Once we re-opened on Tuesday, after the Presidents' Day holiday, we had producers coming and going at a hectic pace. Three crews had taken out equipment over the weekend which then needed to be checked back in, "Franklin County Matters" edited their latest show with help from our staff, one of our producers recorded the Greenfield Planning Board Meeting, and our monthly board meeting took place.
On Wednesday, local artist Brent Eaton spent the afternoon filming in our studio while the folks from "Luz en Las Tinieblas" (Light in the Darkness, formerly "Iglesia Pentecostal Luz de Salvacion) edited their weekly worship service on one of our PCs. At the end of the day, members of the Greenfield High School Music Parents Association (GHSMPA) met up with our station manager in preparation for their telethon next week. Each year the parents of GHS musicians take over our airwaves for an evening to raise money for the great programs that Paul Calcari runs. The kids entertain while the parents answer the phones and take your donations. It's a win win! This year's event will take place on Wednesday, March 2nd, from 6pm to 9pm on Cable Channel 15. Be sure to check it out and "pitch" in.
Thursday brought staff and volunteers from both the Greenfield YMCA and Baystate Franklin Medical Center ("Healthbeat") into our studio for shoots. In addition, an employee of The Body Shoppe received training on one of our Macs so that he could put together the first episode of their new series. Finally, our staff headed over to Greenfield High School in order to broadcast the Greenfield School Committee Meeting.
Today while you were hopefully reading this at home, warm and dry, the intrepid folks from "Healthbeat" ventured out into the weather to edit the show they recorded yesterday and additional phones were installed for the GHSMPA telethon. Keep an eye out on our homepage for a story about the music parents' fundraiser and next week we'll let you know how it went.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Productions in Full Swing!
Our studio was in use Monday through Thursday this week providing a location for five shoots, several tours by prospective producers, and a couple of meetings.
"The Dukes of Sports" started off the week with Director Sam Pyfrom filling in for co-host Mike Cadran and showing off his knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, professional wrestling. Just after "The Dukes of Sports" crew left, Joe Gochinski was joined on his "The Western Mass Democrat" set by State Senator Ben Downing for an interview about the local impact of state politics.
Tuesday began early in the morning for our station manager who arrived at nine for a meeting and then at eleven gave a tour of our studio and production facilities to a producer who hadn't been here since we were manually editing VHS tapes. In the afternoon, the crew of "Franklin County Matters" taped a show with local singer/activist Quickchange about her life and featuring her latest work.
Wednesday saw us setting up for the Greenfield Town Council Meeting using our new set pieces. They seemed to be well received by the councilors and we hope the audience liked them too. Recently promoted to full time Production Assistant Philippe Simon found that the new tables allowed him to get things ready for the town council by himself and much more quickly than before.
Finally, on Thursday morning Fred Goldberg shared his ideas about education with Dr. Andrew Blais on "Local Bias".
With all of these folks in our studio, lots of equipment going out, and several programs being edited, it was a very busy week and our staff is happy to be going into a three-day weekend.
"The Dukes of Sports" started off the week with Director Sam Pyfrom filling in for co-host Mike Cadran and showing off his knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, professional wrestling. Just after "The Dukes of Sports" crew left, Joe Gochinski was joined on his "The Western Mass Democrat" set by State Senator Ben Downing for an interview about the local impact of state politics.
Tuesday began early in the morning for our station manager who arrived at nine for a meeting and then at eleven gave a tour of our studio and production facilities to a producer who hadn't been here since we were manually editing VHS tapes. In the afternoon, the crew of "Franklin County Matters" taped a show with local singer/activist Quickchange about her life and featuring her latest work.
Wednesday saw us setting up for the Greenfield Town Council Meeting using our new set pieces. They seemed to be well received by the councilors and we hope the audience liked them too. Recently promoted to full time Production Assistant Philippe Simon found that the new tables allowed him to get things ready for the town council by himself and much more quickly than before.
Finally, on Thursday morning Fred Goldberg shared his ideas about education with Dr. Andrew Blais on "Local Bias".
With all of these folks in our studio, lots of equipment going out, and several programs being edited, it was a very busy week and our staff is happy to be going into a three-day weekend.
