Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Holidays, Graphics, Video Quality, and Ramp Up

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

For this week’s Host Bulletin, we’d like to answer some questions and review some policies.

2021 Broadcast Schedule

Regular schedule: 

Monday, Oct. 11 - Columbus Day

Thursday, Nov. 11 - Veterans Day

Closed (building holiday):

Monday, May 31 - Memorial Day

Monday, July 5 - Independence Day

Monday, Sept. 6 - Labor Day 

Thursday, Nov. 25 - Thanksgiving

Closed (ThinkTech winter break) - no live shows

Monday, Dec. 20 - Thursday, Dec. 30

Regular schedule resumes:

Monday, January 3, 2022

Clips and Graphics

When you or your guest send in graphics, please follow https://thinktechhawaii.com/graphics-guidelines. If you did not create these graphics yourself, we expect they will be in the public domain, available under a Creative Commons License, or you will have the necessary permissions to use them.  If there is any question about a given graphic, please be sure to send it to us a full day in advance so we can check for copyright issues.  Please let us know how you got each graphic so we can list the owner in our credits page if necessary.

Tip - You can download free stock clips and graphics from the following sites:

• Pixabay
• Pexels
• Mixkit
• Coverr
• Unsplash
• Burst
• Kaboompics
• Stocksnap
• Canva

Tip - You can buy stock clips and graphics from the following sites:

• Depositphotos
• Pond5
• Adobe Stock
• Alamy
• iStock
• Shutterstock
• Getty Images

Video and Framing

Make sure that you and your guests are centered and keep your heads 3/4 the way up in the frame and maintain this position throughout the show. Don't lean back and forth or swivel on your chair - this affects the audio and looks unprofessional. Change chairs if necessary. Keep your camera steady at eye level and look directly into it. Please install the latest version of Zoom, restart Zoom and set the virtual background to “Blur." When you do, please wear something that distinguishes you from the background and avoid white or seersucker clothing.

Ramp Up

Covid-19 is still an ongoing issue, so we are not planning to have hosts and guests return to the studio for the balance of the year. We will let you know when we will be opening up the studio again. Stay safe.

Thanks so much for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact Hayley at hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Underwriters, Reactions, and Equipment

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

For this week’s Host Bulletin, we’d like to review some policies and recommend some essential equipment. 

“Sponsors” vs. “Underwriters”

We are supported by tax deductible donations from underwriters.  Sponsors more often pay for advertising time or space. We do not have any sponsors.

Reactions

When you react to your guest's comments during the show, avoid nodding and saying "I agree" too much. It's too repetitive, and it's more interesting if you vary your gestures and expressions.

Green Screens

If you use a green screen, please make sure that it's well-lit to avoid any artifacts. Choose a background with some contrast and color, but not too much where it becomes distracting. We can send you potential backgrounds to use, or blur your selected image as a background.

Equipment

Please get equipment that ensures that you will have clear audio and video. First try wiping your lens and lighting yourself better.  If your audio or video is still below standard you may want to get a separate USB camera and microphone.  Check out Logitech and similar brands at Best Buy, Amazon or B&H Photo. You can also call Jay 780-9254 and he will give you suggestions.

Thanks so much for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact Hayley at hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Website Announcement and Show Prep

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

For this week’s Host bulletin, we’d like to review some things you should do in preparing for our show. 

Websites

Some hosts have been providing websites for us to display.  To make this easier, we’ve added a new optional field for your organizational website URL. We can show the URL at the bottom of the screen, the full webpage, or both. Please specify which when you enter it in the form.

Backlighting

When you frame yourself for the show, make sure you do not have too much light behind you. It's distracting and will put shadows on your face.  Light sources should be above and in front of you.

Show Information

For the Titles and Tagline fields, we cannot accept the characters ;  ?  !  &  @  $  #  (  )  [  ]  {  }  <  >  /  \  ^  *  ~ Colons, commas, hyphens and dashes are acceptable. Periods must only be used for abbreviations, not punctuation. For the discussion contemplated, please use present-tense and refer to yourself in third-person. For the guest name fields, we do not allow special titles/honorifics such as "Esq", "Dr", or "Senator".  If you want to include them, please put them in the Affiliation field instead.

Question:  We’re always looking at ways we can improve the quality of our shows. Would you be willing to review other shows? Send us your thoughts at shows@thinktechhawaii.com.

Thanks so much for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact Hayley at hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Ticker Announcement and Show Prep

Dear ThinkTech Hosts,

For this week’s bulletin, we’d like to review some things you should do while preparing your show. We’re also adding a ticker to our broadcasts.

Graphics

If you or your guest are going to submit graphics, please review our ThinkTech Hawaii Graphics Guidelines, at thinktechhawaii.com/graphics-guidelines. You may submit up to 15 graphics per episode (including individual slides and pages). They should be in jpg, png, mov, mp4, ppt, mp3 or wav format. Please label images with a number and descriptive words/phrases. Please also avoid wordy graphics - these are hard to read on a small screen. If necessary, highlight the important language.

Video & Audio

Check the video and audio of you and your guests before the date of the show. You can go on the free version of Zoom, record a test show, and play the recording back. On the day of the show, you and your guests should join the Zoom meeting 15 minutes before show time so our engineer can address any audio or video issues.  Please prep your venue for video, framing and sound quality, and remind those around you to avoid noise or disruptions during the show.

Ticker

We’re adding a horizontal ticker at the bottom of the screen that scrolls the shows that are scheduled for that day along with other upcoming events and newsworthy items. It’ll be onscreen starting this Tuesday. Is there anything else you'd like to see us include on it?

Thank you so much for your cooperation. If you have any questions, you can contact Hayley at hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.