TV Production Know-How

Facilities & Equipment

Facilities

Administration Office
The administration of your Public Access such as bookkeeping, creating reports and recordkeeping, correspondence and outreach, and the storage of video, editing equipment as well as tapes, are currently being maintained by the volunteer President & CEO in her home office. With the hope that your Public Access will receive the equitable share of the Comcast and Verizon Grant through the local Cable Franchise Agreement, and with the support of individual donors as well as business sponsors, your Public Access administration location should move by the end of 2012 to a shared space with one or more non-profit organization(s), or space donated (in whole or in part) by a sponsor. You can contact the current administration office by email at glenneil@comcast.net, of by mail at P.O. Box 167, Ardmore, PA 19003, or by phone at (610) 642-0499.

Equipment

Video and editing equipment (as well as the use of the channel) are available exclusively to Lower Merion and Narberth residents as well as to non-profit organizations actively serving the community of this Township and Borough. The great majority of requests are for taping local events and that's why your Public Access in Lower Merion and Narberth is a show and tell 'go-to' operation with portable equipment. Also, you can videotape an interview in your home, your neighborhood, your non-profit office or a public space in Lower Merion and Narberth. You must produce ID proof of residency and must learn and prove your ability to use Public Access equipment. After receiving one-on-one tutoring, here's the list of equipment available to you depending on your knowledge and experience. Contact the administration office for more information.

Video/audio equipment:
· Two sets of professional-level video and audio equipment: Sony PD-170 video camcorder, Canon battery pack, Rode shotgun mike, Manfrotto tripod and tilt head, Electro Voice hand-held mike, Sennheiser head-set, XLR cables, Sony mini-DV tapes, carrying bags, ID tags.
· Two sets of consumer-level video and audio equipment: one Canon ZR 800 and one Canon ZR 960, both equipped with a Manfrotto monopod, professional Azden shot-gun mike ECZ 990 with folding grip angle bracket, Sony mini-DV tapes, carrying bag, ID tag.

Additional equipment for experienced professional users:
· Lighting: 3 Lowel pro-lights with stands, one gel-frame and sheets, one Silverdome soft-box and chimera ring, barn doors.
· Audio: Sennheiser omni-directional mike and table stand. XLR cables and 2 Shure lapel microphones and cables.

Editing equipment: If producers don't have their own computer and editing software, they can edit by appointment at the Public Access home-office. The equipment consists of a Sony deck, Apple computer, iMovie or Final Cut Express editing software. Sony DVDs.

Television Playback System

Public Access programs are viewed on Comcast channel 99 and Verizon channel 34. To get videos to television, each video is recorded to an automated playback system made up of hardware and software, including a seven-day digital spreadsheet schedule that is updated weekly. Even though your Public Access owns and operates the replay system, the equipment is located at the Comcast building in Bala Cynwyd where it's connected to the cable line that digitally transports the video data to your home. Comcast subscribers can view Public Access programs within the Township and Borough; however, Verizon subscribers can view Public Access also throughout the Main Line by going to channel 34 and scrolling through the Township names and finding their own Public Access channel.

Facilities & Equipment text by Irene McNeil - updated August 2011
Contact: glenneil@comcast.net