This is a part of the page, COMMON SENSE IN YORK PA by Ralph Brandt. It is not an official YCAT page, it contains my thoughts on the organization. Since at this time (3/31/98) YCAT does not have a page this is its only web presence.
How I got there...I became a member of YCAT (York Community Access Television) because I bought a video camera and wanted to know how to make better use of it. I dropped in one Sunday afternoon at the unimpressive storeroom/cablecaster area/office/studio/conference room/lounge/editing suite/ boardroom of the station. It was a room, no more than 18 x 12 that housed all of those functions. It was what was provided. But in spite of this appearance, I liked what I saw, people were trying to make learn, to teach what they learned, and make programming to educate the public. I wanted to do that. Let's suffice to say that I joined, paid the impressive dues of $12 per year, (they have since increased to $15) and began making programs.
My first real TV experience came when I dropped in on a Thursday nite when we had access to the Cable 4 (the commercial cable station) Studio to see how it was done. I figured to come in a few weeks and watch, then see if I could get a spot on a crew. They were setting up a shoot and I tried to watch and keep out of the way. One of the guys, I believe it was Jack, rolled out two cameras (that was what we had available at that time) and started lining them up on the set. He motioned to me to take the one camera, showed me how to put on a headset and started talking me through operating it. Quite frankly, a studio camera is a piece of cake to run (once it is set up, white balanced, etc. which is done from the control room anyway) compared to a home video camera. First it is mounted on a solid tripod that is on wheels. In addition the balance is good, the movements are smooth, the long handles make them easy to tilt and pan. The controls are simple, focus, and zoom. The director tells you what to point it at, how much to zoom, you can't miss.
After playing for about five minutes and really feeling like I was getting the hang of this, someone I didn't know came on the headset and asked, "Who's on Camera 2?" I looked at the number and saw I was on 2. Up till then I wasn't aware that the cameras were numbered. I looked at Jack. He answered that it was Ralph Brandt. The voice proceeded, "How do you spell that?" I responded and looked out past the camera at Jack and asked why they wanted that. "For the credits," was his response. And thus my first credit on a program was "camera" on a "Sleepy Hollow Production."
I've since done programs on Teen Pregnancy, Breast Cancer, Lead Poisoning, Foster Parenting, Teen Sex Abuse, Science Fairs, Math Competitions, An Easter Drama, and some community forums. I've also done some coverage of local government, one of the most satisfying things in the business. This was programming that I wasn't smart enough to know that you couldn't do with one camera, so I tried it and it worked.
And I've crewed on shoots for "Its a Good Day" and Rails Around York" two seemingly unrelated programs. IAGD is good Christian programming, generally for kids. RAY is programs about railroads. What do they have in common? They are produced by a couple that have never been in or associated with professional TV but make good programming and are really fun to work with and great to learn from. They are Rojean and Larry Keller and I learned much from them, more than how to make TV programs. I've worked with Jason and Toni Smith (aka Sleepy Hollow Productions) and they are special because they were my first experience and they have helped me in many ways. I've crewed for Metro York, the Frank Debeuklear production. Frank is a professional, probably one of the two best technical persons in the group. His productions are all masterpieces, no doubt about that. And there are more, Joe Jackson, Fran Keller, Jean Klusmeyer, John Sterling, Everett George, Don Free and some others. Each has a forte, each has a niche, each contributes something to the group.
There is diversity, Republicans, Democrats, Conservatives, Liberals. They are truck drivers, engineers, data processors, TV producers (in their profession), business managers and more. But they bring to the York Community programming that would otherwise be orphaned. It lacks the commercial value to be done by commercial stations. And what commercial station will allot 2 hours for a School Board meeting (Board or bored?).
This is the niche of Community Access Television...
(Copyright Ralph Brandt 1996)
DRAAW productions is the Brandt family, Dee, Ralph, Angela, Annette, and William. They have been with YCAT for several years, Ralph and Dee have served on the Board of Directors. As DRAAW productions Dee and Annette generally serve as directors and the more artistic areas, Ralph, William and Angela handle sound, whomever isn't involved otherwise handle Cameras. They generally need one to three other people and have had good support from YCAT members in most of their shoots.
