Courtney Davis
News Photographer

January was a very busy month here at WRAL-TV. Numerous changes have been made here to keep our product fresh and moving in the direction of TECHNOLOGY.

(Training on the new edit system)

One of the many things to be changing ‘round here is our video editing system. For years we have been editing from deck to deck. Essentially it’s been like having 2 high-tech VCR’s attached to each other.

Now we are moving to a computer system method, called non-linear editing.

Miles and miles of new fiber optic cables have been run through the television station to transmit our High Definition video. And now we are learning a new way to edit.
(Dave McCorkle and Don Ingle at the keyboard learning the new system)
In our current deck to deck method, we have been limited to editing one of two ways; a) by editing the reporter’s voice and the interviewee’s sound all the way through and going back to put in the video or b) editing the reporter’s sound and all extra video as we move through the timeline and then the interview’s sound, more pictures, reporter, interview, etc. In this method to add in extra stuff along the way has proven difficult and time consuming.

NOW we are going to be able to edit any way we feel necessary. We can start by editing the end of the story first if we’d like. We’ll also be able to adjust video settings, add graphics, and video effects. The system seems quite incredible actually. All the things it used to take 4 people (editing staff, a director, audio technician and me) to do, will now be made possible w/ the click of a mouse.

Many stations across the country already have these types of systems in place, but because here at WRAL we are using HD technology, we had to wait for a system to be created to best serve our needs.