This week several members of the Bryant community will be heading out to Las Vegas to attend two international events.
The team is attending the NAB Trade Show, which last year hosted more than 100,000 people from 163 countries and featured 1,600+ exhibitors. Later in the week, they will give a presentation at the Broadcast Education Association’s (BEA) Annual Conference. The BEA is an international professional association for educators, students, industry professionals and enthusiasts who are interested in electronic media and multimedia enterprises.
At the BEA Conference, Communication Student Brian Ko, Professor Tom Dooley and Studio Manager Dan Greene will present information about how Bryant developed and expanded its media offerings - from building a digital TV studio and post-production editing capabilities, to updating its radio station and adding the latest innovations in streaming media.
Saturday April 19, 2008 – Today was the big day
Posted By: Media Production President Brian Ko & Professor Tom Dooley
Our presentation at the Broadcast Education Association conference. Our time slot was 10:30 AM. Considering that ours was one of eight different presentations during that time slot, we were pleasantly surprised by the size of our audience.
In our presentation, entitled “Building a Comprehensive Media Program in a Small Institution,” we each spoke about the areas we knew best. Dan Greene led off, describing the technology we use in our TV studio and radio station. Next, Prof Dooley discussed our courses, internships, and other opportunities for career-minded Comm students. Finally, Brian Ko spoke about our Media Production Club and his experiences as a Comm student. While students from other schools attended the conference, Brian was the only student to actually give a presentation, and we’re really proud of that!
NAB and BEA have been great learning experiences, but we’re all ready to come back home to Bryant and begin applying what we’ve learned. Thanks for following our blog this week. (To view excerpts of our presentation, click the link for our video blog.)
Dan, Phil, Brian and Tom – signing off.
CLICK HERE - To view our daily video blog.
Friday April 18, 2008 – Our last full day at BEA
Posted By: Media Production President Brian Ko
We have heard that everyone is excited about our blog but some have asked, “What is BEA?” so for those who aren’t familiar - BEA is the Broadcast Education Association, which is a professional association for professors, industry professionals and students who are interested in teaching and research related to electronic media and multimedia enterprises.
In attending the sessions today, I was amazed at the vast number of schools from across the country that are represented here. A few schools I noticed included the University of Oklahoma, Michigan University, Quinnipiac, Boston College, DePauw University, Northwestern, Penn State, California State, University of Florida and many, many more
There were over 50 academic and industry related sessions to choose from including training classes, meetings, job fairs and student media competitions all related to radio, TV, streaming and Journalism. Dan, Phil, Professor Dooley and I split up so that we could cover as many sessions as we could. We agreed that after the conference we would get together to compare notes and reach out to the contacts we made.
Some of the sessions I attended today included:
-Creating Powerful Content for Radio, News and the New Media Frontiers
-Small College Festival Awards
-10 Seconds of Fame with YouTube
I found many of the sessions interesting and motivational and gained some insight that will be helpful to me in creating productions and working with the Media Production Club.
We finished off the day with a District Meeting and discussed having a regional meeting in October in NYC. One of the highlights proposed for the two day event is a trip to see the Daily Show and touring a local school that has a High-Definition studio. We also discussed how we can get more students involved.
Tomorrow, we will be attending more sessions and presenting on Bryant’s Communication program from a technical, course development and student perspective.
Wish me luck and don’t forget to tune in tomorrow!
CLICK HERE - To view our daily video blog.
Thursday April 17, 2008 – The last day of NAB & our first day at BEA
Posted By: Professor Tom Dooley
Transition was the theme of today’s activities at NAB / BEA in Las Vegas. While the NAB show was winding down, the BEA (Broadcast Education Association) conference was ramping up. Fortunately, both were housed within the same convention complex, so we were able to move back and forth between them easily.
At NAB, Brian and I went for our final Chyron session and made last minute visits to some vendors that we hadn’t gotten around to visit. At the same time, we began activities at BEA, viewing student work from other Communication programs and comparing notes with faculty from these other schools. Brian noticed that he was not alone - students from other colleges and universities were sprinkled throughout the crowd. He came up with a great idea for next year’s BEA – a mixer type event for students only, so they could network with each other, discuss their schools’ programs, and compare their own career ambitions. Tomorrow, Brian will propose his idea when we participate in the Northeast regional meeting at the conference.
Our planned transition from SD to HD (High Definition) in our TV studio was also a focus today, as we met with vendors to discuss various options for making that upgrade. For TV viewers, switching to HD is relatively simple – just buy the new TV and hook it up. However, changing over to HD is not as simple on the production side, so we are trying to learn as much about it as possible before we take that plunge.
