Hunter College Department of Film & Media Studies Chooses ToolsOnAir

Hunter College Department of Film & Media Studies Chooses ToolsOnAir

Located in the heart of Manhattan, Hunter College is the largest college in the City University of New York (CUNY). Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest public colleges in the United States offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in more than 170 areas of study to over 23,000 students.

When the Department of Film and Media started looking for a hands-on educational tool to teach modern broadcast workflow, they turned to James Solly from Tele-Measurements of Clifton New Jersey who recommended the ToolsOnAir Broadcast Suite. After testing and evaluation a decision was made to implement a four channel just:in solution for ingest and a three layer just:live playout solution split across three mac minis. composition:builder was also added to allow students to create their own real-time graphic templates.

We caught up with Peter Jackson, Digital Media Senior College Lab Technician & Production Coordinator, to learn how the ToolsOnAir solution integrated with their existing setup and met the department's educational objectives. At the Department of Film & Media we are using a traditional three camera studio setup with one studio space and a separate control room. The majority of students are media production majors getting their first experience working in a television studio. Ease of use and reliability are important factors but creating a professional broadcast environment to educate our students is the primary goal. ToolsOnAir gives us the tools to teach a modern broadcast studio workflow.

Peter Jackson continued explaining how ToolsOnAir is accessible to students with varying skill sets. The Film & Media Program now has the most up to date television studio at CUNY. In our department there are four main sections: emerging media (web & gaming); film production (narrative); media production (non fiction) and journalism. The ToolsOnAir software is easy enough for non-production students to use, but is also powerful enough for the production students.

As Peter Jackson further explained, the flexible licensing model was also an important criteria in choosing ToolsOnAir. One of the aspects I liked most was how the licensing worked for composition:builder. The fact that I can hand out the software to students so they can do all their graphics outside of the studio frees up the studio time for other projects. Additionally, it allows students to create graphics at their own pace and lets them explore more options when it comes to graphics. The program is very easy to use but also very powerful.

Summing up the interview, Peter Jackson said that the attractive price point was the final factor in the decision making process. We were able to save enough money to get a better production switcher and audio board among other better equipment.

About the Hunter College Department of Film & Media Studies

With a world class faculty and up-to-date production facilities, Hunter College's Department of Film & Media Studies offers two undergraduate programs of study: Film, combining film history and theory with film production; and Media Studies, combining critical media analysis with creative practice using a mix of contemporary media forms (video, print, digital graphics and the Internet). Additionally, Hunter College offers a graduate program terminating in an MFA degree in Integrated Media Arts. Hunter's MFA/IMA Integrated Media Arts is a unique MFA program which focuses on politically and socially engaged creative work and the social role of media and technology.

About ToolsOnAir Broadcast Engineering

ToolsOnAir Broadcast Engineering has redefined the TV station of tomorrow, providing powerful Mac and Linux based solutions that integrate storage, ingest, playout and real-time graphics into a streamlined workflow. Controlled by an intuitive and easy to use interface, ToolsOnAir's just: broadcast suite and flow:rage workflow appliances combine video, audio and graphics with powerful automation and multi-format asset management, consistently meeting the demands of today's fast-paced broadcast and IPTV facilities.

Back to Stories

LINK:	http://www.toolsonair.com/2013/stories.php?view=639...
	See more stories from toolsonair

Most recent headlines