Locally Focused Producers

Our studio and editing suites were kept busy this week, and last, with a variety of projects. In addition, much of our equipment was in use shooting area events. Here's a sampling of what's been going on:

*"Storytime with Tom & Kat"---The first episode of this new show for children, featuring a human and a puppet reading classic stories, was completed on Monday. Look for it to begin airing in a regular timeslot on Cable Channel 15 soon.

*"As You Write It"---Writers from the Montague Senior Center shared their work at the Greenfield Public Library on April 16th and one of our independent producers recorded it all. Check our TV schedule sometime next week to find out when this will air.

*If you haven't yet checked out the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Luncheon that we filmed on Earth Day, be sure to click on over to our Video on Demand Player. You'll find this very interesting lecture about green approaches to business, by Pulitzer Prize Nominee Daniel Goleman, in our "Special Features" category.

*The folks from "Healthbeat" and "Local Bias" both completed new shows this week. "Nurses' Week & Exercising" will begin airing on Monday at 6PM and Al Norman's discussion with Dr. Andrew Blais will start on Wednesday at 5:30PM.

*Local musician Laura Siersema also came in this week to edit one of her recent performances for air. If you weren't able to drive to Manchester (CT), to see her at The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center, be sure to keep an eye out for this 45 minute video of her with Billy Klock on drums and Wim Auer on fretless bass.

*Thursday night was a busy one around town. While our staff was filming the school committee meeting, volunteers were recording a Greening Greenfield Energy Committee presentation and the annual Poet's Seat Poetry Contest.

*National Prescription Drug Take Back Day---Don't forget to bring your old medications (pills only, no liquids) to a drop off site tomorrow! From 10am to 2pm you can stop by the parking lot at the Franklin Jail and get rid of them safely and free of charge. We'll be there in the morning getting b-roll and doing interviews in preparation for a story on our website on Monday and in anticipation of promos for 2012.

All of this content will be shown on Cable Channel 15 in the near future and much of it will also be available on our website. In addition, there are programs in the works that didn't make it into this post so tune in and stay informed about your local community.

Make Your Voice Heard!

Please remember to vote in today's preliminary election for Greenfield Town Councilor At Large. If you need more information on the process or the candidates, be sure to check out our election page before you head to the polls.

Don't forget, we'll post the results on our website after 8:30pm!

Potpurri

Whew! Another busy week here is coming to a close and we have several interesting and informative things to tell you about, along with some visual aids.

First up, a couple of schedule changes. A new show has been added to our lineup: "Creating Cooperative Kids", which is produced in Enfield, CT but was requested by a Greenfield resident, aims to be a useful tool for parents. It will begin airing this weekend with time slots on Saturday at 9AM and Wednesday at 2PM. Those of you who regularly watch our Saturday morning lineup may wonder how "Creating Cooperative Kids" can air at 9AM because "NASA SciFiles" has been airing at that time. Because NASA is no longer producing "SciFiles", "NASA Connect", or "Destination Tomorrow", we've decided to follow their lead and focus on televising their new venture, "NASA 360". Taking the old shows out of the picture on Saturday morning enables "NASA 360" to move to 8:30AM and "Student News" to go to 10AM. We think you'll enjoy this streamlined version of Saturday morning programming so be sure to check it out on Cable Channel 15 this weekend.

Next, please don't forget to vote on Tuesday. If you don't know who the candidates are, or feel like you need more information about them, be sure to check out our election page. Also, make sure to check our website on Tuesday night, after 8:30pm, for election results. If you missed the debate that was held in our studio, on the 12th, you can watch it as part of our Video on Demand Player (in the "Elections 2011" category). In the meantime, here are a few pics from that event.

The three candidates (Left to Right):
Karen Renaud, Cameron Ward, Mark Wisnewski


Moderator Joe Judd


Finally, as part of our ongoing facility improvements, Philippe is getting a new office. In this photo you can see him hard at work in there:


Just kidding! As part of the work we're doing we needed to purchase a fireproof cabinet to store paint in. Doesn't it look spiffy?


That's it for this roundup. Have a great long weekend everyone!

No More Foolishness!

After we recovered from last week's hijinks, we got right back into the swing of things.

"The Dukes of Sports" kicked things off on Monday morning with Mike Cadran assuring their fans that he wasn't going anywhere and "Valley Homegrown" finished up the day recording a show with a band called "The Demographic". "The Dukes of Sports" will air on Cable Channel 15 at Noon on Saturday and you can watch "Valley Homegrown" tonight at 9PM.

