The concept of the new reality show/documentary “Dream Science Classroom” is to deliver one teacher’s wish list of technology for the classroom. The program debuted on The Science Channel in November and will be re-broadcast in high definition on The Discovery Channel’s HD Theater.

Once an outstanding middle school science teacher in Rahway, NJ, was chosen, the show’s premise was set in motion. Students worked during their off-hours to help gut their classroom and construct a new state-of-the-art facility, revealed in the final episode. Through the course of production, interviews were conducted with students and school personnel using Sony XDCAM® and HDV™ camcorders, with footage inter-cut for the final broadcast.

Director Eli Kabillio of Mad Dog Films, the show’s production company, said the professional XDCAM HD system was highly effective, especially because it is a preferred format for the Discovery Channel. The blue laser disc-based system’s file transfer feature and use of proxy video made the production process faster and easier.

“We would shoot that day’s footage, I’d transfer the files into my laptop as proxy video and then I’d take those proxies home with me and review what I had. I could start building the storyline in my head while the editors were working with the high-res content. When we’d all meet the next morning, we could sync everything up.”

According to Kabillio, the system also allowed for multiple members of the crew to share the footage. “I could review clips, the composers could work on the soundtrack and the editors on dialogue.”

The camera’s flexibility was a perfect match for the show’s “on-the-go” style of shooting. “We recorded interviews in the classroom, in peoples’ cars, around town. The ability to quickly review what we just shot as thumbnails on the LCD screen, without having to lug a separate monitor around, was a huge benefit.”