Planning in the Audio-Visual Age

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the practical use of videography as a tool in the planning profession. The research involved a literature search for appropriate research in the field of videography. There are abundant sources available when methods used in the craft are considered. Case studies of the use of videotape, technical primers on videography, writing and script development manuals are readily available. Historical records of the · evolution of videography, are at a premium, though some of the general works about the medium integrate an historical perspective. The project consists of two major components, this written work and a videotape presentation entitled, "There's a Planner in Your Life". The videotape was developed as a model for the production of a video with a planning theme to illustrate to the planning profession that it can be done. The written work is divided into four chapters. The first will explore the videotape medium, the technology available and some case histories of the use of the medium in other professions. The second chapter, evaluates planners perspectives on the use of the videotape medium as a tool in the profession. The source of the data used here, was a survey of American Planning Association members who are also Certified Planners (A.I.C.P.). The third chapter presents the ways and means of accessing the capacity to integrate the videotape medium as a

The written work is divided into four chapters.
The first will explore the videotape medium, the technology available and some case histories of the use of the medium in other professions. The second chapter, evaluates planners perspectives on the use of the videotape medium as a tool in the profession. Island is analyzed to determine attitudes of cablecasters toward planners and the planning profession. The fourth chapter reflects on some of the processes used by the author to mount a production of a videotape presentation.
A series of appendices are included to accomplish the following: A) Provide an overview of the types videotape equipment used in the videotape produced as a part of this work.

B)
Provide an annotated bibliography of current literature on methods and techniques of video production.

C)
List the expenses of mounting a videotape production with community access cable as a resource.

D)
Illustrate an actual script outline for a videotape.

E)
Submit for review. the surveys used in gathering data to evaluate the opinions. attitudes and feelings of planners and cablecasters toward videography and planning.

