Starting your own cable television or internet happiness show is easier
than you might think. Let's begin with how to create a cable show.
Firstly you need to find out if your community has a public access cable
television station. These stations cablecast programs locally and often
present programming by churches and civic organizations.
If your city or town has a station,
you’re in luck and your next step is to find out what their producing
and cable casting requirements are. In small towns and cities, you
would speak with the station manager or person in charge of
programming. In larger cities like New York, there is often a website
describing these requirements. Googling "cable access", or “public
cable access” and the name of your town, city or county should tell you
if your local station has a website. Generally, anyone who lives in a
community having a cable access television station can produce a show,
and this opportunity is offered on a first come first served basis.
If your community does not have a
cable access station, you might want to see if any towns or cities
nearby have one. If they do, and you know someone who lives there, it
is often possible to have them "produce" the show, meaning that they
sign a contract with the station simply stating that they assume
responsibility for the content presented on your show.
Some stations require that you have
your own crew to control the cameras and video recording panel. In this
case, your crew would first go through a basic training course to
familiarize them with the equipment and procedures. Other stations will
have their own personnel that will do all of this for you, which
generally makes it easier to schedule taping sessions and frees you to
devote more time and energy to your presentation.
The episodes are usually taped and
edited simultaneously, which means that you present the entire show from
beginning to end with no interruptions. The director directs the show
by keeping a few fingers on buttons controlling the cameras (usually
three; long shot, middle shot, and close up). In this way, the director
alternates camera shots, and only the camera selected at any one time
will deliver the audio-video signal to the video recorder used to record
the episode.
A station will often require that you tape
four or five episodes before they add your program to their cable cast
schedule. They want to ensure that you are both committed, and able, to
create a number of episodes before they schedule your time slot and
present your shows to the public. Some larger cities and towns with
many individuals wanting to produce shows may only allow you to produce
and present a dozen episodes, while others will allow you to present as
many episodes as long as you like. Some cities will also offer you the
opportunity to produce and present one-time special presentations rather
than an entire series.
The next step is creating your show’s content. I created the first
twenty five episodes of The Happiness Show in lecture style before
Lionel became my co-host. I simply made an outline of the material I
wanted to present, and then referred to it while taping. In order to
help you develop your own outlines, and to provide you with ideas for
the kind of material you may want to present, I have made available
these outlines available to you for review. Simply
click here or scroll
to the bottom of the page to see the list and select specific episode
outlines.
There are some other details that you’ll need to address
like make up and clothing. Generally you want to avoid bright colors
like white and yellow. It's sometimes a good idea to apply a skin tone
base powder to your face in order to minimize light reflections. Have a
hand mirror and a comb nearby (but out of camera view) so that you can
make last minute preparations. A large sign on your set displaying the
title of your show is a good idea. You can create one on your computer
and have a copy center enlarge it for you.
Doing a show alone can work well. Its like teaching a
course in front of a class of students, and you can feel assured that
you always have the cameras’ undivided attention! Just make sure to
always turn to face the camera that the director has selected as the
recording camera. (it usually has a light above it that goes on when it
has been selected as the active camera). Doing a show with either a
guest or a co-host is generally more fun, and interesting for the
viewer, but remember that working with others makes scheduling the
taping sessions a bit more complicated.
Usually the show will run about twenty eight minutes.
This leaves time for an introduction and an ending to your show, which
the cable station staff will often create for you. There’s where you
put your credits and any other information you would like to
present.
Generally, your provide the studio
with the VHS videocassette for every episode you do, and after the show
is presented the cassette is yours to present in other venues if you
wish. You may find that various communities nearby present public
access programming, and they are usually eager for new material. In
these cases, just like with the production, you simply need someone who
lives there to "sponsor" the show. You can then use your original
videocassettes or make copies of them to present in those communities.
(When making copies of your original videocassette, it is a good idea to
use a video amplifier --about $50 at Radio Shack-- so that your copies
are as high quality as possible). If you’d like to present your show to
a community far from yours and you know someone who lives there, you can
simply mail them your episodes. Your associate will then take them to
the station periodically
If your community does not have a public access station,
you can still easily create your own happiness show for cable or
internet presentation using your own camera and video recorder. While
most studios will have three cameras set up for different shots, using
one camera for your show can work very well. View some of the
infomercials on television and you will notice that they will sometimes
hold the same shot for many minutes at a time.
In order to video tape your own shows,
all you will need is a video camera, a clip-on microphone, good strong
lighting, and a VCR. There are many analog and digital video formats
available, and almost every one of them can record video suitable for
cablecast. The only format you should first test thoroughly is the
digital video taken by digital cameras. Some digital cameras will take
excellent video, while others will record video that can appear choppy.
Once you have your episodes, you may want to upload them
to a website like I have done, and present them to the world in
streaming video format. To do this, your computer will need a video
card ($50-$100), and Windows Movie Maker software (a free download from
Microsoft.com). I recommend the Windows format rather than QuickTime,
Real player, or other video formats simply because the vast majority of
new computers are PCs that come with the Windows Media Player software
needed to see your videos already installed. Mac users can easily
download a Mac-compatible player for free from Microsoft. Making videos
for the internet can involve some details I haven’t explained here. If
you begin recording happiness shows and need advice on how to present
them on the internet, just email me and I’ll try to guide you through
the process.
us!