Tuesday was government day here at GCTV! Another candidate who is running in Greenfield's Town Election on June 14th came in to record their video statement and, in the afternoon, we played host to some of the folks participating in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Northwestern District Attorney Dave Sullivan was joined by Franklin County Sheriff Chris Donelan, DEA Agent Joe Karas, and Community Coalition for Teens Coordinator Kat Allen for a discussion about the details of this project. You can learn more about it by checking out the story on our homepage.

Our studio was once again in use almost all day on Wednesday. "Dance of the Hoop" shot their second episode in the morning, Mayor Martin brought in some special guests from GCC in the afternoon, and that evening one of our volunteers filmed a scene for his movie in our control room.

Things quieted down a bit on Thursday and Friday but there was still a lot of editing going on. In addition, another candidate came in to film a video statement and Joe Gochinski was joined by Springfield City Councilor Mike Fenton for an interview that will air in May.

Even as our staff kept track of all the productions going on this week, we were planning for the Preliminary Election Debate this coming Tuesday night (April 12th, 7pm, in our studio) that will feature all three of the candidates vying to replace Dan Guinn as Greenfield Town Councilor At Large. This event is open to the public so please show up and be informed.

April Fools!

Who doesn't want a little snow to start off April? The three foot blizzard we had today merely capped off a fantastical week here at GCTV.

On Monday morning, John Lester joined "The Dukes of Sports" for a spirited conversation about beating the Yankees (much to the chagrin of our New Media Producer who is a die-hard New York fan). Shortly after the Dukes and their crew left the building, the U. S. Secret Service came by to check us out because Mayor Martin's two shoots this week involved very special guests---President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton. Make sure to check our Video on Demand Player next week for those informative episodes.

Tuesday was a little quieter. Our big shoot for the day was supposed to be the Charter Review Commission Meeting in the evening but that was put on hold when Godzilla stomped down the middle of Main Street. You should see the footage we got as we ran screaming the other way. Now that we've had a few days to recover our wits, that video will air on Cable Channel 15 sometime today.

At the town council meeting on Wednesday night our public servants decided to make pizza the official food of Greenfield, its official color plaid, and they decreed that Snoop Dogg will now sing the national anthem prior every GHS baseball game.

"Local Bias" recorded a new show on Thursday morning in order to highlight changes in Greenfield's biggest yearly event. On the show, Becky George announced to Dr. Andrew Blais that this year's Green River Comedy Festival will be headlined by Bill Cosby and Jello Biafra. In addition, this year's hot air balloons will actually be filled with helium. The gas will do double duty as the instigator for a chipmunk voice contest in which the winner will receive a voiceover part in the upcoming movie "Chipmunks 3: Crunch & Munk" (the heartwarming story of Dave Seville's attempt to have a peaceful midnight snack).

Currently, we're digging out from under all this snow and planning for next week when we've been asked to film a coming out reception for the martians who've been living undercover in Greenfield for the past three years. That's all for this week folks!

A Big Production Week

This week we had nine shoots on our schedule and a lot of footage to edit. Between Monday and Tuesday we had three candidates in to record their video statements for our website and Mayor Martin invited Town Council President Tim Farrell into our studio for a chat on Tuesday afternoon. Thursday was our day for location shoots; our New Media Producer taped interviews with planners of the upcoming National Prescription Drug Takeback Day (you'll be hearing more about that on our homepage next week) at a breakfast with Northwestern District Attorney Dave Sullivan, volunteer Tom L. headed over to Town Hall in order to cover the emergency town council meeting regarding the preliminary election (check out the story that's on our homepage right now), and Philippe broadcast the Greenfield School Committee meeting live. Friday was not a slow day either as our Station Manager began his workday first thing in the morning filming the latest Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Breakfast and Joe Gochinski brought two State Representatives (William "Smitty" Pignatelli of the 4th Berkshire District & Brian Ashe of the 2nd Hampden District) in for conversations in the afternoon. Meanwhile, the staff has been editing the seven sessions of last weekend's Creative Economy Summit, that even a Shelburne Falls-wide power outage couldn't stop us from getting on camera, and the Greenfield Planning Board Meeting from March 17th.

In other news, be sure to keep an eye out here, on our channel, and our website for some festive foolishness next Friday.

Works in Progress

Like most television stations we have to multi-task so here are updates on some of our current projects:

Getting ready for Greenfield's Town Election---One of the three candidates for councilor at large, who will be on the preliminary election ballot on April 19th if the state legislature doesn't allow the town to put them all on the one in June, has already sent in their information and recorded their video candidate statement and the other two will be in on Monday. This way, we'll be ready to go as soon as we hear about the state's decision.

