Hey Joel,
I totally agree with what Scott said, I also started out in graphic design, and I've felt the skills I learned doing that kind of work made for an easier transition into broadcast design. Typography, color theory, are all universal, and all very important to understand.
The tools you use (software/hardware) is more of a personal preference than anything else. But, learn whatever you have access to. One thing that I would add, or that has been helpful to me, is seek out other designers that are willing to share their knowledge. Try to soak up as much as you can. In free time I loooovvveee picking apart projects that others have done. If you're in an open environment where people share their work, this is a great way to pick up new tricks and learn work flow as you go. This has always been my method of choice, I like tutorials here and there, but picking apart stuff and putting it back together has gained me more knowledge than anything else.
Look at what others are doing for inspiration, learn from it and take it a few extra steps. Build on it, turn it on it's side. But always be honest about your initial inspiration. That's the only way to grow beyond button pushing. The Art Director at the second station I ever worked at gave me on bit of advice, that has stuck with me to this day... and while it may seem ambitious and not exactly helpful when you are trying to make something look nice, I feel it has helped me become a better broadcast designer because of it. So I'll share it with you for what it's worth.
"Always try to learn a little about what others jobs entail, if it's a producer, an editor, a tape op. whatever it is... try to do it, even if you're never going to do that for a living. Understand their work flow. Because having a better understanding of what they do allows you to build and tailor your work to better fit their needs." (He's a GM at one of the station groups now)
That bit of advice has allowed me to be on target with my work more often than not. Gaining me more time to do edgier design, more trust with our clients and better working relationships overall. Does it help you with what books to read for techniques? heh...nope ;) Hopefully someone else can jump in on that. But it might help you get into the right train of thought? who knows? you asked, I shared :)
If you're looking for technique, CreativeCOW is a great place to start, check out the tutorials... both graphic design ones and video editing, as you will need to understand both. Check out Mograph or some of the other design places out there, watch tv, if you have a dvr, record opens or spots you like and look up the people who did the work. Try to match the lighting, or the textures. Just gotta carve the time out to do it. I'm a fan of other Broadcast Designers myself, check out
LostProject.net Check out
Scott's site
Pushing yourself, as you're already doing, feeding off of others, exchanging ideas... that kind of stuff will help you get far. It's a continuing learning process for all of us. The more you put into it the more you'll get out. That's all I got when it come to advice. Hopefully some of it will be useful, not just random blabbing :-D (off the soap box) I would love to hear from other designers as well. Don't be shy! Share your thoughts.
-Nel
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