See Attached MPAG Guidelines sections F and G, which cover the MPAG rules for taping and airing. Sections F5-F10, G1-G3, and all of G-A, are most pertinent to Event Taping/Airing.
The Recreation Department shall receive requests to air live events (if the location supports live airing) and/or tape events through an application process. "Special Event" application forms may be received from the general public or from within the city departments, and are available through the Recreation Department.
1. The Recreation Director shall review the application request for appropriate content.
2. When the application is approved by the Recreation Director, the Recreation Secretary shall contact the following officers of MPAG (cable club) in order of availability regarding the request:
A. MPAG Secretary
B. MPAG Program Director
C. MPAG President
D. MPAG Activities Director
If time allows, the request shall be reviewed at the MPAG monthly meeting, where a volunteer operator may be determined at that time. Submissions which are to be addressed at this meeting should arrive at least 5 days before this meeting in order to allow the application information to be put on the meeting agenda.
If time is short, and the request was not submitted in time for review at the MPAG monthly meeting, an attempt shall be made to locate an operator if available. As the MPAG is comprised of volunteers, there is no guarantee that all application requests can be taped/aired.
Note: Short-notice requests are less likely to get volunteers assigned.
3. Once confirmation is received by the Recreation Secretary as to whether the MPAG can provide an operator to satisfy a request, the Recreation Secretary shall communicate with the Recreation Director regarding the status of the request.
4. The Recreation Secretary shall coordinate with the MPAG Secretary regarding follow-up notification with the requesting party, as to the status of their request.
If no confirmation is given for an event which is requested,
it is possible that an MPAG volunteer will be found before the event, but we do not promise this.
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LIVE AIRING events: Currently, only events inside City Hall or the Muskego Public Library meeting rooms can be broadcast live. Live events can be taped, as well as aired live. Due to the need to schedule city hall rooms, as well as airing requirements, any LIVE AIRING requests should be made prior to the MPAG meeting of the month BEFORE the event.
Public Open Meeting Events: Most often requested by government offices, and often requested for live airing, such events must be taped and aired in an "unedited" form, with titles and credits added as needed, but with no deletions of content without a very clear indication of the nature and reason for the deletion.
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The "Special Event" Application Form covers the basic details of event taping. But there can be more to taping an event than simply bringing a camera and taking pictures. Some special production considerations are:
Sound: If your event uses a PA amplifier and microphones, or has very good acoustics for musical non-amplified performances, there should be no problem getting good sound recording of the event. If not, consideration for sound quality may require the MPAG volunteer to bring along extra microphones, and possibly a mike mixer, and this should be mentioned. If the event facility has PA or mike equipment, and a connection to the camcorder can be arranged, please indicate what type of connection (Canon/XLR, 1/4" Phone, RCA Phono, 1/8" Mini, etc.), and level, if you know these details, so the proper cables and adapters can be brought along.
Lighting: Outdoors, lighting is generally not a problem, other than the "sun in your eyes" problem, which can be avoided by making sure the camera can be set up in a location that will avoid seeing the sun directly. Indoors, most school/office building lighting is adequate for camcorders. But some stage and performance lighting, restaurant "mood" lighting, and "house" lighting, is not quite so good, though there are ways to deal with lower light levels. If the lighting is not bright "office" level, please indicate this, and what type of lighting will be used, to avoid problems with poor picture quality.
High contrast lighting arrangements can also be tricky. A bright background, with a speaker or performer in front with little light, or a bright spotlight on a performer with a dark background behind, will result in dark faces, or washed-out bright faces, unless the camcorder (and camera operator) is prepared to deal with the situation. Indoors, if a window appears in the view with daylight showing, the much brighter outside light will overwhelm the inside light. The simplest solution to all these lighting problems is making sure that the camera is set up in a location where its view will be of the main subject in its light, without having other light (or very dark) areas appearing.
Two camera performance/interview recording: For some events, having a second camera set up to record the event, with two angles of view on the scene, and editing the tapes from both cameras into a single program, can be very effective. While MPAG volunteers may choose to do so for any event, you may wish to ask for such coverage, and consider camera set up in planning your event.
Post-Production Information: MPAG volunteers will usually add titles, credits, and other information to the tape to be aired. Art work and information for this can be provided, and be mentioned in the "Special Event" application. Long credits can be provided on a computer 3.5" floppy disk, Amiga or IBM-PC format. ASCII format text ("save as text") is preferred for text files. Computer art work files can be provided in a number of formats, for inclusion in the finished program. Common types of long credits include cast member and crew lists, performers/speakers, sponsors, program presentation information, etc.
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After an event is taped, it will take some time for it to be prepared for airing. The amount of time depends on the editing which is needed to complete the program, and the time available to the volunteers involved in producing the program.
A program which needs no editing of the program itself, because the event runs straight through with no breaks, nor need to announce information, acts, etc., during the program via editing, can be completed fairly quickly. Titles can be added to the start of the program, often on the original tape if space is left by the volunteer operator, and final credits added to the end, to complete the program. If long cast/crew/information credits are needed to be added, the time needed to type this information into the computer will slow this process down.
More complex edits, where some parts of the actual taped event are cut out, the order of events is changed, or information is added during the program in the form of overlaid or full-screen titles, or if two or more cameras were used, or if scenes from two or more tapes are used, will take more time. Typical minimum working time needed to complete "real editing" is twice the length of the final airing program (4 hours edit time for a 2 hour show), with four times "program time" being more common.
For some events, we can air an "unedited" version fairly quickly, followed by a "Final Version" done later, with full editing and titles added. If you would like this type of treatment for your program (a more complex edit with titles, but a quick airing of the event as recorded), you may indicate this on the application form.
Once the tape has been edited, and is ready for airing, it will be put on the airing schedule. The times for airing may be requested by the MPAG volunteer who produced the program, by the person or organization which requested the event taping (see airing schedule guidelines for details), by the MPAG Program Director, or by the Recreation Supervisor.
The information "scroll" on Channel 14will show the times that tapes are scheduled for airing, and will usually do so for the entire current week, and almost always, for the next two days. You may also call the Recreation Department to learn when a program is scheduled for airing, and to request replays of a given program after it has already aired.
Copies of MPAG produced programs are available through the Recreation Department, at a current cost of $10 including the tape (MPAG Guidelines, F3), for most programs. Such copies will be on new VHS high-grade tape, recorded in HIFI sound, and in stereo if the original program was in stereo. The copy quality is generally better than that of an off the air copy.
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For performance events, it is often quite advantageous for the camera operator to have seen the performance in rehearsal, or at least, to have seen the event location set up prior to taping the event. If this can be arranged, please indicate this, and what times would be convenient for this.
If a person associated with your event is interested in or familiar with video taping and camera use, using either their equipment, or by joining MPAG to use our equipment, may provide a better coverage of the event than a randomly selected MPAG volunteer. MPAG membership requirements are fairly simple: participate in two MPAG productions per year -- and one or both can be your own events. MPAG membership also allows access to the MPAG editing and production equipment, and the opportunity to put your own artistic and editorial touches on your event programs, and also allows input into Public Access TV activities in general.
Non-members may also request use of MPAG equipment, without joining MPAG. A written request is needed, and MPAG approval is needed, and any such request will be considered at the MPAG main monthly meeting.
(rev 3 February 21 2001)