Now to choose which features I have to have. Manual controls and mike input/headset out. Let’s see what makes the cut this time.
1:07pm
All Sonys eliminated. The flash card versions have virtually no manual control and no mike input. The mini dv version has the manual control, but no mike input.
1:09pm
All Sanyos off the list – minimal anything I need.
1:18pm
Samsungs eliminated
This is getting frustrating…I’ve made note of some models that almost have what I want in both mini dv and flash card…but no mike inputs so far.
1:24pm
Panasonics and JVCs eliminated. Interesting to note that many of the flash camcorders have few if any manual controls.
1:25pm
Not even going to consider the DXGs…all they have are 4x digital zooms.
1:26pm
Success – of sorts. The Canon ZR930 has a mike input, but no still ability. Its says no headset input, but I’ve found in the past that the AV port takes a headset (no guarantees). Manual focus and exposure…not white balance. Cost is around $199.00.
1:30pm
More success, but at a price. The Canon FS22 flash camcorder has it all for $599. Let’s see – one of these or three of the 930s?
1:33pm
The Canon ZR960 has nearly everything – lacking still capability – $244.
The ZR950 does stills, but has no mike input – $219.
1:38pm
A few more – FS21 has what I want at $499, as does the FS200 for $319, and the FS11 for $349.
Kind of glad to see Canon still makes cameras with options…and I’m hoping the chargers and batteries can cross over. I try to keep everything the same brand because if I lose something or something goes down, chargers and batteries and remotes (etc) can be substituted.
On to the final brand.
1:41pm
That was quick – Aiptek eliminated due to digital only zooms.
Now the internal debate: what do I really need to teach properly? Do I need cheap cameras so as many students as possible can be shooting/editing? In other words just a point and shoot? Do I want more – manual controls so students can learn a bit of what the professionals do? Mike inputs?
A lesson learned during the workshop I taught at San Joaquin Delta College this summer was that using professional editing software made the difference. Students saw the power and possibilities. They didn’t have Final Cut Pro at home and would never have even guessed at what they could do without the three day exposure this workshop gave them.
It’s time to sit back and consider these things…I have my meeting with my principal tomorrow and want to be clear in my head what I am teaching and what I expect students to learn so I can make the argument for the gear that will do the job.
The header above is from the mountain madness trip I just returned from. That blonde head and cocked ear belong to VJ Kathleen Newell. Her subject – John Voss, proprietor of the Caples Lake Resort. Kathy helps John with his blog, among others.
She’s a mountain girl and enthusiastic do-gooder and environmentalist. We are twinned opposites in many ways. I’m old, dumpy, married (very happily) and a teacher. She is younger, energetic and always looking for new mountains to climb – both literally and figuratively. We’re both survivors of 28 years each in the world of media madness. And neither of us knows how to live without a camera in hand and a laptop stashed nearby.
That trip we were on involved the “mom-mobile,” a 2003 dusty old Dodge Grand Caravan with all the rear seats taken out to hold more gear than we can to admit to. The personal bags were the least of it – I think we each took less than enough to fit into a grocery bag.
But the tech stuff – two three chip cameras (a Sony and a JVC GY-DV300), three (I think) low enders for grab shots, a Olympus Evolt 300 for stills. Two laptops, a million cables, four tripods, one monopod, reflectors…and more. And that’s traveling light. Didn’t bring the light kits or mikes (beyond a stick and her wireless). Oh – and one ice chest and enough food to last a few days. And fishing gear (hers). Camp chairs. One air mattress (I refuse to sleep on the ground any more) Sleeping bags.
Back to the van – common stuff in the back (camping stuff, bags, etc).
The van is nifty cause she could slide her passenger door open and have easy access to her goodies and I had my stuff on the driver’s side. Very fast and no confusion.
So we were organized and had fun. Part of this trip is an escape from the daily drudge. We both miss news and travel and meeting people. Me – I’m stuck in Lodi. Kathy – she is looking for new adventures, other roads to travel. But our roads occasionally diverge and we travel a short distance together. As all friends do…
Life is GOOD.
In the past few days something in the universe clicked and said, “Let’s be kind to Cyndy.”
Yesterday I went into my TV studio at McNair High School and the district techies were meeting with the contractor who is wiring me up so we can send a signal campus-wide for daily bulletin. Been waiting two years for this to happen.
