Orientation

During our two hour orientation you will be introduced to the rules and procedures of TCTV. You will also have an opportunity to ask questions about TCTV and access television in general. You do not have to be a member to attend an orientation, but please call 360.956.3100 to reserve a spot. Thank you!

Membership & Orientation Form PDF
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Personal Training Introduction: With decades of combined professional experience, a TCTV Personal Trainer works one-on-one with members to teach a wide range of software, hardware and video concepts. Call 360.956.3100 to register a time with your Personal Trainer.

Skills: Anything and everything offered at TCTV. Learn new skills or refresh old ones. Potential sessions could include advanced Final Cut Express techniques, such as key framing, chroma key and LiveType graphics. Learn about other software products such as Toast Titanium for burning impressive DVDs or Photoshop Elements for still image editing. Personal Trainers may also be used as crew in studio shoots.

Next time you need help with your video project, consider utilizing the new Personal Trainer program, available exclusively to TCTV members. Reserve one-on-one training sessions with a Member Services staff person who specializes in teaching the skills you need to master. Learn at your own pace, and at an affordable price--just $50 per hour. Personal Trainers use decades of combined professional knowledge and experience to cover virtually any software program, video hardware or production concept in as much detail as you require. Unlock expert tools in Final Cut Express, such as key framing, chroma key and LiveType graphics. Master image manipulation in Adobe Photoshop Elements. Go in-depth with the manual controls on the Canon GL camcorders. Get familiar with all the buttons on the control room video switcher. Or use your Personal Trainer as crew for a studio shoot. No more searching book stores for complicated manuals. No need to spend money on expensive DVD training supplements. Work with a Personal Trainer that tailors the experience to your needs and skills. To get started with your Personal Trainer, call us at 360.956.3100.

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Digital Field & Editing Introduction: You must be a member of TCTV and you must have taken orientation to sign up for the field camera / editing course. The course consists of four 3.5 hour classes held on four consecutive weeks. Call 360.956.3100 for exact dates and to register.

Students must also complete a 2-3 minute video working individually or a 4-5 minute video with a partner. This will involve checking out field equipment and shooting a local event or topic that pertains to Thurston County. This event or topic must be suitable for airing on TCTV channel 22 and must not attempt to advertise or sell anything. Students will also have to spend additional time editing the video together.

Field Camera Skills: In the field camera portion of this course (week 1) you will learn how to operate our Mini-DV cameras, light kits, microphones and tri-pods. You will receive an introduction to basic camera framing techniques so that your footage will look as professional as possible. You will also be introduced to basic lighting techniques. In the audio portion of the class you will learn about the different microphones we have for check-out as well as when and how to use them. Lastly, students will be introduced to basic reporting, scripting and storytelling skills as they are challenged to produce a video news segment on their own.

Editing Skills: In the editing portions of this course (weeks 2 and 3) you will learn about nonlinear editing on a final cut express system. Students will begin by capturing video onto external hard drives then they will be able to manipulate video clips into a sequence on the timeline. They will get a brief overview of titling features and basic effects as well. Students will work with a partner as the instructor teaches the basics of the editing program. Each student must also schedule time on their own to edit the news segment that they have shot. Lab assistants will be available to help students when they need it.

Qualifications: Upon completion of this course students will be able to reserve the following equipment:

• Cannon GL1 / GL2 camcorders
• Field lighting kit
• Field audio adaptor, cables, microphones and accessories
• Camera tripods
• Non-linear edit stations and external hard drives
• Laptop computers with Final Cut Express

Disclaimer: Students must complete all class sessions and hands-on work to pass the Field Camera / Editing course. They must also have completed the video assignment satisfactorily. If a student misses any of the class sessions or if the instructor believes the quality of the student’s video assignment unsuitable for TCTV, the student must repeat the entire course and pass to be certified.

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Studio & Control Room Operations Introduction: You must be a member of TCTV and you must have taken orientation to register for the Studio / Control Room Course. The course consists of four 4 hour classes held on Monday nights from 6-10pm. Call TCTV for exact dates and to register. The first class will introduce you to the studio and control room equipment. In the second week students will gain some hands on experience with the equipment as we run through a mock studio shoot. During the last two class sessions the students will be the crew for actual TCTV studio productions. One of these productions is called “South Sound Seniors” and features issues relating to Thurston’s growing senior population. The second production that the students will help produce is called, “Mission non-profit” and features a local non-profit organization from the community. During both of these productions we will rotate students through each of the different crew positions, hopefully giving each of them hands-on experience with each job.

Studio Skills: The Studio portion of the course will train you on the studio cameras, lights, set design and audio operations in a television production studio. Students will get to see behind the scenes how sets are assembled. You will also learn basic lighting techniques and how to “focus” the lights from the grid. There are three studio cameras that you will be trained on with an introduction to controls, framing techniques and headset operations. Also, students will get a basic understanding of microphone techniques and learn how to plug in the microphones in the studio.

Control Room Skills: In the control room portion of the course you will learn about the electronic components adjacent to the studio that are involved with getting what’s in the studio onto a tape or other video format. Components include switcher, character generator (CG), video tape recorders (VTR’s), monitors, camera control units (CCU’s), audio board, and headset operations. Although you may be lost now, after taking the course you will be a certified expert on the operations and functions of each of these components.

Qualifications: Upon completion of this course you will be certified to help out on other studio productions and even reserve the studio and control room for your own production.

Disclaimer: Students must attend all four classes to pass the Studio / Control Room course. If you miss any of the four classes you will have to repeat the entire course to be certified. Attendees must show up on time and stay through the entire class. If a student is disruptive or uncooperative he or she may be asked to leave and repeat the course from the beginning.

Mission: Non-profit: As a part of the Studio & Control Room Operations class, students can gain experience working on the crew for this TCTV production.

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