CETconnect.org

“The more knowledge you seek, the less you will understand.”
–Lao-Tzu

People often ask me what exactly a Promotions Producer does. Does a Promotions Producer, they ask, do more than just walk around the station all day with a cup of coffee?

As John Lennon once said, “Yes is the answer and you know that for sure.”

As Promotions Producer, I am responsible for what we in the biz call “Interstitial Material.” In regular talk, that means the spots that air between the programs you see here on CET. If you see a promo for this week’s NOVA or a spot featuring the many videos available on CETconnect or even a nice little station ID featuring some of the locations around Greater Cincinnati, then you’re watching something that falls under the jurisdiction of the CET Promotions Department.

So who puts these things together? Most of the promos for PBS shows that you see on our air are “tagged” (meaning labeled with the day and time that it airs – “Sunday at 8 on CET”) by a gentleman in the building named Paul on a tape-to-tape linear editing system. Other non-PBS program promos, like the one for the Joel’s Library Jam kit or the recent Big Comfy Couch Spooky Couch Event, are produced by me on a digital editing system called an Avid Xpress Pro.

So what’s the difference, you ask? Without going into heavy technical terms and thus causing most folks’ eyes to glaze over, the difference between a linear and non-linear system is quite simple. Linear editing systems are tape-to-tape. That means any edits you make are physically put on the tape. Whereas on a non-linear editing system, edits are done on a computer before it is committed to tape. The easiest way to think about it is to think of linear editing as writing on a typewriter and non-linear editing as writing on a word processing program.

Both systems have their good points and their bad points. The linear way can be quick for straightforward editing, such as what Paul does. However, anything that requires several layers (picture atop picture atop picture) requires several passes on a tape which causes wear. The non-linear way gives you a lot more freedom and you can manipulate shots, do animations and do as many layers as you like before anything is laid to tape. But being a PC-based system, non-linear systems can be prone to crashing and cause the editor (i.e., me) to utter several extremely un-PBS Kids friendly words.

Keep checking the CETconnect Blog for more on the mysterious CET Promotions Department. –Brian