Teradek VidiU Go and Core Make the Perfect Streaming Bundle for Remote Newscasts
Streaming Kreativ Alchemy Streaming Kreativ Alchemy

Teradek VidiU Go and Core Make the Perfect Streaming Bundle for Remote Newscasts

While remote learning was a first for many teachers this year, shooting newscasts remotely is routine for student video production teams. When there’s breaking news at school, your news team has to rush to the area. There’s seldom time to set up a whole production system, and you can rarely count on a reliable internet connection. That’s where the Teradek VidiU Go and Core come in.

Read More
Perfect Live Production Setup for Mixing, Switching, and Streaming
Production Kreativ Alchemy Production Kreativ Alchemy

Perfect Live Production Setup for Mixing, Switching, and Streaming

When your students are creating a live production, whether it’s your regular newscast or a special sports game for social media, you need an end-to-end IP solution that’s flexible, portable, and affordable. That’s exactly what you get with the Switchblade M7, Kiloview E2 encoder, and Skaarhoj Air Fly controller. Take a look at how each piece of gear works in the system.

Read More
10 Tips to Keep Your Acting Skills Sharp Between Shows
Production Guest Contributor Production Guest Contributor

10 Tips to Keep Your Acting Skills Sharp Between Shows

As of this writing, I’m empathetic to drama students around the world who are stressing about (1) what theatre will look like in the future and (2) when their next chance will come to tread the boards and hear applause. The worst thing to do right now is to do nothing. Just as practice, practice, practice brings athletes to a state of accomplishment in sports, a continued regimen of discipline and training can keep us at our best for that moment when the curtain once more rises.

Read More
Four Things Media Students Should Learn When Their Lab is Stripped Away
Teaching Resources Guest Contributor Teaching Resources Guest Contributor

Four Things Media Students Should Learn When Their Lab is Stripped Away

As a high school teacher who uses 75 percent of class time for hands-on lab, if not more, learning from home meant re-framing all of my lessons or coming up with new lessons completely. The learning objectives became even more important because I had to come up with a new way to teach them. It was a beneficial questioning process because we can easily get so wrapped up in the technology and equipment we use, that we can forget the fundamental basics that require little more than a smartphone to create.

Read More
Front Page News
Streaming Guest Contributor Streaming Guest Contributor

Front Page News

It started as a drowning call. We heard the code over the police scanner on Monday night. A backyard swimming pool. Three children. An unforgivable accident. Startling, obviously, but nothing out of the ordinary. We cover shootings and collisions and burglaries all day, every day. It takes a lot to get a newsroom’s undivided attention.

Read More
Everything You Need in a Teleprompter for Student Videos
Production, Streaming Kreativ Alchemy Production, Streaming Kreativ Alchemy

Everything You Need in a Teleprompter for Student Videos

If your school uses Windows computers, listen up. All too often, school video production programs are forced to use equipment and software that’s designed for the pros. When this happens, students spend more time sorting through features they don’t understand than learning the concepts behind producing a newscast. The RUSHPROMPTER™ provides a simple and capable teleprompting solution that includes all the features students need at a price every school can afford.

Read More
New Video System with Instant Replay for School Sports
Streaming Kreativ Alchemy Streaming Kreativ Alchemy

New Video System with Instant Replay for School Sports

Genesis-1 includes 3 cameras, 4 channels of instant-replay, slow motion, and a title generator that includes “score-bugs.” This turnkey video production system is designed to achieve a complete video production right out of the box. It includes JVC GY-HC500 4K cameras, an integrated switching system, a Clear-Com 2-Channel intercom, and an H.264 encoder for direct streaming to your favorite social media platforms.

Read More
Small Parabolic vs. Wireless Lapel Mic
Production Guest Contributor Production Guest Contributor

Small Parabolic vs. Wireless Lapel Mic

When faced with the task of recording an interview, most people will turn to a lapel (lavaliere) microphone for capturing the audio. The small microphones are seen every day on television, and they are often used without our seeing them. They are the perfect solution, right? Well, not always. There are several drawbacks to lapel microphone that most people just learn to live with. Small parabolic microphones provide a new alternative to lapel microphones that may alleviate all of these issues.

Read More
Sports Will Be Back Soon. Will You Be Ready?
Streaming Tom White Streaming Tom White

Sports Will Be Back Soon. Will You Be Ready?

The SportsCaster is a “one stop shop” for everything audio during a live event. It’s a 6-channel audio mixer with a built-in intercom system. In one rack unit, you can mix three on-air announcers who are using their Sports Pods, add sideline reports with the “field” input, plus ambient mics with the two “aux” inputs. Now, you have a fully built, well-rounded broadcast.

