Did you know that we have a state-of-the-art, High Definition (HD) Broadcast virtual “green screen” TV Studio, which is accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC)? To find out more, we spoke with Tony Phillips (TV Studio Manager), who told us all about this exciting new resource in the Department of Journalism.
Tony drew upon his experience of 32 years as a Video Cameraman/Editor for ITV, to design and implement an upgrade to the existing TV studio. His aim was to create a state-of-the-art HD TV studio that would give our Journalism students a realistic experience of what it is like to work both in front of and behind the camera.
The upgrade was carried out over summer 2014, and was completed in time for the new intake of students in September 2014.
As well as upgrading the studio from standard definition to full HD, the upgrade included installing some of the most modern technology used in the Broadcast industry today, with the same equipment as is being used in large broadcasting organisations such as the BBC, ITV, CH 4, Sky News, BFBS etc.
The centrepiece of this comprehensive upgrade is the NewTek Tricaster 8000, a highly advanced piece of TV studio vision mixing equipment, which is used by many of the larger TV networks in the USA. Using the Tricaster’s control interface, students working on TV productions can vision mix TV camera feeds to air, add additional video feeds from digital disk recorders and add virtual studio backdrops & props to the recording. They can even make it appear that there is a monkey or lion in the studio!
One of the most important functions the Tricaster brings to the studio is the ability to work with a “green screen”. The physical set of the studio consists of a plain green cyclorama and a green floor. The Tricaster then seamlessly superimposes virtual sets onto this green screen, making it appear as though students are in a spacious presenting studio, a busy newsroom, or even an outdoor location such as in front of a town hall or court of law.
The TV studio also uses a system called the TVU Pack, which can be used by the students to film outside the studio. This is the same system used by the BBC, Sky and Al Jazeera and uses a number of smaller Electronic News Gathering (ENG) video cameras. These ENG cameras can transmit live footage back to the studio via wireless, 4G or 3G, which can be beneficial for on-site reporting and opinion gathering, or “vox pops”. For comparison, the same activity would once have required an entire satellite news gathering truck full of broadcasting equipment (which can cost up to £300,000!).
The HD TV Studio facilities are very busy, servicing up to 100 students each week. The students record weekly 30 minute TV news programmes from very early in the academic year, rising to almost daily recordings by the end of the semester. These recordings are saved to video servers and used for teaching and assessment purposes.
The course focuses on the journalistic applications of the equipment, rather than going into depth about the functionality of the equipment itself. This approach is intended to give the students the best possible start for a career in journalism and news reporting by familiarising the students with the feel of a professional Broadcast TV studio and introducing them to technology that they might one day be called upon to use in industry. This helps to give students the edge in employment
opportunities, as representatives from various TV networks often visit the department to recruit students for placements and internships.
For more information about the Department of Journalism’s facilities, courses and history, please visit www.city.ac.uk/arts-social-sciences/journalism.
