[SBE] Mentoring

[Joshua Smith]

Excellent point, Henry.

At the end of the day, whether it's a micro-chip or an old PR&E Console, an
HD-Transmitter or an old two-way, *somebody* still has to know how to put it
together and turn it on.  Our careers are not ending, they are just
changing... just like everybody else.

Also... Broadcast Engineers (indeed, Broadcasters in general) do themselves
a disservice to say "well, that's *New Media* or *IT* and not mine to be
concerned with."  Having got my early training in the recording industry, I
can tell you exactly what happens to an industry that says a certain
technology is not theirs to be concerned with and so can a certain
Northeastern University drop-out named Shawn.

It's important to remember that, while the physics of what we do are pretty
set-in-stone, the *practice* is not and will never be.  I had the advantage
of starting my wanderings in the world of audio and studio engineering as
analog tape machines were only starting to go away and I can say I remember
doing a razor blade splice and while it is good knowledge to have - may even
prove useful someday - it is simply NOT the way things are done anymore (for
better or worse).  I'd be flipping burgers now if I was not willing to learn
what a D.A.W. was and was not, the differences between digital audio specs,
how IP Audio works, etc.  Unfortunately, I know a fair share of engineers
who were not so open-minded who are having a rough time of it now.

He who doesn't pay attention to which way the wind is blowing deserves to
get smacked in the head by whatever is flying in the breeze.


- Joshua C Smith

Joshua C Smith, CBT
Assistant Engineer
WSTR-FM "Star 94" / WQXI-AM "790 The Zone"
[Office] :     (404) 261-2970 x290
[Direct] :     (404) 238-9490
[Mobile] :    (404) 617-0430

Lincoln Financial Media ®


On Mon, Oct 12, 2009 at 1:03 PM, <A9xw at cs.com> wrote:


> Many jobs in broadcasting for the most part no longer exist. The telecine

> operator has gone the way of the dodo bird, but graphics arts from simple

> Chyron to complicated Henry, Harry and other post devices need lots of

> operators. Production still requires editors, camera operators, TD's, audio

> and other skilled people. And while editing no longer requires a 2 week

> course on setting up the Quad machines, and Editec II Avid and Final Cut pro

> programs and such do require skills to utilize and you still have to know

> where to splice the tape (albeit its a hard drive file) to get the proper

> timing and dramatic effect you want to tell the story. The newer equipment

> doesn't need a professional photog to operate, but the better cameras and HD

> do require photog skills, and a good product requires professional training.

>

>

> While some of my friends feel life in broadcasting is about to end, it is

> simply evolving from old film and slide projectors and cantankerous TK41's

> and other old stuff to TV station on a chip, someone still has to connect

> the chips together and despite the world going digital, a lot of boxes are

> not plug and play or compatible with other boxes.

>

> Production trucks still require a crew to operate and SAT/ENG trucks

> require knowledge and skill to use properly.

>

> We can't turn the clock back to B&W and mono audio although we might think

> about it, we are in the age of 5.1 sound, HD in various flavors and DTV

> transmissions and MPEG encoders and fiber optics.

>

> Older programs were simpler productions because of the difficulty using

> technology, its limitations and the skills needed to make it work. Today

> productions are more complex, maybe 20 layers of graphics and effects,

> multiple video tracks and dozens on sound tracks, various clean, mixed and

> edited or processed feeds, simulcast SD, HD, 16:9, 3:4, stereo mix down,

> etc. Different conversions to serve streaming, OTA and archive or VOD or

> IPTV.

>

> We used to do one or two camera TV news programs, now its not unusual to

> have 12 or more with POV, beauty shots, crowd shots, wx cams, traffic cams,

> etc. A single news cast might have sat feeds, ENG feeds, SOT, compiled

> packages, produced packages, graphics, server playouts and lots more. There

> are still producers, editors, writers, shooters, TD, audio mixers, remote

> coordinators, and someone yelling to get the wrong video off the screen.

>

> Locally in Chicago there is Columbia College that teaches hands on

> broadcast/production stuff. Dave Mason is the CE and an instructor on SOTA

> hardware.  312 369 7467 is the office number.

>

> Stations also have intern positions in many areas.

>

> So is now a good time to get into broadcasting?  Do what you love to do and

> you'll be happy. Are some of our jobs now low pay, long hours, crummy

> bosses?   I bet its the same at McBurger.  But do you want to be paid to

> watch TV, or handle customer complaints at Sears?  Do you want a feeling of

> creative accomplishment or work on an assembly line at Toyota?

>

> Engineering has to be creative, just read the station stories in the

> broadcast publications. People are finding new ways to make it happen and

> enjoying it.

>

> I've seen 45 years of change, and if I  include my tinkering with

> electronic stuff from age 4 with razor blade and safety pins, oat meal boxes

> and cat whiskers, cactus needles, 12ax7, 21AXP22, 6066 and other ancient

> stuff we're looking at 60 years.  I would not have missed it for the world.

>

> My stations just completed a new HD facility, bought a big production truck

> and an ENG/SAT truck. just spent a week in DC going through a sat truck

> operators certification course and met a bunch of nice people from around

> the world and networked with them.  Its a small industry and you see the

> same faces over and over, even have some folks that have worked for me in 3

> different companies, traded jobs with others and been hired by a former

> employee.

>

> I don't know what the equipment will be like in 50 years, but someone still

> had to know how to use it, fix it, and connect it. And when you get as old

> as some of us, you'll have lots of opinions and anecdotes to share as well.

> And by that time if someone doesn't like what you think, so what. Kick the

> nay sayers to the curb and keep on going. Do what you like to do.

>

> Regards,

> Henry

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