Robbie Nolan

Background

About Robbie Nolan

When I first started in the television business at KCEN I knew nothing about what I was getting myself into and I started at the bottom. I was hired as a Studio Camera Operator and Production Assistant. When I wasn't needed for cameras I prepped shows and helped out around the station doing anything that was needed. I did that for about a year before getting hired on full time to train as a Chyron Operator. Which required me to create the graphics and then call them up for shows. I did that for another six months or so before training to be a Master Control Operator(MCO) which required me to monitor three channels and to make sure all commercials and shows aired properly. I remained a Master Control Operator for the rest of my time there but took on the additional job of Director for weekend newscasts about a year after moving to Master. I really loved that station but with a new baby on the way I needed to be closer to home so I applied at KWTX in Waco and was hired as a Director/MCO. There I learned to direct again, for one no one directs the same and two they had different equipment. The same can be said for MCO as they used different software for their broadcast play out as well. I also learned to run audio for the newscasts, one of the few skills I didn't pick up at KCEN. About a year after arriving there we made the transition to a fully automated system for directing the newscasts called Ross Overdrive. That includes cameras, audio, graphics, videos, and switching. After about a year my supervisor left and I was able to get the promotion to Assistant Production Supervisor. With that came the responsibilities of scheduling, assisting with hiring, training new hires, and weekly maintenance of the systems we use. About a year later we installed a brand new studio I was directly involved with the install and I was particularly involved with installing the lights and lighting the set. We have now successfully launched a new broadcast playout system called iTX.