Incoming National Mobile Television (NMT) vice president of engineering John Kemps has identified HD training of NMT mobile staff and freelance production talent as a key to future success.
With an increasing demand for HD teleproduction and a growing HD fleet, which includes five large HD trailers, a side-by-side HD vehicle and more in the works for 2005, the need for knowledge and understanding of HD sports production techniques and technology is growing, said Kemps.
According to Kemps, one of the biggest challenges NMT faces is “making everyone comfortable” with HD, which requires “a pretty dramatic learning curve with the equipment and the aspect ratios.”
Many of the vendors NMT relies upon for technology are helping the mobile facilities provider meet the training challenge. For example, this month Sony, Thomson and EVS worked together to put on a training day in the San Francisco area for local freelance production personnel. Freelancers were given an opportunity to learn, ask questions, use various pieces of equipment and discuss their concerns.
Ultimately, training freelancers is a good business move, he said.
Kemps, who took his new post after working as the company’s director of engineering for the western region, has identified training field engineers to get them “up to speed and far along down the HD road” as his biggest priority.
Kemps recently put together a training plan — a task that’s not easy given field engineers demanding travel schedules.
