Radio and Television/How to setup a RadTV Program

At the beginning

It's hard to help someone begin a Radio and Television program without first knowing how much access to funds and equipment they have. I fundamentally believe that this class could be taught with access to only one computer and one camera, but in an ideal world students will have access to some equipment. Below is a recommendation of how much to acquire in the way of equipment (or maybe better stated, what to acquire and in what order.

Starting from Nothing

In order to begin teaching something about Radio and Television Production, you are going to need something that records both video and sound, and have some device to edit the video and sound with. Luckily for the modern teacher, many of our students carry around such a device in their pockets everyday (Their Smartphone!). This is a good place to start, especially if grants and funding have yet to kick in.

Mid-Sized New Media Program

This is really the size program I am trying to focus on. Many of us, especially at small schools, will never have the funds to move beyond programs of this size, but that does not mean that these students are any less deserving in a high quality media literacy program

Student Needs

I have a few recommendations about what Students need to add to a back to school shopping list to make a program run smoothly

Musts

• Recording Media (Normally SD Cards, ideally of high speed and capacity)
• A scratch disk (Either a portable hard drive, portable solid state drive, or assigned storage space space on a networked server)

Good Ideas

• Headphones
• A smartphone

Facility Needs

• Computers capable of editing HD Video
• Cameras
• Camera Stabilizers (Tripods, Gimbals, etc.)
• A variety of Microphones (for field and studio recording)
• A green screen or Infinity wall.
• Lighting equipment (a Cheap LED set will get you started)
• Internet Access
• Editing software (Preferably Adobe, or something with transferable professional skills)

Large Schools with a TV Studio

A functional TV studio at a university.

It is my sincere hope that as many of us will never have access to facilities like yours at the high school level, that you come from a career in Broadcast television, and are well versed in the equipment you have been given. For assistance in making future purchasing decisions, I recommend working with industry connections and vendors. For most of you, this textbook will be a framework that you will have to adapt to the amount of expensive toys you have.