Ever wonder how the Spartan Edition gets on the air day after day? Well here’s your answer.
This is me (Robert Lampert) last year in my first position as Camera Operator for the Spartan Edition. photo by Andrew Briss
As I approach graduation, I’ve spent some time thinking about all the things I’m going to miss about TJ. Football games at All City, practice until 5:30, and of course, The Spartan Edition. Yet I’ve come to realize that the excitement about TJ’s daily news show, while shared school-wide, is far stronger for those who have been directly involved with it. I’ve been working in the announcements room for two years now, and when I think about how much fun I’ve had here, I realize only a small percentage of the school understands what goes on behind the scenes. That’s why I’ve decided to take the time to explain just exactly how The Spartan Edition makes it on the air day after day.
At 7:30 in the morning the students in the Radio and TV Broadcasting class come in eagerly ready for another day of production. While it should be said that we are in a classroom with deadlines and assignments, this is unlike any other classroom setting. The hustle and bustle of this never-ending assembly line is what brings kids back day after day.
Basically, the room is split into three kinds of people: anchors, producers and reporters. The anchor’s first job when coming into class is composing a script. All anchors, whether main, headline or sports are responsible for writing their own scripts. Teachers from around the school will e-mail Radio & TV Instructor Grant Laman special announcements that they want to be read on the show. These reminders are then handed down to the appropriate anchors as they compose scripts, ranging anywhere from one minute to 10 minutes long. Upon completion, these scripts are sent to the teleprompter in the studio (a separate room adjacent to the news room). The teleprompter operator then works together with the studio manager and studio technician to coordinate the digital recording of the anchors while simultaneously running their prompters.
By 8:20 all aspects of the Spartan Edition should be recorded and sent (over the network, computer to computer) to the producers. For every great anchor, there is a great producer standing behind him/her. After receiving their required raw clips, the producers go to work putting digital backgrounds behind every anchor with the use of green screen and chroma key technology. All clips are recorded with the anchor/guest standing in front of a green wall. Then, using a software application called Final Cut HD, the producer applies what’s called a chroma key. This allows the computer to replace anything on the screen that’s green with any image of the producer’s choosing. Often, custom backgrounds are made within Photoshop by a background specialist. The length of the daily production varies according to how long the clip is, but usually never lasts more than 10 minutes. Once produced, each clip of the anchor’s is sent as a self-contained movie to the producer (who is basically the head honcho of the whole ordeal) and all clips, whether it be anchors, openings, closings, or features in between, are sent to him as he assembles them into the final product you see every day.
For anyone who wonders what video visionaries are behind the monthly Math Puzzler and all other sideshow clips, they need look no further than The Spartan Edition reporting staff. Coming into class, their only job is to tape, edit, and produce all the filler clips that are shown most often before and after the announcements. The class period is basically allotted time to allow their creative juices to flow and let their hard work be seen. Spend any time in the halls during first and second and you’ll more than likely to run into some of them filming the filler clips you see on a daily basis.
Putting together the Spartan Edition is like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle. The producer, who works with the main anchor, as well as cutting and putting all clips together, relies directly upon the editor. The editor comes in after the producer and watches the announcements all the way through once to bring a new perspective, and correct any mistakes before the announcements make it on the TV.
As for all the anchor and guest video clips, the are taped and processed by the studio managers. Their job is to make sure everything is running smoothly within the studio. The managers are expected to have a superior knowledge of how all the studio equipment operates. The studio manager is assisted by the studio technician, whose job it is to run the camera, adjust the lights, and regulate all the equipment. All other jobs include anchors, headline producer, sports producer, background specialist and reporters.
In 1991, Teacher Matthew Spampinato, an English teacher and the newspaper advisor here at TJ at the time, set the wheels in motion for a program named Communications Central and a soon to be conjoined project titled The Spartan Edition. Looking to spice up the current newspaper, Spampinato implemented a number of new classes including journalism and photojournalism. These classes were created in order to prepare kids with a higher knowledge and increased ability in writing and photography. In 1994, Spampinato began producing a daily radio broadcast named The Spartan Edition. The next year, TJ received bond money from the City of Denver, allowing them to place a TV in every classroom. This was the inaugural year that began the video magazine we know today. “When we started, we had the camera hooked directly to the VCR. Our anchors printed off scripts and read directly off the paper,” stated Spampinato. Fortunately for the Spartan Edition staff, it didn’t take long for their efforts to be noticed as they were awarded a grant from City of Denver which allowed them access to a high tech, pro-grade editing machine called a Video Toaster. The device was revolutionary for the program as it allowed for tape to tape editing with a computer interface. This equipment upgrade wasn’t the last, as grants from numerous cable companies (worth in excess of .5 million dollars) have allowed TJ to advance their gear year after year. At this point, The Spartan Edition staff produces the show with some of the markets’ most state-of-the-art equipment, preparing them all for successful careers in the broadcast journalism field.
At the beginning of this school year, Spampinato took over the post of Computer Magnet Director, and past the Radio & TV baton to Computer Magnet Teacher Grant Laman, who has professional experience working in television production (see related article). Both Spampinato and Laman take pride in the fact that every single school day of the year The Spartan Edition is edited, produced and ready to go by the end of period two. “In 14 years we’ve never missed a show due to students’ inability to complete the task,” said Spaminato.
So how is it that the show finds itself streaming into our classroom tubes? The Spartan Edition uses state-of-the-art technology to broadcast the announcements through the producer’s computer out onto a network played on every television on channel 89 school-wide. This signal is broadcast to every classroom everyday as the minds of TJ students are stimulated by their beloved video magazine, The Spartan Edition.
I was fortunate to spend nearly two hours per day for the past two years working on The Spartan Edition as a reporter, anchor, editor, and producer. First and second period will easily be one of my fondest memories here at TJ. For anyone who is interested in watching The Spartan Edition outside of school, have no fear, because tjjournal.com continues to update their archive of episodes daily, allowing anyone with a computer to watch episodes at home.
