Community Television provides access to field production equipment such as lights, microphones, tripods, and, of course, professional quality camcorders. That equipment has been upgraded and updated several times over the years to coincide with the newest available technology. The latest addition to our staple of professional gear is the Canon XL-1.

The XL-1 is a compact, professional quality camcorder that gives producers like you the flexibility to do many types of productions. It's also very easy to use, so you can get started right away. All you have to do is take our portable camera workshop to get certified to use our equipment.

CTV offers a certification workshop to members of the community who would like to use the Canon XL-1 to produce their own programming for the station. The camera is available to anyone who lives in Knox County, pays the annual access fee ($24.00), signs a producer agreement form, and completes the portable training workshop taught by the CTV staff. After certification, producers can check out the camera and its accessories to do field shooting within the city of Knoxville.

The workshop covers the basic operation of the Canon XL-1 camcorder, how to use external microphones, when to use a tripod and the importance of lighting. We also outline CTV's rules and procedures so that you know how to correctly reserve, check out, and use our camera equipment.

Because of the need for "on-camera" and "off-camera" participants, Portable Equipment Workshops are usually taught among groups with three or more participants. The pace of the training and the number of training sessions is determined by the familiarity and comfort level of the group.

Classes are scheduled at the beginning of each month and meet once a week for up to four weeks. If you would like to take our portable camera workshop, stop by our studios or call (865) 215-8848 to set up an appointment today!

This self-guided online course is intended to familiarize you with the XL-1 as well as CTV's policies regarding the use of the camera. While this guide is not a substitute for the actual class, it will familiarize you with the equipment and CTV's policies. You must be certified by a CTV staff member in person in order to be able to use our camera equipment. However, any knowledge you bring to the class as a result of reviewing this guide will help you get certified much faster, and get you on your way to shooting your very own show!