New cameras for STN 49

Students who set up their cameras to shoot video on The Green for the student-run television station, STN 49, are now carrying three to four thousand dollars worth of equipment, according to the Jillian Jablonski, the station’s president.

Jablonski, a senior, said the STN 49 faculty advisor Carlos Hervas was able to purchase the new cameras with money saved up from previous years. The organization is funded by a fixed budget from the Department of Communication, she said. 

Jablonski said Hervas, a communication professor, decides how to spend money in the STN 49 fund.

“The cameras are what needed to be done, but that was a long overdue process,” Jablonski said.  

The station produces five shows, “Mics and Lights,” “49 News,” “The Biweekly Show,” “What in the Hall?” and “Full Court Press.” Each show airs every two weeks and the shows alternate weeks, said junior Brook Kebede, the operations manager for STN 49 and a producer for “What in the Hall?”

Hervas picked out and bought three Panasonic AG-AC130 and two Panasonic AG-AC160 camcorders, according to Kebede. The cameras shoot in high-definition and are all digital, which eliminates tapes and older filming styles, he said.

The new cameras also come with new tripods, cases and microphones, Kebede said. The studio’s editing software, FinalCut Pro, was also upgraded to work with the cameras, he said.

“Those two work really seamlessly together, it’s great,” Kebede said. “It’s very plug and go. You just take the SD card and plug it in.”

Other new features on the camera such as filters, slow-motion recording and automatic adjustments to lighting allow more editing to be done while filming instead of afterward in the studio. Kebede said the new cameras could cut post-editing time in half. 

He said the new technology takes some time to get used to but is helping to expand the organization. The group had a record number of freshmen sign up this year at Activities Night, Kebede said.  

“Our entire network is very young now, which is great because we can teach them and then they can carry on when we graduate,” he said. 

Kebede said he oversees the new equipment which is stored in the STN 49 office on Main Street. He trains students in the organization to use the cameras and signs them out to crew members.

“Almost anyone can be trained with these cameras,” Kebede said. “They don’t have to have a background in anything. They can just jump in.”