Their past programming includes Science Fairs, Habitat events, Local Government meetings, and forums at Martin Library to mention a few.
Outside YCAT, Ralph and Dee serve on the Board of Elders at Christian Life Church, Angela and Annette are involved in Youth and Drama and William plays Keyboard, Piano and Trumpet in the church minstrals. Ralph directs the sound, tape and video department there, Angela and William are members of that support group. In addition to the productions for YCAT, they produce programs for their church, of which was the mucical drama produced by several departments in the church, was aired on YCAT at EASTER.
(Copyright Ralph Brandt 1995)
Written for the YCAT newsletter in 1994
Recently our pastor preached a sermon on "Crisis and Change." Our church is going through a period of change, and individuals in it are going through a period of change. And change is rarely easy.
And what about YCAT? We have seen change, and I will go on record to say there is going to be more change. Change either rocks foundations or shakes out the weak spots and makes them more secure. What will it do here?
THAT DEPENDS ON US. If we fight the change, if we resist it, if we dig in our heels we will inhibit growth, personally and as an organization. If we embrace the change we will grow and we will facilitate the growth of the organization. If we stick together, the change will cement us together, we will have endured the trial by fire together and that brings a comradship that tends to endure.
But with change we need to re-learn to relate to each other because we grow, we become different people, not the same as we were before. It's easy to misunderstand others because they talk and act differently. And I don't want to be like I was. I want to be better. I want to see YCAT be better. Unless you see it as perfect you should want that too. But there is a price to pay. Let's cut each other a little more slack. If I say something that offends, get me off to the side and ask about it. Let's not let the air get stale, let's clear it and get on with making YCAT all it can be. Change can even be fun, maybe.
(Copyright Ralph Brandt 1994)
Most people recognize that we would be in better health if our diets had more fiber in them. Cable TV of York is no exception, fiber is making it healthier.
Until the introduction of fiber optic cable the media (wire) cable TV used to carry its signal had not changed since the 1950's. The early systems used a coaxial cable, a wire that has two conductors on one axis. It's like a wire within a wire. It has low loss, that is, the amount of the signal drops over a given distance. The signal inside the cable stays inside and interference outside stays outside, almost. But nothing is perfect. There are losses and some interference gets in from outside. The loss is made up by putting amplifiers in the line, to boost the signal. These cost money, need electric power and maintenance. They also amplify any interference that has come into the system. The longer the cable, the more amplifiers, the more the interference impacts the signal, the more the signal is distorted. And the cable has a limit. Generally a thick coaxial cable, over a half inch in diameter can carry about 60 to 100 TV channels. Not bad, some will say. And thus it has been for over thirty years.
But the communication explosion is in progress. And there are demands for more bandwith, ie. the number of channels the cable can carry. And there is a desire to have two way communication. We have this in several places, where we can send a signal back to the studio by connecting to the same cable, but the number of connection points are very limited.
Enter optical fiber. The strands are in the order of the size of a human hair, each can handle in the neighborhood of 300 TV channels. Two such fibers, properly protected from the weather would be less than a half inch in diameter, in fact twenty four such strands are generally less than an inch in diameter. Think of that, 7200 TV channels. The old coast to coast cables AT&T burried could handle less than that and they were over three inches in diameter. And there is more good news. The loss is lower, hence the number of amplifiers is lower. Distortion is lower. The interference from the outside and loss to the outside is virtually non-existant. If one compares the signal ten miles from the head end of a TV system on coaxial cable and fiber, with both working properly, there will be a marked difference, the signal on the fiber will be better. And with the increased available bandwith there can be new services, INTERNET access for example.
