Terms of Service

RULES FOR USAGE OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
RTF PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT

THE RTF DEPARTMENT OF ACC ALLOWS THE USE OF ITS PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT FOR COMPLETION OF COURSE REQUIREMENTS IN THE CERTIFICATE AND ASSOCIATES DEGREE PROGRAMS. FAILURE TO ADHERE TO THE RULES FOR EQUIPMENT USING WILL RESULT IN LOSS OF EQUIPMENT USE, AND POSSIBLE WITHDRAWAL FROM CLASS AND/OR COLLEGE.

ACC equipment may not be used for any commercial purpose or any profit-making activity.
DO NOT allow the equipment to be used by others who are not members of your class. The student checking out the equipment will be held responsible for any damage caused by improper usage by untrained individuals.

Cables must be returned properly coiled. Any cables that are part of a kit must be returned to the kit they came from and not mixed up between kits or returned loose separate from the kit.
All possible precautions against theft of equipment must be observed. Keep vehicles locked, keep equipment in vehicles out of sight to avoid tempting break-ins. Never leave equipment unattended (even in vehicles), including storage cases. Some people will steal ANYTHING.
Never point cameras at bright or hot light sources, especially the sun. This includes bright reflections from chrome or mirrored surfaces. Focusing the suns image on the image sensor of a camera can result in the instant destruction of the image sensor. Artistic shots of sunsets are popular but chancy. ACC will not permit its camera equipment to be used for such. If a burn-in occurs in the camera’s image sensor, repair will take considerable time and have a considerable cost. With light sources other than the sun, some burn-ins are not immediately apparent and will become visible after a period of time.

Always eject your media when you are finished shooting. Transporting a machine with a card/media in it is risky because of the possibility of a mechanical shock causing the card/media to get jammed in the machine or causing the mechanism to go out of alignment resulting in damage to the card/media. RTF does not provide SD media cards w/ cameras that use them. Don’t forget to retrieve your card before returning the camera or you may loose the footage you shot.
ONLY use the the proper media card for the camera. NEVER try to force a different type of card into the slot. If unsure which type to use please see your instructor or the equipment manager.
DO NOT treat the equipment in a rough manner. The equipment is fragile and can be easily broken or knocked out of alignment. Anyone who handles the equipment in a careless manner will be judged to be unfit to use it.

DO NOT bump the recorder or subject it to vibrations while recording. Mechanical shocks cause gyroscopic errors in the recording that may not be apparent until you attempt to use the footage for editing or dubbing. The editing or dubbing processes will cause any gyroscopic errors present to be magnified and such errors may grow sufficient enough to cause breakup in the video.
DO NOT force anything. If you experience problems such as extracting a jammed card/media, contact the equipment manager or your instructor. Attempts to force anything will usually make a simple repair into a very expensive repair and cause the equipment to be out of service.
DO NOT subject the equipment to severe environmental conditions of temperature and humidity. Most Sony equipment is rated to function at temperatures not to exceed 104 degrees F. Equipment left in a hot car in the sun or sitting on a hot sidewalk in the summer sun is guaranteed to malfunction.
DO NOT use the equipment in salt-water environments. A.C.C. will not permit its equipment to be used at the beach.

When using the lighting equipment, be aware that the lights get very hot and can cause burns and fires. The lights consume a lot of electrical power so be careful not to overload circuits. An electrical load greater than 80% of the circuit capacity can cause blown circuit breakers after a few minutes of use. Keep the load under 16 Amps (1900 watts) on 20 Amp circuits and 12 Amps (1400 watts) on 15 Amp circuits. Modern buildings usually have 20 Amp circuit capacities but some older buildings may have only 15 Amp circuit capacities. Because they run so bright and hot, the light bulbs used in the lighting fixtures have very short lives and are expensive.($15 or more each). To make them last, turn them off until you actually need them. Do not subject them to mechanical shocks, especially when powered. If you need to move a light, turn it off until you have it in position. If you need to handle a light bulb for replacement, do not leave fingerprints on the bulb which will cause hot spots on the glass resulting in hazardous shattering or breakage.

EQUIPMENT CHECK-IN AND CHECK-OUT
An equipment check-out reservation must be completed at the RTF Checkout website for each occasion that equipment is checked out. You must first create an account on the site and be approved by the equipment manager before you will be able to create reservations on the site. The signature person on the equipment form will be responsible for the pick-up and return in good order of equipment designated on the equipment form. Failure to return the equipment on the date and time described on the check-out form/site will initiate the withdrawal from the course by the class instructor.
The signature person on the check-out form is responsible for making sure all equipment on the form is present, and operational at the time of check-out. The signature person must take time to have the equipment evaluated at the time of check-in. The signature person will be charged for any loss or damage to the equipment. No further equipment use will be granted to the person who incurs loss or damage until restitution has been made. Failure to make restitution may result in a freeze in credit in all ACC courses for which the student is enrolled, withdrawal from the course or College and/or possible legal action.

When returning equipment, please make sure all items are ready for re-use. This includes making sure cables are properly coiled and not in a tangled state, accessory items such as detachable power cords and camera cables are with the proper equipment. If you used any of the spare light bulbs in the lighting kit, please report this so that the supply of spares can be replenished. If you experienced problems with the equipment, be sure to report the problems, in writing, to the equipment manager or your instructor. Please describe the problems completely so it is clear what to look for when the equipment is being diagnosed for repair. This is especially helpful when dealing the intermittent come-and-go problems that may not make themselves apparent when being checked for repair.
Please make an appointment to checkout or in at least 24hrs in advance.

PHONE NUMBERS, Northridge Campus:
Equipment Manager – KevinAnderson 512-223-4904 kevin.anderson@austincc.edu
TV Studio Supervisor – Brian Urban 512-223-4714 brian.urban@austincc.edu
Instructional Associate – Laura DiMeo 512-223-4918 ldimeo@austincc.edu