Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) is a mid-sized public school district serving the city of Pasadena, California. Known for its strong arts, academic, and athletics programs, the district is home to a creative student population and a passionate team of educators.
Through its media arm, KLRN Pasadena, the district creates content to engage its wider community. With a strong vision for both outreach and education, the district sought to amplify its storytelling by producing more, better quality live content for their community and providing students with hands-on experience in contemporary media production.
Despite having no shortage of engaging events — school concerts, football games, board meetings, and community showcases — PUSD couldn’t share these moments much beyond the campus gates.
For years, the district had relied on a mix of aging, stitched-together gear to cover events. They had experimented with several versions of a mobile flypack, but had nothing that delivered true reliability or broadcast-level quality.
Limited internet access at some locations, inconsistent setup workflows, and a lack of formal training tools made it hard to build a sustainable pipeline of content. And educators struggled to provide a learning experience that accurately reflected today’s live production environments.
The district needed a scalable solution that could travel easily, adapt to the technology available at the various other schools, deliver professional, reliable results, and be intuitive enough to serve as a real learning platform for student crews with limited experience.
PUSD partnered with systems integrator and trusted Ross Video partner, Key Code Media, to build a broadcast-quality, student-friendly, mobile multi-cam flypack from the ground up.
The system, built into a rugged, mobile BigFoot chassis, was engineered to deliver professional live broadcasts while also serving as a training ground for students in journalism, communication, and live event production.
At the center of the new flypack are Ross Video’s Carbonite switcher and TouchDrive, giving students an easy and reliable way to direct shows, switch cameras, and adjust audio from the same control surface. The team also uses XPression, Ross Video’s real-time motion graphics system, which connects to spreadsheets, scoreboards, and live data, allowing students to easily create live overlays, stats, and lower-thirds graphics for their broadcasts.
The system also includes Panasonic cameras with Canon lenses, LiveU bonded cellular for streaming anywhere, Teradek wireless video, RTS intercoms, and an Allen & Heath mixer — each selected for their flexibility, portability, and operability for student crews. With this setup, the flypack can support live switching, graphics, audio mixing, and real-time streaming, even from venues without a traditional internet connection.
Today, the new flypack is used to produce live events across the district, from Friday night football to school concerts, student showcases, board meetings, and civic events. For the first time, productions are consistent, polished, and fully student powered. Even city leaders have taken notice.
For students, the flypack has become a hands-on learning tool. They’re running replay, switching cameras, creating live graphics, and learning real skills using the same gear found in professional control rooms and studios across the country. The PUSD project shows what’s possible when professional broadcast tools are made accessible to the next generation, opening new avenues for learning, storytelling, and community connections.
Share this story