Friday, February 11, 2011
New Programming Highlights
Our producers were busy this week and one of the results of their work was that a new live episode of "Valley Homegrown" aired on Monday night. If you missed it, be sure to tune in tonight at 9 to hear St. Mix vs. the Industrial Revolution.
Another result of our producers' prolificness (ain't alliteration awesome?) is that our station manager was able to assign regular time slots to some programs that either didn't have enough episodes or weren't completed on a regular basis until now. "Kid Trivia", a jeopardy style game show for middle school students that was written about in last week's blog post, can now be seen on Wednesdays at 5pm and Fridays at 10:30am; "Student News", produced by Amherst High School pupils for the wider Pioneer Valley audience, is on at 10:30am on Wednesdays and Saturdays; and "Sacred Spaces", a contemplative show featuring music and the natural world, created by our very own Philippe Simon, will be airing at 8pm on Wednesdays. Check them out on Cable Channel 15 and enjoy!
Another result of our producers' prolificness (ain't alliteration awesome?) is that our station manager was able to assign regular time slots to some programs that either didn't have enough episodes or weren't completed on a regular basis until now. "Kid Trivia", a jeopardy style game show for middle school students that was written about in last week's blog post, can now be seen on Wednesdays at 5pm and Fridays at 10:30am; "Student News", produced by Amherst High School pupils for the wider Pioneer Valley audience, is on at 10:30am on Wednesdays and Saturdays; and "Sacred Spaces", a contemplative show featuring music and the natural world, created by our very own Philippe Simon, will be airing at 8pm on Wednesdays. Check them out on Cable Channel 15 and enjoy!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Snow Problem At All!
Though the storms limited our hours in the office this week, we were still working hard. Several news stories are in production for our homepage, producers were able to continue editing their shows, and a very special episode of "Kid Trivia" will be recorded this afternoon.
Greenfield Middle School Principal Gary Tashjian will visit our studio today to participate in a takeoff of "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" The producer of "Kid Trivia" is very excited to have Mr. T as a guest on the show and many of his students will be watching to see how he does when this episode premieres on Cable Channel 15 at 8PM tonight. Tune in and check it out for yourself!
On a sad note, GCTV would like to extend our condolences to the family and friends of Ed Targonski, who passed away on Sunday. "Polka Time with Ed Targonski" is a favorite of viewers and one of the longest running shows we air. Mr. Targonski was a great friend and fan of public access television, a prolific producer, and loved sharing his favorite music with everyone. You can find out more about his amazing life by reading Masslive.com's obituary.
Greenfield Middle School Principal Gary Tashjian will visit our studio today to participate in a takeoff of "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" The producer of "Kid Trivia" is very excited to have Mr. T as a guest on the show and many of his students will be watching to see how he does when this episode premieres on Cable Channel 15 at 8PM tonight. Tune in and check it out for yourself!
On a sad note, GCTV would like to extend our condolences to the family and friends of Ed Targonski, who passed away on Sunday. "Polka Time with Ed Targonski" is a favorite of viewers and one of the longest running shows we air. Mr. Targonski was a great friend and fan of public access television, a prolific producer, and loved sharing his favorite music with everyone. You can find out more about his amazing life by reading Masslive.com's obituary.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
GCTV Will Be Closed Today
Due to icy road conditions our office and studios will be closed all day today. The town of Greenfield would like you to know that town hall will also be closed.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
GCTV Programming Goes International Again!
How cool is this? As the Executive Producer and Director of Baystate Franklin Medical Center's "Healthbeat" were leaving our office on Wednesday, they mentioned that at least one episode of their show had been watched in India. Back in October a BFMC Stroke Specialist, Dr. Rajiv Padmanabhan, was featured on a segment about neurology. After finding out that we upload each episode of the program to our website's Video on Demand Player, Dr. Padmanabhan emailed the link to his relatives in India. Evidently, they gathered quite a few friends and relatives together, plugged their computer into a big screen TV, and had a blast.
In other news, you may have noticed that our logo is now on the bottom right corner of Cable Channel 15 around the clock. We were very excited recently to purchase a downstream graphics generator that enables us to have that "bug" on the screen 24/7. Next time you're channel surfing you won't be able to miss GCTV. :)
Hopefully, you also didn't miss the wonderful article that The Republican published about us on Sunday. Cori Urban wrote a great profile highlighting our important role as a medium for citizens to express themselves and stay on top of local issues. Read the piece for yourself on masslive.com.
