HMS Winter 2016 Newsletter

News from Houston MediaSource

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HMS Winter 2016 Newsletter

Message from your Outreach Coordinator

As the holidays are quickly approaching, we would like to let you know of our holiday hours. During November, on Wednesday the 23rd, we will close at 6 p.m. Our facility will also be closed to observe the Thanksgiving holidays on November 24th and 25th. We will re-open on Saturday November 26th during our normal business hours.

During December we will be closing on the 23rd at 6 p.m. We will be closed for Christmas Eve on Saturday the 24th. We reopen Tuesday December 27th during our normal business hours. We will close on Saturday December 31st at 6 pm and reopen Tuesday, January 3rd during normal business hours.

Roger E Palomino
Outreach Coordinator

Highlight Non-Profit : Cuddling Care, Inc.

Many non-profits exist in the city of Houston. One in particular which is very much a part of the East End district and has continuously given so much back to the city's newborns and their moms is Cuddling Care, Inc., founded in the fall of 2004.

Since its initial beginning, Cuddling Care founder and president, Odell Roundtree, has given much of her time and energy to ensure that Lyndon B Johnson Hospital's expecting moms and their infants were well taken care of. Roundtree works tirelessly to obtain donations consisting of baby clothes, quilts, care bags for expecting moms, diapers, bottles and formula.

Watch for a new episode of the Houston Refocused program which profiles Roundtree and details the work that she and volunteers at Cuddling do to meet the immediate needs of expecting moms and their babies.

For more information about Cuddling Care, contact Odell Roundtree at (713) 637-8722.

New Edit Suite User ID's and Passwords

In order to increase the efficiency of the work flow in the edit suites, a User ID and Password system has been implemented. Each producer who completes a basic editing course will be assigned a User ID and then allowed to create a password so that they will have complete privacy while working on their edits.

As previously mentioned in a newsletter, each community producer may use a maximum of 150 GB of storage to ensure that everyone has enough space on each computer to work on programs. This system will enable producers to keep track of their content and easily save their work onto a desktop folder and/or a personal hard drive.

Sony Z150 and the Sony F55

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of new cameras for our HMS community producers. They are the Z150 and the F55, both from Sony.

The Sony Z150 is a 4K camera that will enable producers to dramatically upgrade the quality of their videos. Information will be available soon regarding certification classes and the prerequisites necessary to check out this piece of equipment.

The Sony F55 js a cinema-quality camera which will be available to select producers who are interested in creating short films. More information regarding the HMS Houston Filmmakers Project will be released after the first of the year.

Production Tips

Raising the Audio Bar

Once a digital track has been successfully recorded and saved as a digital file, the work is done, right?
Well, maybe.

In many - if not most - cases, an audio recording can be strengthened with a judicious application of effects, specifically EQ and compression. Both types of effects can be used to substantially increase the clarity of the spoken word.

In the case of EQ, there are three frequency ranges which must be considered with regard to the human voice. Fundamental frequencies of speech occur between 85 Hz and 250 Hz. Vowel sounds are found between 350 Hz and 2kHz. Finally, consonant sounds lie in the area between 1.5kHz and 4kHz. It is the latter group of frequencies that we want to concentrate on, because they make the most difference in terms of intelligibility.

When using EQ to add clarity to a muddy or lifeless voice track, find the faders on an EQ plug-in that correspond to the specified range. Then begin to gradually increase specific frequencies until the voice track starts to sound more crisp and lively. There is no standard value for this sort of application, since all voices are different, but around 2.5 kHz is a good place to start.
In addition to EQ, most audio editing software also includes compression. This is a function which reduces the dynamic range of an audio track. In this case, "reduction" is a good thing, since compression makes the loud sections softer and the soft sections louder, resulting in a smoother, punchier track.

Until a user gains a bit of experience and develops an "ear" for compression, it is generally advisable to use the preset compression settings which are included with most software. Try several settings and decide which one works best for the track in question.

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About Houston MediaSource

Established in 1987, Houston MediaSource is home to Houston’s public access television and radio, HMS-TV and HMS Net Radio. Houston MediaSource provides community members with the education and equipment they need to produce their own programs. More information about becoming a community producer is available during a free orientation class held every Monday at 6 p.m. More information is available online at hmstv.org or by calling 713.524.7700 x112.

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Houston MediaSource · 410 Roberts · Houston, Texas 77003 · USA