Gear Guide

INTRODUCING:

The best production is only possible with the best equipment, the reality of school budgets are such that every cent counts. This gear guide brings you what we believe to be the best value equipment in the market place. The equipment has also been chosen because of it's suitability for the school environment, its ease of operation and proximity to an industry standard.

Disclaimer

School Torque or Schools Broadcasting Australia P/L accepts no responsibility or liability for your choice of equipment or for it's suitability for your application

We recommend that you consult widely and shop around. You can if you wish make use of our consultation services.

School Torque recommends John Barry Group for sales, service and advice for anything related to the area of video production.

Contact Vince Clark 02 9439 6955

THE SUITE

Cameras

Entry level

PV-GS 120 3 Chip DV Camera from Panasonic

There are many low cost DV cameras in the market place. Most of them are great units. Some have cut costs by making support gear like chargers optional ie you have to pay extra for one if you want one.

Batteries can be charged in the camera itself but this ties up the camera when charging. Most importantly if cameras are to be used for school production purposes they will need to have separate microphone inputs and headphone outputs.

We also suggest getting a long life battery when purchasing your camera

The PV-GS 120 camera from Panasonic is currently the best entry level camera on the block. As an added bonus it is a three chip camera for the same cost as some single chip cameras.

Pro Level

The XM2 camera from Canon is the camera we recommend for use for senior high school video production. this camera is far more professional in it's config. giving easy access to audio levels, iris control, focus, gain control as well as many other pro functions.

The camera has a 20 times optical lens and the 3 chip sensors give fantastic picture quality.

Tripods

Manfrotto for light weight tripods

Don't skimp on the tripod At the end of the day you can have the best camera but if your tripod doesn't cut it your footage will suffer. For larger cameras invest in a professional fluid head tripod - (typically starting around $1000 Aust. mark.)

Manfrotto make a range of cheaper tripods suitable for Mini DV cameras we recommend the 3001 tripod with a Quick Release Micro Fluid Head (pictured)

Editing

The Emac from Apple: still the most cost effective solution

To cut cost Apple have reduced the amount of ram that comes standard with the computer. We recommend at least 512 Meg ram for effective video editing. Add this to your quoted cost from your Apple dealer.Emacs come with imovie, and entry level editor as standard.

Editing Software

We recommend the following:

'Final Cut Pro' from Apple and 'Premier' from Adobe for editing. 'After Effects' from Adobe for advanced editing and compositing. 'Photoshop' from Adobe for graphics and 'Lightwave' from Newtec for 3D animation. You will also need to inquire about site licences. Education prices apply and the Adobe products come bundled at reduced rates.

Vision Switchers

The AW SW350 Vision Switcher from Panasonic

The vision switcher is the heart of any multi-camera system it allows you to select any input source (camera or vcr) and switch it to the program output. Essential for live production - news, drama, dance, etc. This switcher has 5 inputs of either composite or Y/C video. It also has the ability to cut, fade, wipe or luma key. Looped outputs can be used to feed inputs to monitors. A very robust unit.

MULTI-CAMERA

The natural extension in developing a video production suite is the development of multi camera capability. A vision switcher enables you to switch vision from one of several camera covering the same event.

Some of these devices also give you the ability to perform fades, cuts, wipes, digital effect e.g. strobe mosaic, paint, down stream keying, chroma key and luma key. Some lower end vision switchers also include a inbuilt audio mixer.

CONSIDER YOUR NEEDS

If your school is developing it's media facility, you may want to ask yourself some or all of the following questions:-

• What gear do I need to achieve the required educational outcomes? Does the functionality of the piece of gear being considered allow me to double up on educational outcomes? Simple question but if you can double up functions you may be ahead.
• How many students need to access the gear at any given time? and therefore How many production units will I need?
• How big is the production space?
• What level of power is available to the site? (number of circuits, 3 phase or 240 volts).
• Do I need to hang stuff in the air? If so......how?
• Do I need to blackout the environment?
• What level of support do I have if something goes wrong?
• Is there other interested teachers in helping to develop the facility?
• Am I able to expand on the gear I buy to further develop facility?
• What is my development plan?
• Is new equipment compatible with the gear I already have? Is that important?
• Is a repaint needed? Studio walls are usually black . This allowing better control of lighting
• What are the hidden costs e.g. cables, plug boards, tapes, colour gels etc.?
• What are the costs of setting up the space for accommodating the equipment eg shelving benches etc.?
• What about security?
• What are the operational costs associated with you equipment choice? These extra costs are generally not great, but they are annoying if you haven't included them in your budget!!!!....Once The Boss has spent, its often blood from a stone value to get extra to cover misc. expenses.
• What are the operational procedures I need to put into place to make the facility work? student access outside class time? tape management?, hard drive space management ? monitoring of student use of facility and of materials produced. (Last thing you want is for student to produce inappropriate material.)

Take the worry out of setting up your media facility.

At SCHOOL TORQUE we offer a complete consultation service to schools wishing to develop their media facilities. Every school needs a plan of development that provides a cost effective, user friendly and expandable solution for their electronic production needs.

With 20 years experience in media education we are the experts!!!

Contact Al Ellis 02 9545 4847 email: alellis@ozemail.com.au

For more info contact Al Ellis Ph 02 9522 8855, Fax 02 9545 4637 or Mob 0402 076 866 email: alellis@ozemail.com.au