TV Magic Aids San Diego's Office of College, Career & Technical Education in Earning Grant Money for HD Broadcast Studio
2009-04-14HD Studios and Production Facilities at San Diego High School Will Provide Relevant Real-World Application for Core Academic Studies
Broadcast systems integrator TV Magic today announced that it has worked with the Office of College, Career & Technical Education (CCTE), a San Diego Unified School District initiative that helps students make a successful transition from secondary education to college and career, in creating a grant-winning plan for building fully functional HD broadcast studios at San Diego High School (SDHS). The proposed installation won grant monies through California’s Prop. 1D Career Technical Education (CTE) School Facilities Program. The resulting broadcast studio will provide a real-world application for core academic areas — such as language arts, sciences, and math — and technical knowledge and project management skills related to current and next-generation broadcasting.
"As we looked at applying for the grant, TV Magic was clearly a leader in the broadcast integration industry that had the ability to create a model, cost projection, and equipment list for our hybrid broadcast studio and education facility," said Shawn Loescher, program specialist at CCTE. "After the grant had been awarded, we sat down with TV Magic and realized we needed to find a way to build a fully functional 720p or 1080i facility, on an SD budget, in order to stay true to the grant’s objective. The TV Magic team worked extensively with me to make this happen, and now we just can’t wait to see our plans become reality."
To date, CCTE and TV Magic have worked together in planning a three-phase project that will provide students in the San Diego area with experience across the full spectrum of broadcast, film, and media, addressing everything from production to legal, technical, and engineering aspects of operations. Each site, located at three different high schools, will address how to work in front of or behind the camera, providing students with career preparation experience that will help them learn more about their chief interests and competencies as they progress with further education or move into the job market. TV Magic’s design team will outline the digital workflow and manage all technical aspects of the facilities.
Grant money has been awarded for all three projects, with the first phase, the studios at SDHS, breaking ground in June. The high school has a long history of broadcast and radio production, and the complete overhaul of the existing facility will simulate a true broadcast environment, complete with a three-set studio, a control booth with eight workstations, and a machine room with a full complement of HD equipment. A new multimedia classroom will seat up to 36 students and provide a space in which to review completed projects. Located off the classroom, an editing room with five Final Cut Pro edit stations will give students the opportunity to work on industry-standard software and equipment. When completed, the CCTE facility will represent the first true HD live, cable-ready, broadcast studio on a California high school campus.
"CCTE is taking a leadership role in leveraging new technologies to provide California students with the knowledge and core competencies they need to be successful in the current marketplace," said Pat Thompson, VP and general manager, TV Magic San Diego. "Through our work with CCTE, we have the opportunity to apply our own expertise in creating a more dynamic and stimulating learning environment for our community and its students."
