Kalamazoo College Uses Blackmagic Design for Campuswide Productions Brie Clayton January 31, 2025
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Blackmagic Design cameras and switchers used for studio productions and remote streaming of 100s of events.
Blackmagic Design today announced that Michigan's Kalamazoo College is using a host of Blackmagic Design gear, including cameras, switchers, recorders and more, for all its campuswide production needs. This includes a full TV production studio in its library, along with three mobile streaming kits used for athletics, lectures, concerts and more, as well as three performance venues and the campus chapel each outfitted with Blackmagic Design production gear.
Founded in 1833, Kalamazoo College is among the 100 oldest colleges and universities in the U.S. However, it prides itself with being on the forefront of media education and technology, and most productions and events on campus are run by students. Kalamazoo College sees media production and media literacy as vital tools for educating students for a rapidly evolving future, and most of our media department staff comes from real world broadcast backgrounds, said Jaakan Page-Wood, media producer/studio instructor, Information Services, Kalamazoo College.
The college's Upjohn Library Commons features a production studio used for TV production class, class projects, video presentations, marketing and internal video content, and more. It's outfitted with four Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pros, each with Blackmagic Focus Demands and Blackmagic Zoom Demands, that record into four HyperDeck Studio HD Plus broadcast decks. The signals are then fed into an ATEM 2 M/E Production Switcher complete with ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Panel. Two HyperDeck Studio 4K Pros are also used, one feeding the switcher for selectable video content and the other recording from the switcher.
The Studio Camera's large display is great for teaching because it's so dominant that it really focuses the students on what their camera is looking at, and I can see what they are doing from a distance in the control room, said Page-Wood. The zoom and focus controllers work well with them, and the integrated tally light is a huge help when teaching the students when they are on standby or when their camera is hot.
We also have five SmartScope Duo 4Ks set up so the technical director can see all four cameras, and the director can also see the cameras, a program feed, and a selectable aux monitor, he continued. A SmartView 4K is used for program and preview, and a Web Presenter 4K handles streaming.
Based on the success of the studio, Page-Wood sought to create mobile kits for remote production across campus. The resulting large mobile streaming kit is used for graduations, assemblies, and student group performances on the central campus quadrangle and includes an ATEM switcher and panel, HyperDecks, ATEM Camera Converters, ATEM Studio Converter and Mini Converters Optical Fiber 12G.
We use this kit, along with a bunch of tactical fiber cables, to turn our outdoor spaces into a multi camera recording space. We usually have six cameras going, and we use the comms on the camera converters to talk back and forth, said Page-Wood.
Additionally, two small mobile streaming kits each feature an ATEM Mini Pro live production switcher, with one used in the Anderson Athletic Center and athletic fields to stream more than 100 sporting events a year across volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse and football. The second kit is used for lectures and student performances, as well as a backup for athletics.
Athletics has a variety of spaces where permanently installed equipment isn't feasible, so we move this kit around to different sports and stream from wherever need be. Our natatorium has a networked camera that feeds into the fixed production studio, so we often stream swimming events from the library via the Web Presenter, noted Page-Wood.
The school averages between three to six theatrical and artistic performances per term and around 40 video requests across all types of recordings, such as lectures, student groups, etc., per term. To help support this, five additional ATEM Mini Pros are dispersed throughout the campus, including in the Dalton Theater, Recital Hall, Dewing 103 (the school's largest class space), The Nelda K. Balch Playhouse, and Stetson Chapel.
I like that the ATEM Mini Pro uses the same software interface as the larger ATEMs, and it has just enough features on the hardware to be versatile but not so many that it overwhelms the students. I can give one to a student, and they can plug everything in, hit on air' and be good to go. But for other things, I can plug one in and connect the software control and have a more robust experience with graphics and audio mixing and such. It works for both scenarios. They are also so affordable that I can have several of them without breaking the budget, explained Page-Wood.
It's my belief that the primary thing we produce at the school is positive change. We change the students by educating them and offering them new experiences and perspectives, and they in turn go out and change the world with those skills, concluded Page-Wood. A liberal arts education can be so transformative, and it's really fulfilling to be a part of that. Having more intelligent, curious, critical thinkers in the world is important to us, and I'm glad I get to do this kind of work.
About Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College, founded in 1833, is a nationally recognized residential liberal arts and sciences college located in Kalamazoo, Mich. The creator of the K-Plan, Kalamazoo College provides an individualized education that integrates rigorous academics with life changing experiential learning opportunities.
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