I’m adviser Stephen Cass, and this is my newsroom…
What is your name?
Stephen Cass
What school do you teach at?
Monomoy Regional High School
What city and state is your school located in?
Harwich, Massachusetts
What different media are produced at the school?
TV and Yearbook
How many students are involved at the media program at your school?
80 students
Describe your space for us.
The school is 4 years old. There is a digital media lab with 20 Imac 27” computers and the rest of the digital media equipment. In the tv studio we have a full tv studio setup and attached to the studio is a little work room. The rooms are near the auditorium and is off the main hallway. The studio has a three Sony camera and teleprompter setup. We have LED lights in the studio. In the control room, we have a Broadcast pix switcher and a Yamaha audio board.
What do you think are some of the benefits of the workspace you all have?
The benefits of this workspace is that it allows me to separate from the production side to the editing. I have two separate locations which allows for some separation. I also like this because it also gives me a separate room for students to film and does not distract the students that are editing. Another benefit for this workspace is that each student has a computer they are working on and they do not have to share with someone else.
What do your students like most about the workspace you have?
The students enjoy the fact that they have a big room to do their editing and that each students gets to use an Imac and that they are the only ones using it during that class period. They also enjoy the fact that they can go next door and use the tv studio for any recording they might have to do and to have a full operational tv studio is a plus. The students enjoy the opportunity to be able to sign out and use all of the equipment when they wish. They like it because they can use it for personal projects or for other classes and having this access gives them a leg up.
What computer programs and/or apps is your staff using on a regular basis for their work?
We use Adobe CC suite in class. Mostly Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects.
What tech equipment are your students using on a daily basis?
In Digital Media we have 12 Canon Vixia HFR for the intro classes. My intermediate and advanced classes we have 3 the Canon XA10, 4 Sony HXR-NX70U and 2 Nikon DSLR 7100. We have 3 GoPro 4s. We also have many various types of tripods, monopods, stabilizers, dollys, slider and gimbals. Portable lighting and lighting for the cameras. We have two Sony UWP-D16 Integrated Digital Plug-on & Lavalier Combo Wireless Microphone System. Five Sony ECM-77B – Miniature Omni-directional Lavalier Mic for ENG. DJI Phantom 3 Pro and a DJI Mavric Air. We also have three Sony PMW-320 for our studio camera. There is a Broadcast Pix Mica for our switcher and a smartfade for our lights
Aside from the computers and the programs, what are one or two pieces of equipment that you have that you think other programs should have.
I think a drone is a nice piece of equipment and gives you the opportunity to capture different perspectives you normally would not be able to achieve. Another piece of equipment is a motorized camera slider. You can achieve nice smooth shots. This also gives many moving types of shots you cannot get with a normal tripod to add depth to your videos.
How is your workspace funded?
We are funded by our district and also by the cable franchise fee.
Do you have anything on your wishlist for your space? If so, what do you have and why?
I would like a modular set so that we can have many different setups. Right now, we do not have a permanent news desk and I think by having one would enhance the look of our morning announcements and other studio shows that are produced. Also, a fiber connection to our football and baseball field back to the control room would be helpful which would allow all of the production to be done in our control room and the setup and takedown would take less time.
(This is one of a series of posts where high school newsrooms are showcased. We’d love to showcase your newsroom on the site. To find out how, check out the information here and submit yours today.)