The bulk of the construction in the back room is finished---The door needs a window, an electrician will be coming in soon, and the staff will be applying paint but it definitely feels like a great space. Check out the pics below or stop in and see for yourself!



Our station manager has been upgrading the control room again---We've added a distribution amplifier, new DVD burners, and gotten the speakers over the switcher working. All of these improvements will provide a better experience for producers and a higher quality end product. Oh, and we've also replaced the old lavalier microphones in the studio. Any of you who use the clip on mics will definitely want to check these sleek new ones out when you come in for your next production.

Productions---Mayor Martin stopped by to be interviewed by Dr. Andrew Blais on the latest episode of "Local Bias" and both our station manager and our new media producer will be filming sessions at the "Creative Economy Summit" today.

Providing Access in Many Ways

Empowering citizens to make their voices heard, and keeping the public informed about local government and community events, is the cornerstone of what we do here at GCTV. This was a banner week for that beginning on Monday morning with a special episode of "The Dukes of Sports". Russ & Mike's guest, Carrie Togneri, filled the guys in on her upcoming fundraiser "Ice Stars for Wounded Warriors". They talked about local skating events in general and how she became involved with this one.

On Monday evening the Greenfield Town Council held a Special Meeting in our studio to debate sending a proposal to the state legislature that would allow the town to skip a preliminary election and put all three certified candidates for Town Councilor At Large on the June 14th ballot. This was democracy in action. Voices from all sides were heard and you can watch the discussion for yourself on our Video on Demand Player in the "Local Government" category.

Wednesday afternoon brought Atty. David Roulston and five guests into our studio to record two episodes of "Franklin County Matters". First, Western Mass. ARC Executive Director Ed Porter sat down with Dave for a one-on-one about the resources available to people with disabilities and an upcoming fundraiser. Afterward, Genevieve Fraser, John Waite, and two local farmers joined the host for a roundtable discussion about the Farm to Schools program which puts local food into the hands (and mouths) of area youth.

On Thursday and Friday our back room and studio were shut down during construction as part of a series of ongoing facility improvements. Many of these projects are geared toward allowing more producers to work at the same time without disturbing each other. The next time you're in our office, be sure to poke your head back there to check out the new digs.

Finally, we've created a new space on our "GCTV/WMCB Notices Only" bulletin board (on your right when you walk in our front door). A "Coverage Opportunities" folder has joined "Show Sponsors Requested" and "Guest Possibilities" hanging from the bottom of the board. Not everyone who has an event or show idea is willing, or able, to produce it. If you're looking for a project, make sure to check out this collection of press releases for great local events and emails from people who have ideas for shows.

Highlights From This Week

Obviously, the biggest production we facilitated this week was the Greenfield High School Music Parents' Association's annual telethon on Wednesday evening. Our station manager was here before 10am to ensure that load-in could start on time and setup could begin. Parents and some students were here throughout the day creating the set, running cable, and doing soundchecks. Between 4pm and 5pm the bulk of the crew and performers arrived along with host for the evening Greenfield Town Councilor, and WHAI General Manager, Dan Guin. Once the telethon began at 6pm it was music and fundraising until 9PM. The GHS Jazz Band opened the show followed by solo performers and then the GHS Select Choir. You can see more footage from the telethon, and find out how you can add to the $7000 that was raised, when you check out the short video on our homepage.

Greenfield Middle School's Music Department also gave a performance this week that we recorded. Our staff would like to send out big thanks to volunteers Tom and Jal who took cameras over to GMS' auditorium on Thursday night to film their Spring concert. Our staff will be editing the two feeds together and we'll air it on Friday, March 11th, at 6pm.

Finally, we'd like to take a moment to update you on Greenfield's 2011 election process. Candidates were certified this week and we will begin contacting them on Monday in order to add their information to the local election page on our website. Because three people were certified to run for the At-Large seat on the town council, and given the state of the economy, there will be a special council meeting in our studio at 6pm on Monday to petition the state legislature to allow Greenfield to bypass a preliminary election and put everyone on the June ballot. We'll be putting together a short video soon letting you know who the candidates are, and their information will go live on our website one month prior to any election, so make sure to keep an eye on gctv.org.

That's it for this week. Have a great weekend.

Short But Busy Week

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Closing Early Today

We will be closing at 5PM due to the weather.