Finally, we'd like to congratulate WMCB DJ/Host of "Speciocracy" Marian Kelner. Her book "As A Sailboat Seeks the Wind", a volume full of poetry, essays, and short stories, was published last month by Booksmyth Press. When asked about her accomplishment Marian gushed, "it's wonderful to be able to share my ideas and experiences with people in an easily accessible and engaging format".
In other news, you may have noticed that our logo is now on the bottom right corner of Cable Channel 15 around the clock. We were very excited recently to purchase a downstream graphics generator that enables us to have that "bug" on the screen 24/7. Next time you're channel surfing you won't be able to miss GCTV. :)
Hopefully, you also didn't miss the wonderful article that The Republican published about us on Sunday. Cori Urban wrote a great profile highlighting our important role as a medium for citizens to express themselves and stay on top of local issues. Read the piece for yourself on masslive.com.
Finally, we'd like to congratulate WMCB DJ/Host of "Speciocracy" Marian Kelner. Her book "As A Sailboat Seeks the Wind", a volume full of poetry, essays, and short stories, was published last month by Booksmyth Press. When asked about her accomplishment Marian gushed, "it's wonderful to be able to share my ideas and experiences with people in an easily accessible and engaging format".
Friday, January 21, 2011
Neither Snow, Nor Ice....
Well, a couple of snowstorms can't keep a good station down. Despite the weather, a lot of work got done around here this week: our former intern, Simeon, has returned to GCTV as a volunteer producing news stories for our website; we've been hosting a one-week high-school intern who's been working on a piece that we plan to upload to our homepage either today or Monday; Jamie Berger of "The Thrive Project" sat down with Dr. Andrew Blais for an in-depth conversation on "Local Bias"; Greenfield's Town Council held a joint meeting with the school committee as part of their regularly scheduled meeting in our studio on Wednesday night; and, finally, the producer of the "Sy's Fund" documentary used one of our editing suites to re-shape her program.
Those of you who watched our coverage of the town council meeting may have noticed a couple of new things during Wednesday night's broadcast. When we re-did our control room last year, our new switcher came with built in graphics. As everyone was getting used to the new cameras and other equipment, we decided to continue using our old graphic computer for the time being. Now, however, we've begun using the new system which is proving to be more convenient, more flexible, and faster. We've also upgraded our set pieces for local government meetings and, though we haven't quite finished rolling them out, viewers got a look at them for the first time during the meeting because that's what the Greenfield School Committee was sitting behind. The new tables are easier to move and store, throw less glare into the cameras, and provide more convenient access to microphones.
On a programming note this week, we hope you enjoyed the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day related shows we've been airing. Programs like "The Life & Death of Martin Luther King, Jr.", Greenfield Community College's "Living the Dream" ceremony, and "I Have a Dream" celebrate and honor this important American. If you missed them, we'll be replaying GCC's "The Life & Death of Martin Luther King, Jr." at 3pm on Tuesday.
Those of you who watched our coverage of the town council meeting may have noticed a couple of new things during Wednesday night's broadcast. When we re-did our control room last year, our new switcher came with built in graphics. As everyone was getting used to the new cameras and other equipment, we decided to continue using our old graphic computer for the time being. Now, however, we've begun using the new system which is proving to be more convenient, more flexible, and faster. We've also upgraded our set pieces for local government meetings and, though we haven't quite finished rolling them out, viewers got a look at them for the first time during the meeting because that's what the Greenfield School Committee was sitting behind. The new tables are easier to move and store, throw less glare into the cameras, and provide more convenient access to microphones.
On a programming note this week, we hope you enjoyed the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day related shows we've been airing. Programs like "The Life & Death of Martin Luther King, Jr.", Greenfield Community College's "Living the Dream" ceremony, and "I Have a Dream" celebrate and honor this important American. If you missed them, we'll be replaying GCC's "The Life & Death of Martin Luther King, Jr." at 3pm on Tuesday.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Senator Scott Brown at GCTV
Last week Greenfield Mayor William Martin invited Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown to our studio in order to interview the congressman on "Mayor's Memo". Despite the snowstorm, the two men were able to have a wide-ranging discussion about politics in general and issues that impact Greenfield residents specifically. If you haven't seen it yet, make sure to check it out in the "Mayor's Memo" category of our Video on Demand Player at gctv.org.