F)
Provide a model of a videotape for planners to stimulate interest in the medium as a planning tool with the support of the that videotape is "on the cutting edge of the field now". State-of-the-art planning will soon include videographic presentation techniques. Hopefully, "Planning in the Audio-Visual Age" will contribute by enlightening planners to: the potential for use: the availability of resources: and, the basic techniques of mounting a production. Thanks to one and all! CHAPTER I: The Videotape Medium "In the field of electronics the last decade has brought so many innovations that the layman has been overwhelmed.
Who could have imagined five years ago that one day anyone would be able to produce television programs?
The magnetic tape, the television camera.
the video recorder and the television screen are taking over from the film camera and it's screen." (1) Lazendorf is certainly on target.
The major production of a Super-8 movie of a major family event ten years ago is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Videography is taking over. Why is this so? Home video equipment would suffice if a presentation were to be focused at an audience which will be assembled around a television monitor to view a presentation straight from a video deck.
"A further. critical stimulus to expanded video use has been technological progress.
Within as little as five years. we have seen the emergence of the video cassette. the time-base corrector Ca device which stabilizes the video signal.
enabling a program to be replayed on other equipment with a minimum of difficulty). dramatically cheaper color cameras. frame-by-frame helical editing (This permits a production to be edited at a precise frame. something which up until now (1975) had not been possible except on broadcast equipment). and portable color cassette recording equipment.
One by one the principal stumbling blocks to the proliferation of video technology have been recognized and/or remedied.
That this progress is being made with an eye to systems compatibility is an added incentive to the average user. who.
in the past. saw progress at the price of instant obsolescence of his expensive equipment." (3) The cost of mounting a professionally produced video Presentation range from $1.500 per running minute of finished -------· ---- "The first and most important spur (to video use) has been need. In industry. government. business. medicine and education. communications problems were outrunning the ability of existing media to deal with them.
The need to convey more complex information.
to teach more demanding skills. to reach a more heterogeneous audience. and to do all this in a shorter time span across vastly extended spaces.
These were problems that print and earlier audiovisual technology were unable to cope with effectively.
Print in particular has limitations when it comes ! 0 motivating large groups of people to master (or at least be informed of) demanding material. This is not to say that film and print cannot be used successfully to communicate. but alone they could not solve the problems thrust upon them. Video emerged as a response to that need." (6) -----(6) Barwick and Franz (P-7) The planning profession is often faced with the problem of having to convey abstract conceptual themes to a lay audience (the public or the client) and the printed medium is generally used to convey these concepts. •ithin either a federal, state or regional planning entity and eight were employed by a municipal planning entity. Table 2 reflects the size of the communities or areas which the public sector respondents serve.     There was also a strong correlation between size of staff and level of governance.
The critical question posed in the survey was whether or not the respondent had ever used the videotape medium in planning.
The response indicated that slightly more than twenty-six percent of the respondents had used the medium. The question posed to planners was: Which of the following would you consider benefits to using videotape in planning?
The following variables were ranked: Ability to effectively; convey abstract conceptual schemes more Ability to reach a larger audience via cable or other television outlets; Ability to have a finished product for public presentation; Ability to make simultaneous presentations via satelite communications; Promote services of the agency or firm; and.
Greater flexiblity in preparing and presenting topics or issues in a clearer manner.
An open ended variable was also included here to solicit "Other benefits which come to mind." Chart 1 reflects how the respondents ranked the ability of videotape to convey abstract conceptual themes more efectively.
As can be noted.
forty-five percent of the respondents ranked this variable as either the highest or second highest benefit of using the medium.
Chart 2 illustrates that the respondents ranked the ability to reach a larger audience via cable or other televison outlets.
•lightly higher as the highest benefit. While the ranking becomes •ore evenly distributed from the second highest rating to the public sector planners found this attribute more favorabl~ than private sector planners.
They also felt that the Videotape medium was capable of conveying abstract conceptual tbe11.es. The ability to reach a larger audience and the capacity to simulcast a production were ranked at the lower end o~ the ra11L.
auidelines Planners were also asked if policies, standards and for videotape use should be established. As previously indicated, planners were asked where they felt the use of the medium was in the planning profession.
Beyond the mailedout survey, a follow-up telephone survey was conducted to ten planners who were selected from the original list. Each planner oa the list was assigned a number from one to ninety-two.
The auabers were placed on a piece of paper of equal size and placed la a hat.     •hich had a staff of twenty or more persons. Twenty percent had a •taff of ten to fourteen persons. Ten percent reported a staff Of •ix to nine persons and ten percent had a staff of two to five P•raons.
Sixty-seven percent of the respondents who had not used Yideotape indicated that they had considered using the medium.
One half of the respondents who indicated that they had used the medium indicated that they felt that videotape provided &reater flexibility.  there is a need for more research and training to develop the ~ideotape medium as a tool for planners.
Slightly more than one quarter of the respondents had used the videotape medium (27%). The majority of those respondents who indicated that they were employed by firms or agencies were part of staff larger than twenty persons.
The labor intensity required for the production of a videotape presentation is high and when the notion of lay-persons (Those who lack professional yideo skills) producing a videotape is considered we must look for alternatives.
considered are: Some of the alternatives which should be  Sixty-three percent of the respondents indicated that they ad produced programming which focused on planning events or 11ues. Many respondents indicated that they had produced t rograms on environmental impacts of development. Some indicated t hat they routinely covered planning commission or board meetings or meetings of the legislative branch of the municipality which ad approval authority over development and zoning issues. Thirty • one percent of the respondents indicated that they did not r oduce such programming. Five percent indicated that they were ot sure whether or not such programming had been produced.
The vast majority (94%) of the cablecasters indicated that Ublic access programming was a condition of their franchise l icense or agreement with the host municipality. This means bat the franchise must provide broadcast r oduced programming.

time for locally
Each of the respondents. without exception.
•y provided free video training.  The professional assistance for the technical and production alements of videotape production available through cable franbises should not be preceived as the total solution to mounting 1 videotape presentation. The consulting producer would serve 11 a professional advocate in securing the appropriate resources.
be resulting increased public awareness can be beneficial to the public sector planner who seeks to build community consensus D planning and growth management policy. The private sector lanner also has access to the community via cable franchises to taable the public to review planned developments or projects.