Read More
Tips for Quality Video and Cable Care
Teaching Resources Guest Contributor Teaching Resources Guest Contributor

Tips for Quality Video and Cable Care

Our tools extend beyond our cameras, lights, and microphones to the various tips and tricks that we acquire along the road of practice made perfect. These useful techniques become the difference between knowledge and experience, which yields wisdom. To this effect, here are some helpful hints that might assist you in becoming a little better with your tools.

Read More
Fortnite Event With Travis Scott Can Actually be Recreated in the Classroom
Streaming Tom White Streaming Tom White

Fortnite Event With Travis Scott Can Actually be Recreated in the Classroom

I enjoy Fortnite for a ton of reasons outside of the gameplay. I LOVE how they continue to force themselves to be a part of the conversation. On April 23, Fortnite completed their partnership with Travis Scott by doing a “Fortnite Event.” I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I heard that term in the videos I watched online for a week or so leading up to the event. I tuned in for the event and to say I was blown away was a complete understatement.

Read More
Affordable Gear for the Content Creator
Production Guest Contributor Production Guest Contributor

Affordable Gear for the Content Creator

As a High School Media Arts teacher, I have access to thousands of dollars of gear in a TV studio. Students learn how to operate high-tech broadcast cameras, increasingly capable DSLR cameras, and switcher boards that allow us to film a real TV production. But there are two pieces of equipment I bought recently that changed the game for productions on-the-go.

Read More
Esports Keep Teams Alive Virtually
Streaming Kreativ Alchemy Streaming Kreativ Alchemy

Esports Keep Teams Alive Virtually

El Toro High School’s esports club started in 2016, but it didn’t take off right away. With a lack of advertising, students didn’t really understand what it was and struggled to move their gaming from hobby to team sport. By 2019, the club only had about 15 students, but the following year, they tripled in size. Now, they play League of Legends and Overwatch. They have jerseys, scheduled practices, and plans for expansion.

Read More
Getting Creative with Google Classroom and Project-Based Learning
Teaching Resources Kreativ Alchemy Teaching Resources Kreativ Alchemy

Getting Creative with Google Classroom and Project-Based Learning

While some school districts are deploying high-tech video production setups to completely recreate the classroom environment online, that’s not an option for districts whose populations skew on the lower end of the socioeconomic totem pole. Delta County School District 50J in Colorado has roughly 56% of the student population receiving free and reduced lunch. According to Rupp, computers are not a household staple, and some of the students don’t even have access to the Internet. Finding a virtual learning solution that was easy to deploy and access was paramount.

Read More
TV Reporters and Social Distancing
Streaming Guest Contributor Streaming Guest Contributor

TV Reporters and Social Distancing

Reporters are faced with a dilemma in the current environment of social distancing. How can they capture clear audio during an interview while maintaining a safe separation? Parabolic microphones, used primarily for sports, may provide a great alternative. Parabolic microphones provide a mechanical amplification for the sound coming from in front of the dish. This allows a person speaking at a normal level to be recorded from six to ten feet using a parabolic microphone only nine inches in diameter.

Read More
Middle School Teacher Keeps His School’s Newscast Alive Remotely
Teaching Resources, Production, Streaming Kreativ Alchemy Teaching Resources, Production, Streaming Kreativ Alchemy

Middle School Teacher Keeps His School’s Newscast Alive Remotely

Happy Valley Middle School’s Media Arts teacher Steve Oliver was quick to act when his school switched to the online model during the COVID-19 crisis. He runs the school newscast to help lift the spirits of his school’s community. With the help of teachers, he has successfully increased viewership, engaged fellow teachers and students, and provided a therapeutic outlet for himself and others. It is not too often that middle schools offer a media arts program let alone have a news cast. Stream Semester spoke with Steve about his unique middle school news cast.

Read More
Free Video Editing Software for Students 
Teaching Resources, Filmmaking, Production Kreativ Alchemy Teaching Resources, Filmmaking, Production Kreativ Alchemy

Free Video Editing Software for Students 

While your school computers might have the same video editing software like the pros, students don’t have the same access at home. Some students don’t even have computers. But that shouldn’t stop you from editing your films and newscasts remotely. We gathered our favorite free video editing programs for your computers and phones.

Read More
Enrollment Marketing for Private and Charter Schools
Teaching Resources Kreativ Alchemy Teaching Resources Kreativ Alchemy

Enrollment Marketing for Private and Charter Schools

As the 2020 school year comes to a close, focusing on school enrollment is high on the minds of private and charter school directors. Kreative Webworks’ Digital Marketing Blueprint for Schools analyzes your school’s website, competitors, and industry search trends to develop an improvement strategy that lands more eyes on your content and, in turn, more names on your waitlist.

Read More
School News Gets Social
Streaming Kreativ Alchemy Streaming Kreativ Alchemy

School News Gets Social

When your students wake up in the morning, they probably check their phones before they even roll out of bed. Catawba Ridge High School’s news team was quick to take advantage of that morning routine. They post daily news updates on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat so followers know exactly what to expect for the school day ahead.

Read More