In other local government news, there has been a slight change in tomorrow night's Greenfield Town Council Meeting schedule. Instead of beginning at 7pm, the council's regular meeting will follow a joint meeting with the Greenfield School Committee. The two bodies are convening together, at 7pm in our studio, to begin the process of submitting statements of interest for renovations of Federal Street School, Newton School, and the Academy of Early Learning. Afterward the council will take up several budget related items, an appropriation of money for the celebration of Greenfield's 200th Anniversary as the county seat, and a Right to Farm ordinance. Remember, in addition to being televised live on Cable Channel 15, these events are open to the public and contain public hearings so feel free to come on down to 393 Main Street and participate in our democracy.
In other local government news, there has been a slight change in tomorrow night's Greenfield Town Council Meeting schedule. Instead of beginning at 7pm, the council's regular meeting will follow a joint meeting with the Greenfield School Committee. The two bodies are convening together, at 7pm in our studio, to begin the process of submitting statements of interest for renovations of Federal Street School, Newton School, and the Academy of Early Learning. Afterward the council will take up several budget related items, an appropriation of money for the celebration of Greenfield's 200th Anniversary as the county seat, and a Right to Farm ordinance. Remember, in addition to being televised live on Cable Channel 15, these events are open to the public and contain public hearings so feel free to come on down to 393 Main Street and participate in our democracy.
Friday, January 7, 2011
New Year, New Production Contracts
It's that time of year again folks! During the month of January, series producers who stop by to work on their shows will be asked to fill out a new production contract. This will give us your updated contact information and make our record keeping better. If you won't be in the office this month, please email alicia@gctv.org to make alternate arrangements.
The new year also brings new content to GCTV. Be sure to check our Video on Demand Player for the latest episodes of "The Western Mass Democrat" (featuring an in-depth, two-part, interview with John Olver), "Franklin County Matters" ("Slavery in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts" with members of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association), "Healthbeat" (information about Primary Care Medicine and Hand Therapy), "Local Bias" (with guest Loren Feinstein), and more.
The new year also brings new content to GCTV. Be sure to check our Video on Demand Player for the latest episodes of "The Western Mass Democrat" (featuring an in-depth, two-part, interview with John Olver), "Franklin County Matters" ("Slavery in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts" with members of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association), "Healthbeat" (information about Primary Care Medicine and Hand Therapy), "Local Bias" (with guest Loren Feinstein), and more.
Friday, December 31, 2010
A Little Downtime
It’s been a quiet week in Lake, whoops, wrong blog, sorry folks. Well, it is true that not much happened here this week so we thought we’d take this opportunity to show off our Video On Demand Player. If you haven’t taken advantage of this technology to watch whatever you want, when you want, on our website you don’t know what you’re missing.
In addition to flexibility, the player we use has some really nice features that enhance the viewing experience. If you want to skip ahead in a video, or take a break and continue watching later, you should take advantage of the chapter function. (You can also move ahead by dragging the play bar underneath the video but most shows have chapters every 15 minutes which can be more precise.) Click on the 2nd tab underneath the search bar to see the chapters for any program. Then simply click on the chapter you want to watch. Videos under five minutes don't have chapters but three hour ones have many. You can scroll down through the chapters even though you can only see six of them at a time. The same is true for the "Videos" and "Categories" menus---you can scroll down through them, as well, so don't limit yourself to the nine or so categories you can see at first. Finally, have you noticed the small arrow, in a circle, located to the right of the titles in the “Videos” tab? Try clicking on one and you’ll discover that it’s a link to a related website. That makes it easy to find out more about whatever you were watching.
We hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Keep checking back here for more interesting tidbits!
In addition to flexibility, the player we use has some really nice features that enhance the viewing experience. If you want to skip ahead in a video, or take a break and continue watching later, you should take advantage of the chapter function. (You can also move ahead by dragging the play bar underneath the video but most shows have chapters every 15 minutes which can be more precise.) Click on the 2nd tab underneath the search bar to see the chapters for any program. Then simply click on the chapter you want to watch. Videos under five minutes don't have chapters but three hour ones have many. You can scroll down through the chapters even though you can only see six of them at a time. The same is true for the "Videos" and "Categories" menus---you can scroll down through them, as well, so don't limit yourself to the nine or so categories you can see at first. Finally, have you noticed the small arrow, in a circle, located to the right of the titles in the “Videos” tab? Try clicking on one and you’ll discover that it’s a link to a related website. That makes it easy to find out more about whatever you were watching.
We hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Keep checking back here for more interesting tidbits!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
"Franklin County Matters" Returns to Production
A month after Massachusetts' General Election, Attorney David Roulston's life calmed down enough for him to begin planning new episodes of "Franklin County Matters". The first new program was shot this week and features an interview about slavery in the area with two members of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association---Tim Neuman and local author of "Slavery in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts" Robert Romer. You can watch this interesting conversation at 9pm on Monday on Cable Channel 15.
In other news this week, our Station Manager, New Media Producer, several board members, and two producers attended the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce's 28th Annual Holiday Breakfast. They ate yummy food, enjoyed stimulating conversation, and filmed The Recorder's Citizen of the Year Presentation. If you'd like to see Joan Vander Vliet receive this honor, tune in to GCTV at 5pm Friday.
Friday is also a good day to catch up on all the Christmas programming you may have missed this month. That night is all about holiday music and movies. Beginning at 5:30pm with a rebroadcast of the Greenfield High School Music Department's Holiday Concert, and ending with an encore screening of "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians", there's something on for everyone. Enjoy!
Finally, we're very busy around the office getting ready for the holidays. We're tying up loose ends, prepping for vacations, and exchanging season's greetings with the folks who stop in. We hope all of you have a fabulous holiday season!
In other news this week, our Station Manager, New Media Producer, several board members, and two producers attended the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce's 28th Annual Holiday Breakfast. They ate yummy food, enjoyed stimulating conversation, and filmed The Recorder's Citizen of the Year Presentation. If you'd like to see Joan Vander Vliet receive this honor, tune in to GCTV at 5pm Friday.
Friday is also a good day to catch up on all the Christmas programming you may have missed this month. That night is all about holiday music and movies. Beginning at 5:30pm with a rebroadcast of the Greenfield High School Music Department's Holiday Concert, and ending with an encore screening of "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians", there's something on for everyone. Enjoy!
Finally, we're very busy around the office getting ready for the holidays. We're tying up loose ends, prepping for vacations, and exchanging season's greetings with the folks who stop in. We hope all of you have a fabulous holiday season!
Friday, December 10, 2010
A Quieter Week
Our big production of the week was recording the Greenfield High School Music Department's Annual Holiday Concert. Around 4:15pm on Wednesday, Otis and Alicia headed over to the school to set up this three camera shoot. Unfortunately, after an hour and a half of setting up and running cables, they discovered that one video feed was unavailable so the event became a two camera shoot. Our volunteers Sam & Melissa were up to the challenge and we think the final product still looks great. If you couldn't attend the concert, or you want to hear it again, tune in to Cable Channel 15 tonight at 7PM, tomorrow afternoon at 1pm, or (for you night owls) 11PM on Sunday.
In other GCTV news, "Local Bias" returned to their regular production schedule this week---taping an interview with David Brock on Thursday morning. As Creator and Executive Producer of the show Drew Hutchison minimized his involvement, in order to concentrate on his duties as the film & television teacher at GHS, the rest of the cast and crew has been stepping up to fill in the gaps. This has meant recording the show at some odd times but guesthost Dr. Andrew Blais has found no shortage of guests willing to participate.
In other GCTV news, "Local Bias" returned to their regular production schedule this week---taping an interview with David Brock on Thursday morning. As Creator and Executive Producer of the show Drew Hutchison minimized his involvement, in order to concentrate on his duties as the film & television teacher at GHS, the rest of the cast and crew has been stepping up to fill in the gaps. This has meant recording the show at some odd times but guesthost Dr. Andrew Blais has found no shortage of guests willing to participate.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Pictures From an Evening Past
Awhile ago we hosted an event to help the business community get to know us better. We invited members of the Greenfield Business Association (GBA) to tour our studio and offices, listen to the soothing sounds of The Frugal Jazz Project, and generally eat, drink, and be merry. A good time was had by all and at the end of the night we welcomed a new sponsor, Surner Heating Company, who won six months of underwriting in our business card raffle.
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