Do cablecasters have a role in educating the public about
issues? According to the response from N.E.C.T.A.
forty-two percent of the cablecasters felt that they significant role, fifty-seven percent felt that they had a role and none of the respondents (with all respondents felt that they did not have a role.
There was a very strong correlation between the response to educational role and a question which asked cablecasters if would be interested in airing more planning issues or events approached by planners. Fifty-two percent of the said yes, they would be interested in more planning rogramming. Forty-seven percent indicated that they would laibly be interested in more programming. Again, none of the indicated that they were not interested in more ~•nning programming.
Cablecasters were then asked if they would be willing to production focusing on planning if they were by a planner.
indicated that.
An identical proportion of the yes. they would be willing to help Again. forty-seven percent of the respondents assumed a posture by indicating that they were not None of the respondents indicated that they would not a planner if approached.
These three questions provided a very strong indication that cablecasters who responded would. for the most part. be elpful in educating the public as to the role of the planner and would be favorably disposed toward helping the planning rofession in producing more programming. There were two types of equipment used for the production of video presentation accompanying this work.
The reason that e author in certain respects violated a cardinal rule in deography was to illiustrate the two types of equipment and the 1ults developed from each.
Generally. on should use one type equipment throughout a production.
All of the professional equipment used for the production provided by ROLLINS CABLEVISION.
The industrial equipment ed was provided by the Graduate Curriculum of Community anning and Area Development of The University of Rhode Island.
Three types of graphic aides were used. This served to that there are alternatives available to the producer a production.
In the first case. hand lettered were used.
Computer graphics generated from an IBM-PC re also used.
State of the art video production would require aracter generated graphic developed in a professional studio e integrated i~to the production.
One could argue (and some ) that the use of the varied techniques would detract from the rall "professional" quality of the production. Because this duction was an educational tool for planners who might sider mounting a videotape presentation.
the producer decided illustrate as wide a variety of techniques as possible without the production to take on the appearance of a home PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT

Features
The professional video camera used was a JVC. Model KY1900U. camera operates on 110 Volt AC current and the AC power pack o served as a battery charger.
The introduction of the 12 V battery allows a fully portable camera unit. The camera tures an automatic iris which can be switched off to allow for Ual control of the iris.
There is also an automatic White (a process of setting the light and color reading switch.
Lighting can also be adjusted with different switches.
The model used for the production came equipped a Zoom lens. (See Illustration 1)

Performance
The camera performed remarkably well where picture quality ease of handling were concerned.
The only limitation noted that the viewfinder provided only a black and white image of t was being shot.
Coloration of some of the earlier shots was bit off.
but. a familiarity with the camera evolved the color ·proved.
Lighting was not nece~sary for most shots. The only problem noted was that the recorder rying case did not allow for free access to the cassett e ding mechanism.
The quality of both the video and a u. cl :i. o production was excellent.
The video presentation called for producer to reduce the 3/4" tape to a 1/2" format which as ion ally resulted in a grainy reproduction.

Features
The industrial camera used was a Panasonic. Model WV-3170. 1 camera is a self-contained. compact and lightweight (4.4 lb) ulder style camera.
The camera features a built-in character • rator.
The iris can be operated automatically or manually. also features internal titles.
date and time functions. The te balancing function is performed readily with a single tcb. It also bad a Zoom lense function. (See Illustration 3) Performance This little camera is a gem. The rearkable clarity of reproduction would out-do some professional models.
The Ud quality was crystal clear.
The only disadvantage of this el was that it is not portable.
This camera was used for most the bridges.
as well as. the introduction and closing of the e o.
If a planner were to consider purchasing video equipment production work professionally. this one will do.

Features
The term institutional may be more appropriate than dustrial here.
The deck used was a Panasonic Omnivision II. odel AG-6200.
The deck is a front loading system which features remaining tape indicator.
It has a fourteen step searching nction for quick location of tape segments.
An automatic wind function is also integrated.
The dual audio channel Dolby ise Reduction system provides high quality sound (in Stereo). e system can be set-up for audio dubbing and it has a built-in dio limiter circuit. (See Illustration 4) Performance This deck in concert with the industrial camera described ove and the 25" NEC monitor provided a dynamic threesome in unting the video presentation.
The monitor allowed for crystal ear coloration and immediate playback of videotape footage. e only problem experienced was the more often than not the Play d Record buttons had to be struck repeatedly before the deck uld record.
Other Equipment Used to mount a successful video presentation other was necessary.
The technical skills required to erate most of this equipment required the guidance of a ofessional videographer.
To avoid burdensome technical detail re.
the equipment and it's functions will be described in lay ras and visual illustrations will be provided.
Vidotape editing requires two videocassette decks. and a recoder deck are syncronyzed with an troller panel.

A player editing
The introduction of Titles and credits is accomplished by l ng a Character Generator.
A multiple range of coloration for lettering is aavilable.
(See Illustration 6) The ability to fade into and out of sequences in a videotape accomplished with a highly complicated switching panel which best operated by a professional.
(See Illustration 7) Slides can also be integrated into a video production with Cial equipment which records the slide image on videotape.