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BCAT reopened its facility on September 29 with new COVID-19 safety protocols in place. The first month went by smoothly, and we thank all of our producers again for your patience, and to those who have come in and have been following our new guidelines.
Please help keep the facility open and virus-free by doing your part to prevent the spread of COVID-19. More info on how to stay healthy later in this newsletter.
The facility is open for studio, edit suite and field equipment reservations between 4 - 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please make sure to read our reopening plan before you return to BCAT. All members are required to comply with the rules of the plan.
Ary Mendoza will be the main staff available to assist you with making reservations, and for technical assistance while you are in the facility. You can make reservations or contact staff by calling 952-563-4980 or email us at BCAT@BloomingtonMN.gov. You can also make reservation requests using your member portal.
By Dan Carpenter, SWTV
For more than two decades, I’ve been shooting video on large and expensive video cameras. Because I’ve been lucky enough to have access to this equipment, I’ve been slow to embrace the computer in my back pocket for my video projects.
 I recently challenged myself to use my Samsung smartphone, a model from 2018, to capture the interesting weather we’ve had this fall. I found a small tripod to keep my video stable and made sure my lens wasn’t dirty before getting started. I also deleted some old videos that were taking up space.
 (Above) Adobe Rush timeline on a mobile device.
I recorded short 20-second clips and strung them together with the free editing app “Adobe Rush.” You can see the result here.
I learned a lot from this project. The wind was too much for the microphone (I covered some of the audio with music), the auto focus had a mind of its own at times and editing video with my finger instead of a computer mouse takes both practice and patience. Still, I was happy with the final product.
Although my phone can’t (yet) match the control I have over an image with a professional camera or the sound quality of a professional microphone, I’m still inclined to use this small tool more often. It’s always with me and I can skip the step of transferring everything to a computer before sharing it online.
If you’ve also attempted to complete an edited video project on your phone or tablet, share your frustrations, successes, lessons learned or even a link to the video. It could be featured in a future edition of BCAT Beat!
Practice social distancing, wear a mask and wash your hands. That's the basic message from organizations such as the Minnesota Department of Health for combating the coronavirus.
 Please keep this information in mind when you visit BCAT. It's very important that we all do our part to help slow the spread of the virus, and so that we don't get sick ourselves. For more tips from the MDH on staying healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit their website here.
One question we get asked a lot is about using copyrighted media in community TV productions, whether it's pictures, video clips, graphics, or music. The short answer is, unless you have explicit, written permission to use a piece of media that is copyrighted, no, you can not use it in your production. (This includes anything you may find on Google Images!)
However, when it comes to music, BCAT has you covered. We have a license to use music from APM Music, and BCAT members have access to that, as well. This music is free for you to use in any of your productions, in any capacity.
Feel free to browse the library, and if you find a piece of music you would like to use, BCAT staff can either help you download it here at BCAT, or contact us with both the Track Title and Track ID, and we can send the file to you.
Questions? Contact staff.
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