Then Brian Harrower, our theater manager, came in and hung two of my 1K Arris on the light grid and hooked up to the lighting control panel.
In the meantime I’d pulled all of the equipment and cables out of the control room and was cleaning and setting things up in a more organized manner for school this year…buddy Kathy Newell was down helping and she figured out that the Focus Enhancement MX-4 switcher was NOT broken…the kids had just punched about every special effect they could and it took her more than half an hour to sequence through everything to reset it.
Finally – and this is big – I went in this afternoon and THERE WAS A HOLE IN THE CONTROL ROOM WALL!!!
Another battle won! Steve, the contractor with Bright Wire Corp had gotten the OK to cut a hole and fit it so I have a place to run cables from control room to studio. Up until now we’re been propping the door and running cables thru it. Not practical cause noise comes out of the CR and there’s always the danger of cables getting clipped if the door shuts.
So this year Ronald E. McNair High School starts the year with a fully functional, professional control room and studio.
Oh – and the final Whoopeee is I won’t have to teach English or non-broadcasting classes out of the studio, as I have the past two years. Explained to my principal that would entail spending half of each broadcast class dragging desks/furniture out of the way and back so we’d have room to do studio work. He said check with the VP, but he was okay with me teaching one class in a real classroom.
And Newell and I are heading to the hills for a couple more days of girl time with cameras before I settle back into my role as mom/wife/teacher.
Once again, life is sweet.
Nothing like being lazy. Yesterday I sent Angela Grant a response to one of her reader’s questions and she posted it, thus saving me some time and effort.
The focus: how to hook a prosumer camera into a “mult” box for a feed.
Explanation for non-newies and wanna-be newsies.
Prosumer (or consumer) cameras do not come with the high quality shielded cables and connectors of professional gear. They come with mini-jack audio and RCA audio/video inputs/outputs.
Mult box – basically a box or even suitcase that can take a single feed in from a camera and microphone which has multiple audio and video outputs. These are almost always professional connectors – so BNC video and XLR audio. The audio can be either line or mike level.
Feed – what is sounds like. Think piranhas in a feeding frenzy. Ya have a big story and only one camera is allowed inside…so they feed their signal out to the mult box and everyone else hooks in and records what the single camera is sending. I’ve seen mult boxes daisy-chained together so that up to thirty or forty media organizations can take a feed.
So take a meander over to Angela’s site today…and stick around for future posts. The lady has a good thing going.
For the past couple of years I’ve been casually working on my “book.” (Yeah Lens…I know. Every journalist has a book inside him – and that’s where it should stay.)
This whole thing began more than five years ago when Larry Nance and I sat down and tried to design a workbook for a class we wanted to put on at our local community college. It has morphed, been field tested, and is expanding to a point where I don’t think we can call it a workbook any more. Now Larry and I are both VERY experienced (read aging) and need to finish our epic within our life spans…and Kathy Newell has hopped on board to help out.
What WAS a workbook about video production in general is now (nearly) a textbook focusing on videojournalism aimed at high schools (maybe a bit higher/maybe a bit lower). It is a combination of hands-on exercises, lessons, and a bit of ethics, history, and law thrown in.
What I need now is some input from you teachers (and learners) out there. Here is (tentatively) what’s in the book, by chapter. YOU tell me what isn’t in there that you want/need.
Controlling Chaos
Objectives
The New Paradigm
Where We’ve Been
- One Minute History of Journalism
- Photojournalism
-A Slice in Time/history of broadcast cameramen
What’s the Law?