The plan is staggering. The network layout is on the wall of the hall outside the Cable 4 studio. It shows the number of fibers as well as their layouts. Some legs have one hundred fibers, think of that, three hundred channels per fiber times a hundred fibers, that's 30,000 channels. What could they possibly do with them? I am close to the communications industry and I cannot see the use for all of that bandwidth, but the communications explosion is eating up bandwidth at an increasing rate. I really expect it to be used. I expect the cable company to look back in five to seven years and wish they had doubled the number of strands in most areas. But here technology will help too. The number of channels on a strand of fiber depends on the equipment at both ends. This too is getting better. We may see the ability to handle more channels.
I believe this expansion is healthy for the cable company and for YCAT. With a coaxial system, one channel was two percent of the system. But with just two fibers, a channel is less than two tenths of a percent. Cable TV of York is stepping out on a venture that will make them a healthier and better system. They're putting fiber in their diet.
(Copyright Ralph Brandt 1994)
Ralph Brandt 4-Jun-1994 13:01:46
Part of the charter of community access television (more correctly Public Education Government or PEG) is coverage of local government meetings. The organization is composed of volunteers and as such we are dependant on their availability.
Few local government meetings will be covered by commercial television, (on Air - ie. channel 8, 43, 27, etc. or cable ie. channel 4) because of the economic pressures. Generally the meetings do not have commercial value, ie. businesses are unwilling to sponsor them because of the limited appeal. An exception to this is the York City council meetings, covered because they are specifically mentioned as required in the York City/Cable TV of York franchise agreement. The gap in coverage is one of the very reasons community access (now PEG) was created.
The local government meetings can generally be covered with one camera and a single, well placed, good quality microphone. You can use more equipment to good advantage but we need to keep a very low level minimum to encourage participation. The single most important thing to insure success is planning. Coordinate your efforts with the board you are covering. I suggest you tell them you are coming ahead of the time, I usually call the day of the meeting. Do not ask for permission, you do not need it, the first ammendment and the PA sunshine laws protect our right to cover these meetings except some executive sessions. Take equipment you will need, the equipment you may need and anything you could possibly need. Duct tape is good if you have open microphone wires. I have a small luggage cart to transport things, I can thus make one trip and do not leave equipment unattended, a bad practice.
Do not take an adversarial stance with the board. This is not your charter, it is not helpful to them and it will only serve to frustrate your efforts to cover the meeting. Although generally speaking you must be allowed to cover the meeting (except executive sessions) it is better to work with the board than to get heavy. Reserve that for use if all else fails. If you have to force your way in it is at the risk the board could take legal action against you. There are better first-try alternatives. If you are denied access and asked to leave, leave, you tend to enhance your legal position, you are the offended party. If you stay their position can be somewhat enhanced at your expense. If asked to leave, film the request to leave if possible and leave. If I anticipate problems, I go in with the camera on my shoulder and running so I do not miss anything. If denied, call YCAT immediately so we can get the tape on the air that night. I personally would want to run that film with a shot from outside the building with narration that the meeting would not be presented because the board denied access. My experience with six boards has been tentative concern by some board members (few people aren't somewhat shy in front of a camera) and acceptance by others. I try to get a board agenda to help me know what is happening, most boards make them available at the door. Generally I have found someone hands one to me without my asking for it.
The camera siting is important, it must be placed so that you can cover almost any part of the room. Remember that the room may fill with people, make sure they will not block the view. Ask someone who goes to the meetings regularly for advice and help. I personally generally like the back right of the room because I can get a good view of the room and the camera viewer at the same time, but that is a personal preference. A small TV set to use as a monitor is helpful but not necessary.
Accept the fact that you aren't going to get a good shot of everyone. There is no way with one camera to get three camera coverage. Do the best you can, keep panning to a minimum, but try to keep the speaker on camera most of the time. I've found boards to be helpful, if they're proud of what they're doing.
Accept the fact that if someone in the back of the room talks they will not be heard. I've alternatively used a $29 Radio Shack microphone and a better condenser microphone and got acceptable results with both. Take enough microphone cable to reach the front unless you have a wireless. If you have a wireless, check the battery. I have yet to see a wireless that comes close to the quality of a wired mic costing a quarter the price. If the lines are long, try to use low impedence lines. This reduces hum. I was able to eliminate hum by going on battery. I had to recharge as I went and change the battery in the camera. If there is a sound system, direct connect is best, however if you do not know how to properly do this you can jeopardize the camera input. Second best is to place the mic about 1-3 feet from the PA system speaker.
