BetterTrades Studios

BetterTrades brought its production abilities into the upper division with the construction of a new digital television studio. By building the studio at its headquarters in the Atlanta area, BetterTrades now has the capability to record all of its television commercials, infomercials, promotional spots, online material, and live classes.

"This really is an amazing thing that we've done here," said BetterTrades founder Freddie Rick. "There are only 50 studios like this in the country. This shows that we're committed to creating the best material out there for our students."

The $1.5 million studio was built in the area formerly used as a shipping a receiving area by the company who previously rented the building. It has been transformed into an area that is capable of hosting classroom events and film promotional material. The television studio is large enough to accommodate 120 students and was filled to capacity for a couple of recent filmings at the BetterTrades Summer Studio Sessions. Students in the studio are seated at rectangular tables that are covered with black skirts and rest in comfortable chairs. There are six large overhead screens for the convenience of the attendees.

The digital capabilities give the on-stage instructor much more control than in previous recording sessions. Instead of drawing on slides and showing them on an overhead projector, the coaches use a small computer with a stylus to select the material that will be shown on the screens and to write notes on the Power Point presentation. Students had to make a slight adjustment; when the instructor pointed to material to their side, there was nothing there. That's because the material was digitally edited into the shot, just like a television station edits a weather map behind a meteorologist, who is pointing at a blank screen.

The rear area of the studios contains an area known as the Trading Pit, which has six computers that enables students to watch their stocks or conducting trading business during breaks in the class. (One day a student made $30,000 on a trade they began in the area.) The Trading Pit was one of the most popular places for students to congregate during the presentation.

The studio is expected to continue to change as the technology improves. The next phase is to create a virtual studio that will allow the producers to do away with the stage and the props used in the production process. It will also enable BetterTrades to produce its own infomercial without conducting the costly process in an off-site location.