- First Amendment
- Hazelwood, Tinker, and Bong Hits 4 Jesus
- Open Forum v. Class
Beyond Law: Ethics
- Overview
- Professional Codes of Ethics
- Scenarios
What changes and what doesn’t (gear vs. process)
Gear
- Tape
- Other media
- Camera(s)
- Tripods
- Mikes
- Lights
- Other accessories
Composition
- Rule of Thirds
- Weighing In On Light and Dark
- Strong Foregrounds
Light
– The Color of Light
– The Hand Trick
– Natural Light
– Supplemental Lights
– Light Experiment
– Light Summary
Audio
– Audio as an Equal Partner
– Mikes
– Nats
– Miking an Interview or Standup
– Listen and Monitor
– Shooting/editing tips to save bad audio
– Highs and Hazards of Music
Shooting
– Procedures
– Basic shots
– Axis Rule
– Sequencing
– Patterns
– Angles
– In-camera editing
– Shooting ratios
– Interview Framing
Shooting Interviews
– Implied consent
– Conducting an interview
– Checklist for interviews
Boring But Gotta Be Done: Logging Tape
Producing Order from Chaos: Writing the Script
- Storytelling
- Beginning/Middle/End
- Hit Audience with Strongest First
- Objective Voice
- VJ Voice
Narration
– Reading narration properly
Editing
– Overview and Media Management
– Editing video
– Editing Sound
– Adding Titles
– Narration
– B-roll
– Covering an Interview
– Using Stills (and Freeze Frames)
Assignments
– Basic shots
– Interview
– Simple assignment
– Field story
– Research PowerPoint
– Data Collection
Forms
Terms and definitions
Resources
Handouts
Basic Camera Diagram/parts
Basic Tripod Diagram/parts
Right now I’m down to the hard stuff (for me)…stuff VJs do every day, but is hard to define – hard to tie down. I’ve been able, through this blog, to analyze a lot of what I did in broadcast news…except the writing. Even production is easier. But it is coming together. I wish I could remember who said that writing cannot be taught – it must be learned. At the time I saw that quote, I felt the same way about shooting and editing.
Tomorrow I meet with my two co-authors/collaborators. We’ll discuss what needs to be done to finish up, what illustrations we’ll need and how to go about acquiring them, how we will publish and distribute.
But we’re keeping our ears open for your input – what do YOU need/want in a textbook. Let us know.
Mexicanos, viva Mexico! Mexican independence from Spain is celebrated today. And no, don’t correct me by saying that Cinco de Mayo is the day. The fight to regain their country began in 1810 on the 16th of September. The new government took power in 1821 after more than ten years of fighting.
But those pesky Europeans weren’t to be kept away that easily…they came back in force (Spaniards, British and French) to collect debts (and land if they could grab it). Cinco de Mayo celebrates a victory against the French forces, which did not accept warrants guaranteeing eventual repayment.
Enough history for now. I’ve been collecting ideas and scraps of newspaper (yeah…I am one of those) that have tickled my mind. It’s time to bring them out for exposure and discussion. If the first segment dithers on, here’s what will crawl across your retina this morning:
*remedial classes for entering college freshmen
*support my favorite author
*a weighty issue regarding VJ gear
“College spend billions to prep freshmen.” That’s a headline in my local rag over an AP story. Now there’s a story worthy of any high school paper…and it can be localized easily. Students graduating from high schools with high grades who need to take remedial courses. Who’s at fault for students not learning? First off – I heartily commend the colleges for refusing to lower their standards. If a student can’t hack it, they should not take full college fare. Remedial classes help them catch up.
Now the snipe hunt begins. Let’s blame the high school teachers – they were the last to have hands on and pass these kids. Oops…but the high school teachers say they’re getting kids out of middle schools who are unprepared. And the finger-pointing goes all the way down the path, including uninvolved parents and society in general.
Take a look around at your school or school district. Find out how many of your local college-bound students hit the hard wall of reality and have to take remedial courses just to understand and pass those regular classes. Is grade inflation at the high school level to blame…poor teaching…poor communication of what colleges expect? Let me know when you get the story.
Ever diverging and crossing paths. 1974 – I land my first job as a TV news photog and get the night shift and reporter Joann Lee. One intense year for both of us in the trenches…she with at least two or three more months on the job than me. We developed the kind of bond that can last a life-time, based on our unique status as only cameraWOman and Asian in our jobs at that time in the Northern California region.
In Sunday’s SF Chronicle (9/14/08) there’s a review of her second book, written in a style she excels at – the interview. “Asian Americans in the Twenty-First Century.” Haven’t read it yet, but will always support my local (or very distance yet close) author.
Head scratcher: why are TV stations converting photogs to VJs and hiring new folks as VJs and MAKING THEM DO THE SAME DAMN JOB THEY DO ALREADY? Plus, of course, more. Got this from perusing numerous job sites.
