In this day and age, the operational basics of broadcasting are taken for granted but this may be a mistake. Within all organisations, there are people who need to understand what happens in their facility. However, they may not have the opportunity to familiarise themselves. This could apply to staff moving from one specialised domain to another or staff that do not occupy an operational role but need a basic understanding to interact with clients.
In some cases, it is not possible to recruit experienced broadcast personnel. Therefore, some degree of retraining is required. Alternatively, with convergence between IT and traditional broadcasting, there are many IT specialists who do not understand the specialist requirements of making and distributing programmes in real time, frame accurate and operating without failures 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If any of these examples apply to you or your organisation, then the IABM interactive guide may well be just what you need to help your staff acquaint themselves with the basics.
But before we analyse the DVD in more detail, a few key facts:
What is it?
An interactive DVD guide to television and radio equipment – what it is and what it does.
Whom is it for?
New recruits to broadcasting, administrative staff that need to understand the basics, specialists working in new areas and media students.
How is it structured?
A tour around a virtual production facility through which users can roam the various departments including TV studios, gallery, post production, running a channel (playout) and radio.
What does it contain?
Approximately five hours of content (depending upon usage) including video, images, text and audio.
What will users learn?
It will give them a functional understanding of television and radio production systems and equipment.
What are the system requirements?
A Windows PC of almost any specification with a DVD ROM Drive, sound card and a minimum 1024×768 pixels.
The DVD is self-launching when placed in the DVD ROM drive with an opening graphic reminding users about copyright issues followed by an animated graphic introducing the five sections of the DVD upon which the opening menu is based. However, before alighting upon the main menu, a video sequence starts in which we are introduced to Michelle Harris who acts as the guide throughout the DVD.
It is worth mentioning at this point that the DVD makes extensive use of video, which, in turn, means the key messages are illustrated with real equipment installed in real operational facilities.
Once the main menu is reached, the five main categories are represented by doors to one side of the reception of this virtual facility. This helps to maintain the illusion that the user is about to embark on a guided tour of the facility. In addition to the main menu, there are options to learn more about the DVD, connect with the IABM web site product locator and view a historical introductory video.
Whenever a selection is expected, the voice of Michelle Harris explains the options available. This is a nice touch maintaining the illusion of being accompanied by a tour guide. On entering a section, specific areas on the menu take the user through various levels of detail. The higher levels are associated with key operational equipment (such as cameras in the studio) and are mostly illustrated with video of real installations and where appropriate actual examples of the output are presented. In the case of studios, we can view a virtual set ‘before and after’; in post-production, we can see various types of graphics, special effects and animation. Deeper menu levels contain static images and text explaining some of the lower profile equipment.
Navigation is intuitive and logical, allowing users to concentrate on the information itself. It is possible to work through the disc in a linear fashion from start to finish or to dip into areas of interest. In order to make the best use of the training and considering the sheer volume of content, it may be beneficial to take it in stages — perhaps one major area at a time. Going through the entire disc in one pass may represent overload and impair retention of the information.
The content itself lives up to the claim of being non-technical in nature and is operationally based which is probably the best approach for the target audience. Specific pieces of equipment are described in each area, and in some cases, actual operators and creative staff describe their experience making programmes and what their work entails. This is a welcome touch of reality.
Not only do we learn about what goes on behind the scenes, we also get video clips from on-air presenters describing their view of operations in front of the camera.
Clips of the presenters in action and subsequently talking to us about what we have seen, is an important dimension to aid understanding.
When using the material in a linear fashion, at times, we are invited to answer quizzes, which are intended to check up on our newly-gained knowledge. A rather nice touch reveals itself — if the questions are incorrectly answered, there’s no blunt ‘Incorrect’ feedback but a dialogue, which maintains our pride and gently points us in the right direction.
What’s good?
It delivers on the promise of a gentle introduction to current operational environments — the equipment and what it does. Excellent, solid and logical navigation plus tour guide inspires confidence and keeps the focus on the content. There is extensive use of video, real environments and programme examples.
What’s not so good?
Some may find the content too basic for their needs. Also, the examples and content are mostly drawn from UK sources. This training material includes non-linear systems but stops short of IT/Networked environments.
The DVD delivers on its promise of describing what equipment exists and what it does. This can be recommended as a first level of familiarisation. Consider using it as a part of your induction programme for new staff. For example, it may enhance the image of your organisation if non-technical or non-operational staff can relate more intelligently with clients. If you recruit well qualified staff but with little television experience, consider this programme as a part of their orientation.
Clearly, for the developers, this was an ambitious project and a lot of thought and planning has gone into the creation and compilation of the content. The interest level is maintained by real-world examples and extensive use of video. Descriptions go down to individual equipment level. Used within the scope described, this disc would be an excellent addition to your training library.
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