Monomoy High School is a key educational establishment in Harwich, MA, nestled on the southern coast of Cape Cod overlooking Nantucket Sound. Home of the Monomoy Sharks, it is also home of a digital media/TV production program that enables students to produce their own daily morning show. Students get the full benefit of a recently refurbished production studio outfitted with a new Broadcast Pix BPswitch GX system and BPfusion Graphics software, which replaced their Broadcast Pix Mica system.
Instructor Stephen Cass has been using Broadcast Pix equipment since 2009, but Monomoy only began using it for remote production for its 2020 graduation ceremonies. “Just as I was getting things ready, my portable switcher died on me,” Cass explained, “so I reached out to Broadcast Pix and they were able to lend us a system. That meant I could cover graduation, and then we were able to buy the system soon afterward.”
Three Sony HXC-FD80 HD studio cameras complete the setup, putting the new studio at the forefront of TV production education in the region. ‘Few schools in the region provide the same level of equipment students would see at a television station,” Cass added. “So, it gives them a huge career advantage.”
With Cass taking a “very hands-off” approach, the students produce a five-minute show with announcements, news, weather, and sports. They also produce school committee meetings using the Broadcast Pix switcher and PTZ cameras.
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“The morning show is recorded live-to-tape and uses clips, virtual backgrounds, graphics, over the shoulder boxes,” Cass noted. “Coupled with broadcast-style transitions to the weather, the result is very professional looking. The students have only been doing this for a few months and have had a few hiccups, but they’re leaning from what doesn’t work and are doing a pretty nice job.”
Cass values the flexibility of the Broadcast Pix system. “Because we’re in an educational setting, ideally, I want to have as many students involved as possible,” he explained, “but at other times when I am short of people, a single operator can run them. They just have great flexibility to scale from a single person operation to a multi-person collaboration.”
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The school recently added an additional Broadcast Pix FX8, purchased through the Ockers Company in Brockton, MA, to cover the many sporting events that they produce. “The students run everything—they are the commentators, camera people, create graphics, they do the switching, and mix the audio,” Cass added.
Cass and the school have big plans. “Eventually, I'd like to run fiber to all the different areas in the school, like the football field, gymnasium, to the theatre, all tied back into our control rooms,” he said. “That would give our students remote production experience in a familiar setting, which is great preparation for the real world beyond the school walls.”
