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Dec 20, 2007

Going Solo
Limited resources don't stop Roswell government access

by Nancy Caronia

Roswell, GA, a Fulton County suburb north of Atlanta, has a population of almost 90,000. In 2000, the city decided to create its own 24/7 government access channel in order to bring local programming to its citizens. The largest challenge of the project was not that the channel was designed to be operated with no budget except for the salary of the one part-time employee, but that there was no camera or editing equipment. Oh, and no production studio to speak of, either. Enter RCTV producer Kara Faunt, who didn't allow her part-time status or the lack of gear or studio daunt her. The channel began operations by broadcasting bulletin board announcements as 90 percent of its content. Faunt knew she needed pre-produced pieces and quickly made inroads to Fulton County city governmental departments as well as other city, state, and federal taxpayer funded initiatives such as the Fulton County Board of Education, the local public libraries, NASA, and the military. She began airing pre-produced meetings, PSAs, and news programs -- anything that was provided for free.

RCTV producer Kara Faunt single-handedly produces meetings, from camera control to graphics, using the RUSHWORKS ToastMaster production system.

A Little Help When Julie Brechbill, community information manager, City of Roswell, arrived in 2003, the first thing she said, according to Faunt, was, "How can you have a TV station without a camera?" Brechbill had come from Palm Beach County, where she ran the TV station. "We had a big operation and $3 million a year budget," she explained. "The budget here was Kara's salary and $3,000 for gear. There was no camera or editing bay. We weren't producing any local origination programming. In the first six or seven months, we purchased a MacroSystem Casablanca and a JVC camera so we could do some shooting and editing." In addition to obtaining the Casablanca Prestige digital video editing system and JVC GY-DV500 DV camcorder, Faunt went to full-time status. While the Community Information Division oversees RCTV, the city's Web site, and publications for all media relations, there are only four employees (including Faunt and Brechbill) -- and Faunt pretty much handles the television production alone. "Our Web developer is also a graphic designer and he's helped a bit, but I'm hoping to get another graphics-type person here so that person could split his or her time between RCTV and the Web site," said Brechbill. "I try to do some writing, Ben, our Web developer, will do some graphic work and editing, but the brunt of everything falls on Kara." RCTV has had a high school internship program for a few years, and had its first college intern this summer, but there is no current year-round program -- and the high school interns only work five hours per week. "The student interns are always senior media students and looking at television broadcasting as a career," said Faunt. "It's a win-win. It helps me a little bit, but it also helps the students." Erin DeMarr, a senior from the University of Georgia, was RCTV's first college student intern. She worked part-time for 10 weeks last summer. "Erin probably produced 50 features, including short PSAs and one, two, and three-minute programs, in the time she was here," said Faunt. "I'm not able to be in three places at once, but when Erin was here I only had to be in two." The application process was rigorous and DeMarr, in addition to sending her resume and being interviewed, had to show clips she had produced and shot for the university's television station. DeMarr said the internship was a worthwhile experience on many levels. "I was able to do many projects on my own and got to use a lot of my own creativity in writing, shooting, and producing the feature that I was working on," noted DeMarr. "I also got experience in an office setting by attending meetings in my department and contributed ideas to upcoming projects. This internship provided me with many opportunities of working with people on a daily basis. It strengthened my skills in communicating and production." Great Expectations While Faunt is grateful for the help, it doesn't mitigate her responsibility for the programming schedule, as well as shooting, editing, and producing approximately 100 programs on her own for RCTV, the city's intranet site, and the Web. "The workload continues to grow and even one and two-minute productions have to go through the same process of voiceover, editing, and everything else that needs to get them ready for airing," said Faunt. RCTV has become decidedly more production friendly, with the addition of a Canon GL2 DV camcorder, Sennheiser mic system, Lowel Rifa-lite portable kit, and Prompter People Universal 15 prompter for field shoots. In addition, a RUSHWORKS ToastMaster tapeless meeting and event production system is housed in its production studio within the city's city council chambers. With the Toastmaster system, Faunt is able to pre-set shots to record town hall meetings, internal employee presentations, and other special events that take place within the chambers. The Canon PTZ cameras are mounted high on the chambers' walls so they're out of the way. "It's a production truck all in one person," said Faunt. "I'm doing the graphics, setting the shots, and calling the show in a room on the side where the city clerk sits. From that seat, I operate a joystick that allows me to zoom in, pan, and tilt each of the four cameras. I do voiceovers at my desk and if we have a standup, I'll go out in front of City Hall." The bulk of shooting still happens on location, and while Faunt can't possibly cover all of Roswell's events, she does try her best. There are eight departments within the city -- RCTV asks that it be informed a month in advance of any event so Faunt can add it to the production schedule. The Canon GL2 allows Faunt to travel light or with a B-roll camera if she has someone else available to cover an event. During the summer, Faunt and DeMarr could cover two events a day if necessary, one armed with the DV500 and the other with the GL2. While Faunt enjoys all aspects of her job, her favorite task is editing, though she admittedly doesn't have the luxury of spending 10 or 12 hours on each production. "I have to put it on and put it out," she said. Saved By The Server The RCTV signal originates from the city council chambers, which is where Faunt's office is also located. RCTV has gone completely tapeless (except for one program that Faunt still receives on 3/4-inch tape). "When we first started, I was switching from 3/4-inch and VHS decks, but there was too much room for error," Faunt recalled. "When our college intern started, we upgraded to a server-based channel and that has made everything so much easier." Brechbill initiated the automated server system, a Leightronix TCD/IP network managed video system controller and TCD/RP server system as well as a Sigma 8x8 AV switcher/router. "In our master control we're on servers. We don't play any tapes -- it all comes off the server," she noted. "We get a lot of comments from citizens that the quality has gone up." "There are several components that work together and the Leightronix is kind of the scheduler. I use a software package that allows me to input what I want scheduled when," added Faunt. "Additionally, I use the Key West Technologies Media Xtreme bulletin board system to build all the graphics that then get downloaded into the Leightronix. They all have to be created and then put in some type of order and incorporated into the master schedule. The schedule is a big part of my job." RCTV programming is also available online or through video-on-demand. Anyone can log on and see RCTV programming, which is managed through EarthChannel. Faunt's workload continues to expand, especially with the demands of a growing intranet. But what seems most remarkable about Faunt and RCTV is not the amount of work that is produced or even how it's accomplished, but Faunt's ability to keep her eyes on the final product. "I always say we're the good news channel," she said, "because we showcase all the wonderful things to do in Roswell." MORE INFO Canon usa.canon.com EarthChannel earthchannel.com JVC jvc.com/pro Key West Technology keywesttechnology.com Leightronix leightronix.com Lowel lowel.com MacroSystem macrysystem.us Prompter People prompterpeople.com RCTV roswellgov.com RUSHWORKS rushworksmedia.com Sennheiser sennheiserusa.com Sigma Electronics sigmaelectronics.com

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