RTVF-440 was the make-or-break hands-on class. It was a TV directing class that started with simple table-top demonstrations with two cameras, and worked its way up to a three camera news program with the various source material of the day.
Bob McCleary taught the class, and was…how shall I say…a rather vocal instructor. His course was a rite of passage, and many students “passed” through the portals of studio “A” while I worked there.
The 30 minute news program was scripted, and included elements from two different film chains, up to three 2″ quad VTRs, a really awful mechanical “crawl”, audio carts, and a segment that involved a simul-roll of two film chains. If memory serves me, one film chain was threaded up with the “A” roll including a mag stripe audio track, while the other chain had the “B” roll on silent double-sprocketed film.
Interns and TAs rather mechanically staffed the camera positions, read the news, pointed at the weather chart, TD’d and ran audio. Their job was to respond to the commands of the student crew. The student crew consisted of a Producer, a Director, and an AD. The Producer could jockey storys and other elements around to make the show come out on time. The Director called the shots, and the AD kept the time on the stopwatch. Three second pre-roll on film, five seconds on tape. Plus the A/B roll timekeeping.
At the time of the recording featured below, the facility did not yet own a CG…or if we did, it was not used for RTVF-440. Yes….there is a mix of monochrome and color sources. At the time of this recording, we had not yet scrounged enough color gear to have two color film chains. We were still using a Sony DXC-3800 3/4 inch porta-pak to do field recording. The exercise was not intended to provide an audition tape.