IV. EQUIPMENT RESOURCES
ALL NCAC EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES ARE TO BE USED FOR PRODUCING LIVE OR TAPED NON-COMMERCIAL PROGRAMMING FOR CABLECAST ON THE NEWTON ACCESS CHANNELS.
NCAC community producers may use portable production, post-production, and studio production equipment on a first-come, first-served basis. Equipment may not be used in hazardous situations.
A. STEPS TO FOLLOW FOR A NewTV PRODUCTION
1. Project Proposal Conference
No reservations for equipment or facilities can be made without a completed Project Proposal Conference, and a separate Project Proposal is required for each Program, or for Episodes of a Series.
By telephone or in person, complete a Project Proposal
Conference with the Public Access Coordinator,
preferably a minimum of 24 hours BEFORE the first reservation
under this project. During this conference, you will be
asked to provide the following information:
a. Title or Working Title of the Program you would
produce;
b. A brief description of the type of production you
will do -- i.e. is it a studio talk show, a field documentary,
event coverage, etc;
c. The length of the final program;
d. Whether it is a series or not;
e. Whether it is to be LIVE;
f. The date you project for completion of production work ("Planned End date");
g. What equipment and facility time you think you will need to
complete your project.
PLEASE NOTE: The purpose of this conference is to assure
that you have everything you need to do your shoot, and that you
are using the methods and materials best suited to your
production. Nothing in this conference concerns the content of
your program, subject matter, etc. Program content is strictly
yours to control. But we may need to know a few things about what
the program will contain (for example, will slides be shown, is
it a team sport shoot, will a public audience be involved, etc.)
in order to provide the appropriate resources.
B. FIELD PRODUCTION RESOURCES
1. The amount of equipment available for a given project will be determined by the Public Access Coordinator during the Project Proposal Conference, based on the needs of the project, and the equipment available at the proposed time of the project production.
2. Equipment must be reserved no more than 13 weeks in advance.
We cannot guarantee availability of equipment requested with less than 48 hours notice.
3. In the event of facility bookings in excess of 75% of available resources, the Public Access Coordinator may institute a per project budget of Usage Dollars, in order to more equitably control access to resources.
Equipment must be checked out at the NCAC office by the community producer named in the project proposal as Producer or Co-producer. The staff will enter the check-out information into the computer and a hard copy will be signed by the community producer.
Approximately 30 minutes should be allowed for checking equipment in or out.
5. Exceptions - If there are compelling reasons to get equipment at other times than the regularly scheduled check-out times, a staff person must approve such a request. That staff person is responsible for following through with the check-out and must also be responsible for setting up the check-in time with that user.
6. Return of Equipment - Community producers are responsible for notifying the staff if there are any problems with the equipment by submitting a completed Equipment Trouble Report. Community producers may not attempt repair of damage to equipment. Community producers may not borrow additional equipment until all items have been returned in good working order (normal wear and tear excepted).
7. Completion - All projects are given an initial 13 weeks for completion from the date of the first reservation. Producers are expected to deliver a videotape for cablecast no later than this "Planned End date." A single, 13-week extension will be considered at a Project Extension Conference with the Public Access Coordinator.
C. EDITING
1. Community producers coming in to Edit must check in with the staff member on duty. If a producer fails to check in through the FACIL computer system, the producer may be listed as a "No Show", and his or her edit time given away.
2. Community Producers must consult with the staff engineer before bringing in accessories. There are areas posted as off-limits to the public in the edit rooms. Unauthorized connection of external devices is a major violation, and grounds for suspension.
3. Edit times must be reserved no more than 13 weeks in advance. Producers may reserve only one four hour block per day in advance. However, on the day of an edit session, a producer may extend this edit time if the room is available, or make an additional reservation of up to four hours.
4. No one may reconfigure the wiring of any edit station. Violation of this rule will result in the immediate and permanent loss of all access privileges.
1. The NCAC staff person on duty during a studio production is not to be considered part of a crew.
2. Crew position assignments are the responsibility of the community producer. All studio crew must be certified or approved by the NCAC staff.
3. A Studio reservation is not confirmed until the community producer has confirmed, at minimum, the assignment of a Director and an Engineer for the production.
4. Producers must consult with the staff before bringing in accessories to the control room. There may be areas posted as off-limits. Studio time must be reserved, no less than one week and no more than 13 weeks in advance. A studio production block of up to 6 hours may be reserved in advance. The studio reservation may be extended on the day of production if time is available. Hours of studio use are firm; therefore all community producers should allow time to strike sets and clean up before their time is up.
5. No one may reconfigure any studio wiring. Violation of this
rule will result in the immediate and permanent loss of all
access privileges.
Community producers must give at least 24 hour notice when canceling any reserved use of NCAC equipment, facilities, channels or classes. If a community producer is more than 20 minutes late without notification, the reservation may be canceled. (See Minor Violations, p.23) Repeated instances of failure to make a timely notice of cancellation may result in a suspension of privileges.
FACIL permits three types of cancellation designations. Reservations cancelled at least 24 hours in advance will be designated as "Normal Cancel." Reservations cancelled with less than 24-hours notice will be designated as "Late Cancel." If a community producer is more than 20 minutes late, the cancellation will be designated as "No Show." After three "Late Cancels", producer will be notified that his or her membership privileges are at risk, and that a minor violation has been noted.
Three "No Shows" constitute a Major Violation, and
may result in a 90-day suspension of member privileges.