Television Production and broadcast media may seem like a fun thing to learn but before you go there, you need be extremely passionate about what you want to do and be clearly focused on your direction. Some individuals know this is what they want and take all the necessary courses to achieve their goals but for those who think they would love to do this, you can get a taste of what it takes to make a television, video, and/or documentary production by finding out about your community television station and by working as a volunteer with your local community access station. Many of these stations have classes to teach you how to run a camera, run a sound board, set up lighting, direct, and produce for a minimum fee or no fee.

If you have a topic you are passionate about but don't have the funds to get your point across, you can assemble a crew and train them on a production. You would sign up to air the shows you have produced and be on a waiting list to put your program on the air.

Community Access is a great way to learn the trade and discover your passion. Take advantage of this opportunity while you can because community programming has been under attack and may not be available in the future. If you would like to find out about how to utilize the tools available to you go to http://www.communitymedia.se/cat/linksca.htm.

You will learn the basics of lighting, camera work, music library, music licensing, permits, graphics, model release forms, directing, sound, editing, and creating a set. It sounds like a lot but you will find it is not that difficult to learn the basics and to put together a good production. It will also help you identify the areas of production you enjoy.

For instance, if you enjoy creating a set, you may notice the importance of staging it to look professional. If you don't have much of a budget you can give your production a big look by working with lighting and gels to create a professional but warm atmosphere. You can also invest in an inexpensive light cookie which has a design that can be put up on a wall. Study your favorite television show and look at how you can recreate or make a new set on a low budget.

You will start to appreciate the cost of a production and begin to discover how much it costs for lighting, set design, music, editing equipment, software, microphones, video decks, and tape. These items are the beginning of budgeting for your production. This is why learning to produce via your public access studio is so helpful because the equipment is provided for you to learn.

Once you have learned basic skills, it will make a difference in making your video more visually interesting to the viewer when it is aired on television or on the Internet.