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| ABS-CBN!!!!! |
July 27, 2012- my first visit to ABS-CBN in Mother Ignacia Street, QC and a first visit to QC for a very
long time.
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| ABS-CBN studio tours reception |
Our call time being a part of the 3rd batch (last batch) was 1PM at Starbucks in ABS-CBN. We arrived there around 10 minutes before 1PM and were notified that the tour has already started. Good thing for the last batch it was just about to start.
We then went with our organizer (JB Orteza) to a viewing room were we were oriented about the history of ABS-CBN.
A trivia, ABS-CBN was once two separate companies, when the Lopez clan bought ABS, they merged it with CBN thus ending up with ABS-CBN. ABS-CBN stands for Alto Broadcasting System- Chronicle Broadcasting Network.
ABS-CBN is a company which does both video and audio broadcasting. It uses channel 2 for its TV channel, 630KHz for its AM Broadcasting and 101.9MHz for its FM Broadcasting. Other TV channels by the network would be Studio 23 where UAAP can be viewed and ANC which is the news TV of ABS-CBN.
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| Orientation Video |
The first part of the tour involved briefing us on what ABS-CBN does, how it was founded and the like.
Certain information that caught my attention was the humanitarian services ABS-CBN provides such as the Bantay Bata 163. It is always good to know that companies like them give back to society.
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| Some of our classmates |
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| Mang Dolphy... |
After the short briefing, we then went to some studios of ABS-CBN. We first went to Studio 9 where the setup of Kris TV was still there. The tour guide explained that due to the influence of Kris to the network, that Studio 9 was reserved for her solely. The studio was about 250 square meters in area.
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| Kris TV set |
A trick the broadcast network uses in making their studios look big is the use of "Wide Angled Lense" Cameras. This is also the reason why they say people gain weight in TV because the wide angled lenses make everything look wider.
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| Some equipment for the studio |
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| Studio label |
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| Studio label |
After studio 9, we then proceeded to studio 10, it is the largest studio of abs-cbn where ASAP on Sundays are shot. The studio is around 400 square meters. At the moment we were there, the ishine stage was being set up, the talent show for talented children.
One of the highlights for the studio tours are the large chroma cloth. This is a large curtain GREEN in color. This is setup in the background if the background is needed to be animated or changed. The reason why the cloth is colored green is that green is the only color not found in our body color. So if we are put in a green background, even if the background is animated, we won't be affected. But if you use yellow cloth for example, once the background is animated, we would disappear with the background.
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| Studio 10- I Shine Set being setup |
After studio 10, we now went to a different type of studio. We were supposed to go to the studio of TV Patrol but at the last minute we were told it was prohibited. Instead we went to the studio of ANC. It was discussed how the broadcasters do their work and why the space is very limited.
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| Camera used in ANC :) |
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| A portion of ANC studio |
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| ABS-CBN NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS GROUP |
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| DZMM news casters |
The reason why news studios are separated from the show studios is because silence is needed in news casting. We don't want laughing heard in the background. Also the studios are always kept on set up so that in the even that a breaking news occurs, the newscasters would immediately have access to the studios and report the news immediately.
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| Camera and LCD TV for live view of the broadcast |
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| RADIO NETWORK DIVISION LABEL |
After visiting the studios, we then went to the Dolphy theater, this is the oldest theater in the network and was named after Dolphy Quizon for his contributions to the network and for being a "Kapamilya" from the very start until he passed away. The theater is only used in special events such as press conference of the network about important issues. We were not allowed to enter the vicinity so no photos were taken.
The last two parts of the tour were the technical parts. Though I cannot show you any images as taking of photos are prohibited in the transmitter area and the technical area.
We were then briefed regarding how ABS-CBN does its transmission for both its VHF (Channel 2) and UHF(Channel 23) are done. It is quite basic like what we do in school, only in a larger scale.
We were taught on how commercials were aired and how backups were done. Betamax tapes are used in pre airing records of the commercials. Upon compiling the commercials, they make a playlist out of it like what we do at home. In the event of system crash, they revert back to manual by switching these tapes one at a time.
By law all commercials must be approved first before airing. Had it been aired and not approved the network can be subjected to fines and even closure.
ABS-CBN's cable channels such as velvet and balls are also monitored in the technical area.
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| ABS-CBN Transmitter Tower |
According to one of the engineers who toured us around the transmitter area, the antenna used by ABS-CBN is a double dipole antenna. No further details were given.
Discussion about digital broadcasting was also tackled during the tour. According to one of the engineers, they are targeting 2018 as the year to switch from analog to digital TV. Problems they currently have are the cost of the new equipment and patronage issues since viewers would have to buy new receivers if switched to digital TV.
ISDB-T and DVB-T was also discussed for a moment, according to one of the engineers, they are still weighing on what type of digital standard is to be used when ABS-CBN shifts to digital TV. Not much information was given about this part of the topic.
One thing we can observe in the technical area is that they use raised flooring in the entire vicinity. This is why we hardly see any wires because all are under the flooring.
Some of the known equipment we saw were the exciter, receivers, mixer and monitors.
Being the last batch on tour, we were a bit on a rush and the technical matters were not discussed thoroughly anymore.
NOTE: PICTURE TAKING WAS NOT ALLOWED INSIDE THE TOC (TECHNICAL OPERATIONS CENTER) THIS IS WHY THERE ARE NO PHOTOGRAPHS.
The tour gave me an idea on how a broadcast station functions and the role of Electronics and Communications Engineers are. We ECE play a very important role in broadcasting as we are the ones in charge of the technical matters in broadcasting. If a certain equipment fails, it's up to the engineers to make it work. The TOC is ran by engineers and without them the analysis and synthesis of these data would be impossible.
I had a great time, sadly no actresses were present there to have picture taking sessions. That concludes the tour we had in ABS-CBN.
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| Juris, Lots and I during the orientation before the tour... this photo is courtesy of Sir Alan Landa |
