Filmaker site for students.

Some decent stuff here. Contests, tech tips, etc.

Something to mull over.....

With most people down on the prospects of careers in broadcasting and journalism, here is an upbeat point of view.

Check out these dinosaurs.

The very first color TV cameras. Check out how large they are. The fixed distance turret style lens, where you had to physically rotate the lens to change your focal length. How far we have come!

Another great college broadcasting program.

Hofstra University has always had a wonderful broadcasting department and has supplied the industry with many talented professionals.

The Future of Journalism?

Data, data, and more data!

To my students.....VIDEO CONTEST

Take a look at this video contest. Looks good.

Great report on the future of television

Our friends in the United Kingdom take a look at the future of television. TV execs everywhere are shaking in their boots.

Great Journalism program.....

For my Juniors and Seniors. University of Missouri has an excellent Journalism program, which includes Radio and TV.

Mr. B

NY Times on-line edition (11/21/10), featuring Technology and Education. Check out the Morristown High School segment!

The New York times has been doing stories on Education and Technology. In today's on-line edition of the New York Times (11/21/10), there is a video segment on technology usage in the classroom featuring a segment on the American Studies class at Morristown High School. Please check it out!

WJSV 90.5 FM Morristown

Here at Morristown High School we have a real, live, FCC regulated radio station. WJSV 90.5 FM Morristown is a student run radio station. I have the privilege of being the club advisor. Students produce a show during the lunch period, and then produce shows after school from 2:30pm EST until 10pm EST. 
Music ranges from Top 40 to hip hop to classic rock. The station gives students the opportunity to read live news, sports, weather, play their favorite music, and conduct interviews. WJSV offers a truly "free-form" radio experience. 
If you are in the Morristown, NJ area, tune in to WJSV 90.5 FM Morristown.

Colonial Corner

At this time, quarter to 7 EST, I am still at the high school with Executive Producer, Zaji Zabalerio, putting together our fourth edition of Colonial Corner. This show promises to be one of our finest. Hope you enjoy it once it's up on YouTube. You can access our Colonial Corner channel page by clicking here. 


Have a great weekend!


Mr. Butler

The importance of WRITING in television......

Often overlooked, writing is as important in television, and other media as camerawork or audio production.

This site has some great tips!

"Excuse Me, Mr. Brinkley..."

Many years ago, while dining in a Miami restaurant, a TV production student of mine saw David Brinkley, one of the most experienced and respected network anchorpersons of all time.*

The student strode boldly up to Mr. Brinkley, introduced himself as an aspiring TV journalist, and asked:

"Mr. Brinkley, what advice could you give me to be successful in broadcast journalism?"

David Brinkley, who won more awards in news than any radio or TV newscaster in history, put down his fork, thought for a moment, and said, "Three things: Learn to write. Learn to write. And learn to write."

I'm so proud of my Broadcasting 1 students!

It's amazing how quickly today's students can pick up on technology. My Broadcasting 1 students have been editing on Final Cut Pro for about 2 weeks now and are already editing projects. Most of these Broadcasting 1 students are 9th graders. Imagine if they stay with this program for 4 years, the type of editing they will be doing.

Keep it up!

Mr. Butler

Great site on Digital Storytelling

Informative college site (University of Houston) on the ins and outs of Digital Storytelling.

Great information on 3 point lighting!

Lighting is very important for a successful interview. This site has some great pointers!

Check out this link from the University of Idaho Broadcasting/Digital Media Dept.

MediaCollege

Great tutorials on this site. Free and updated!!!

Great website for broadcasting students and teachers.

Hi,

The Radio Television Digital News Foundation (RTDNF), has a great website for high school journalism and broadcasting students, as well as teachers. ENJOY!

High School Broadcast Journalism - Homepage

Teaching at 53? Are you kidding?

       After 30 years in the TV business, I have started a teaching career. I am the Broadcasting teacher at Morristown High School in New Jersey. I have started taking Master's degree classes, I am required to take 200 hours of "Alternate Route" teacher training, and I am wearing "Dockers".

From 1991 until November 2009, I was a senior director for the cable television network Court TV. I directed some of the most famous or infamous trials of the past two decades. O.J. Simpson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Scott Peterson, Michael Jackson, etc., etc. I could go in a million different directions at this time, but I will stay on topic and focus on the challenge of teaching television and radio in the digital age.

Who are my students? We had the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z . I like to think of my students as the "Digital Generation". Do they know what videotape is? How about cassettes or 8-tracks? Are the terms rewind or fast forward in their vocabularies? What is a DJ? Mr. Butler is it true there were under 10 TV stations available when you were a kid? The "Digital Generation" comprehends upload, share, Google, gigs, megs, ram, playlists, iTunes, post, HTML, HTTP, WWW, and .com.

My students need to be engaged, and don't want to sit through lectures, They have incredible computer and technology skills. Despite these skills, students need to learn production techniques, production values, camera and audio basics, show layouts, script writing, and much more.


I hope to share my 30 years of professional TV experience with my students. I also hope to learn from them. What do they like to watch, listen to, play, read, blog, text, surf? Let's explore the new media together. Let's create new media through new technology.