Tomorrow, it will be all BEA all day. Come back and read what happened in our next installment.
Viva Las Vegas!
Prof Dooley
CLICK HERE - To view our daily video blog.
Wednesday April 16, 2008 - Our Second day at NAB
Posted By: Media Production President Brian Ko
This morning Professor Dooley and I changed hotels to be closer to the convention site, and then took a cab to the convention center.
Professor Dooley went for advanced training on the Chyron CG system while Phil, Dan and I researched tapeless HD field cameras. Our first stop was the Panasonic pavilion. We found several models that record to SD cards; the same cards that are used in most personal digital cameras. The only problem with these cameras was that they do not record in a video format that is AVID compatible (our main editing software at Bryant). We would have to transcode it to edit in AVID but that would be faster than our current system, so it would still be an improvement.
We then moved on to the JVC exhibit where we checked out a HD Camera with a wireless transmitter pack. This technology would be especially useful for filming sporting events in the Sports Media Production course.
After lunch, we went in search of a wireless intercom system to use in conjunction with our mobile production unit. Currently, we use 2-way radios for this purpose, but they lack some of the important features that we have in our studio intercom system. First we looked at the ClearCom booth, but their systems were much too complex and expensive for our needs. The ClearCom rep recognized this and referred us to Tempest Wireless which featured a product call CoachComm Connex. This product fit our needs much better and was offered at a far lower price point.
Next, we ventured into the jib arm section. Some of the cranes there were over thirty feet high! One specific jib arm caught our eye. This nine foot model was made by Camera Turret Technologies practically in our own backyard (Plymouth, MA) and offers pan/tilt systems and zoom/focus lens controls. It was exciting to use and would be really useful for our productions in the MAC and in the commencement tent.
We then spotted some really interesting camera supports called Spider Pods. These 24 inch portable tripod risers and standing platforms are easily set up and stored.
Next, we went over to the Listech booth, to ask about some problems we’ve had with our teleprompter. Listech was very receptive and is going to send us some parts to update our prompter.
The Sony booth was really extravagantly lit. They had every type of production product you can think of, from shotgun mics to seven foot long switchboards. There we looked at some more tapeless HD field cameras.
Dan and Tom were really interested in my opinion about the cameras. They wanted to see what I thought would be the best choice from a student perspective. It really made me feel empowered that they valued my opinion. We also asked about internships at most of the booths we visited.
CLICK HERE - To view our daily video blog.
DAY 2: Tuesday April 16, 2008 - Our first day at the NAB Tradeshow!!!
Posted By: Communication Complex Studio Manager Dan Greene & Media Production President Brian Ko
Today was our first day on the NAB Trade Show floor. What an overwhelming experience. The show floor is over 900,000 square feet, and considering the average house is 2,000 square feet, our feet are pretty tired! Representatives from 163 countries attend the show to see more than 1,800 plus exhibitors.
Dan and Phil arrived at the trade show before Professor Dooley and I did. After a quick breakfast and cab ride to the Convention Center, Dan and Phil gave us the lay of the land. Professor Dooley and I quickly planned our day using maps and program guides.
We then slit up. Professor Dooley attended an AVID color correction workshop, while I went to a session about how to plan videos for web presentations. After lunch, we looked at intercom systems and saw a presentation from Chyron (a computer graphics product) and then networked with their staff.
Leaving the convention center, we jumped on the monorail to meet Dan and Phil at Treasure Island. They gave us a tour of the Venetian and Palacio. What an amazing experience of fine architecture. Then it was back to the hotel room to send you our blog and plan for tomorrow.
CLICK HERE - To view our daily video blog.
DAY 1: Monday April 15, 2008 - Our first day in Las Vegas!!!
Posted By: Communication Complex Studio Manager Dan Greene
Hello everyone and welcome to our daily blog. We will be blogging and video blogging all this week from the NAB Trade Show and the BEA Annual Conference in Las Vegas Nevada. Today was our travel day and what a day it was. Phil and I were the first to arrive — it was 9 AM here, but about lunch time back home. Tired and hungry, we tried to check into our hotel only to discover check-in wasn’t for another two hours. So, while we waited for our rooms to be ready, we decided to hit what they call “The Strip” in search of food. We ended up finding a small café in Caesar’s Palace and, as we sat down to eat, we learned that the team that was following us out got split up. Communication Student Brian Ko made the second flight, but unfortunately Professor Tom Dooley did not. Luckily, Tom was able to rebook on another flight and, since Brian had a connecting flight, they ended up arriving out here at about the same time. After a rather busy day, we’re all settling into our hotel rooms now and will be regrouping in the morning to explore the tradeshow floor!!!
CLICK HERE - To view our daily video blog.