Newspapers have it right to some extent. Videojournalism is all about being portable and being able to shoot and produce on your own.
Broadcasters are sending their crew (or is it person now?) out with the live truck, the twenty or thirty pound camera with heavy tripod, light kit. The works. Why?
In the 1970s a cameraman shot with a reporter…sometimes they were lucky and had a sound person. With live trucks came engineers (bless them).
Well some smartie figures out that cameramen could run live trucks. Ouch. Job pressure and danger increased…all that running back and forth between live shot and truck. One station (KXTV) lost a fine photojournalist – Dick Terry when in the rush between truck and shot he fell and impaled a stake through his eye. Trooper that he was, he did the live shot and THEN went on for medical care. He didn’t make it.
Now the job of reporting and shooting and editing and running the live truck all fall on one person.
Come on – just give us (well, really your employees) a break. Quit living in a world where you have to impress folks with the size and cost of your gear and look at quality and weight and portability. You may be surprised at the results. Happy people work harder.
Oh – and rethink that live truck policy too.
Uh-oh. 6:25am and time to skedaddle to school. But before I go – why the heck am I getting so many hits for folks looking up “three daughters” online? Baffling. If you’re one of them, let me know.
Hardware and camera stores are bad for my budget. Yesterday I wandered into my local camera store (Wolfes…the only full service camera store around since Gluskins went out of business a few months back), intending to pick up a filter for my HV20.
Wouldn’t you know they don’t carry what they call “camcorder” filters. Which means my little buddy with its 43mm thread wouldn’t be getting a facelift today.
But – oops. I did need a few batteries for my lav mike. Done.
And a lens cleaning kit – good idea/something in a nice hard case I can toss in my bag.
Hey – what’s that? A mountable grip that will hold two accessories! Wow. Gotta have that.
So for the price of a good filter, I got off cheap and escaped before I started looking at cameras…hmmmm.
Today I’m playing with putting old toys together with the new toys. I haven’t been able to easily use my wireless with the HV20 because there was no real way to mount it. With a little work I can glue a shoe to the receiver and run a short XLR to mini-jack plug to the camera.
I can also add an on-camera light or shotgun. The camera itself has a shoe holder, but since the wireless receiver is longer than the camera…well, that sure won’t work.
Now I can add up to three accessories! Wheeee! For about $15 it might make sense to get more of these for the Elura 100s we use in the classroom.
The nice thing is that the grip and accessories add heft to the camera…it feels more real. And hopefully it will impress the heck out of my hapless victims and I won’t be mistaken for Grandma Green – again.
Photos added later…gotta run to prep for the 48FP.
Sissy the Space Cat
From photokaboom, a camera that you can clip to your pet’s collar. You can set it to shoot at intervals and see what Fido and Fluffy have really been up to while you were at work.
Hmmmm….wonder if it will work with Robby the Rooster?
How do you secure your extension and other electrical cords? I use those little elastic bands with hard plastic balls that I used to tie my girls’ hair up when they were little.
Another favorite for organization is freezer ziplock bags. (Don’t use sandwich bags – they are too flimsey.) Quart size hold cords and mikes. Larger sizes you can put a whole mini-camera kit into. Plus they make good emergency rain jackets (just make sure you use the clear ones/not the blue ones).
White balance on a cloud? Hey – white balance is like Switzerland. If it’s neutral, you can white balance on it. Asphalt, tennis shoes…just don’t do teeth. Ya never know.
And finally, this almost-a-posting from last spring: After a dry spell in postings, the garden is in…finals getting graded…and the gnomes are springing up all over the property. Take a look above to see how farm critters response to a rootin tootin garden gnome. (…yeah, it’s spring and I’m feeling silly…)
There…all my little notes to myself are out of the draft drawer and posted for all to see.
July 18 – Sometimes I type so fast I forget that visuals would help. Just added a few extra. Enjoy.
Just posted a piece about tripods on Angela Grant’s newsvideographer.com. More of a technical look than what i’ve done here in the past – parts of the beast with explanation.
Another one coming up sometime this week on where some of the terms we toss about everyday come from…bins, clips, A and B roll. I’ll post that link when she publishes it.
Newsvideographer.com just published the A roll, B roll, C roll posting. If you’re a bit of a history/definition buff, take a look.
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