Get to the meeting at least thirty to fourty minutes before start time. This gives you time to set up, get things ready and go to the John just before meeting starts. Remember when the meeting starts, you roll the camera and you don't turn it off until the closing gavel. If you ask, most boards will give you 15 second warning before the opening gavel. If you must make a battery change, keep it as short as possible. You are not the center ring attraction, try to keep a low profile. Most boards will want your name and affiliation, they may recognize you some time during the meeting. Try to clear the room as soon as the meeting is over. Some boards like to hold executive sessions after the meeting and some like to use the meeting room. Wear a YCAT badge if you have one. If you don't, get with us to get one.
Before the meeting, insert a tape, put on the lens cover, plug in a mic and turn it off. Place 45 to 60 seconds of black and silence on the front of the tape. Check the date and time on your camera. Correct if it's wrong. Turn the date and time on at the beginning of the session and do not turn it off. This helps the viewers know what is being aired.
At the end of the meeting put black and silence on the end of the tape -- at least 5 minutes. I like to black the remainder of the tape. Label the tape. Your name and phone number, the government body, the date and the length of time (gavel to gavel). If you keep the camera running the time on the tape can be used to determine the length of the program. Turn the tape in to the program director at YCAT for airing. It is wise to call the program in the night of the shoot, put a message on the answering machine if nobody is there and give the the information to the scheduler and give the date you will be delivering the tape.
Copyright 1994 Ralph E. Brandt, York PA
YCAT's local government coverage has somewhat waned for the last few months due primarily to my current work schedule. That is the bad news. The good news is that the coverage is continuing with the help of others. Thanks to the Free family, we are beginning a regular coverage of one entity, the West York Schools. This is what I envisioned in the early days, having someone take on a municipality and cover it regularly. I had wanted my role to be one of an ice-breaker or explorer, to go, as they say on Star Trek, "where no man has gone." Going into a local government meeting can be intimidating and if there is an issue that is hot, it can be difficult. I have only met opposition once, and that from a member of a public employees union. I have never been opposed by the govenment body. Generally they like to know who you are and what you are doing, but when you identify yourself, you are treated with respect.
I have not given up, I plan to continue to pursue this until we begin to get people interested in this coverage. As I live in West Manchester Township, I plan to cover their meetings as I can until someone else comes forward to do them. I would like to be free to cover special meetings, such as sewer authority and zoning meetings, ones we cover only when there is a special agenda.
Some ask, why cover the meetings? Look at the record. YCAT covered the West Manchester Township cogen hearings and the plant most feel was bad for the community was defeated. The one in Jackson Township where we have not participated looks like a go. The West Manchester Township Supervisors had community supportthat we helped generate and they have indicated this was beneficial to them. It is an indication that good leaders both desire and need the community to support them and they recognize community access television can help generate that support. In another action, we covered three consecutive Dover Area School District meetings. These were selected because they were contemplating a large budget increase, amounting to four mils. As the meetings progressed, the increase shrunk from four to two to zero mils. The budget passed without a tax rate increase! Did the presence of the TV camera make an impact? It is impossible to say.
What we know is that good decisions will stand the light of exposure to the public. Local governments impact our day to day lives as much, if not more than the federal or state governments. In spite of that, there is much less interest in who is placed on the school board than in the White House. CSPAN shows our federal government in action while YCAT and other community access groups can show the local governement in action.
People always work better in the light than in the dark. Let's make our local governments work better, let's turn on the light for them. If you have a video camera and an evening a month, you can turn on the light for your local government and your community. And you can have fun doing it! Making the program is more fun than watching it.
Copyright 1994 Ralph E. Brandt, York PA
Copyright 1996 Ralph E. Brandt, York PA ------------------
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Revised 1/1/1998 DRAAW is not a misspelling, it is an acronymn for Dee,Ralph, Angela, Annette and William..
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