I’m serious. It’s not a joke. It’s completely possible. In fact,
I did it for years.
Back in the early 90s, I produced a monthly live talk show at
the Pacifica Public Access station called The Green Room.
I’m serious. It’s not a joke. It’s completely possible. In fact, I did it for years.
Back in the early 90s, I produced a monthly live talk show at the Pacifica Public Access station called The Green Room. My co-producer and I wanted to work with local high school students in producing each episode, so that teen voices could be represented on the access channel. Each month, we would get a group of five or six students from a different local school and work with them to produce an episode of The Green Room. They chose the guests, picked the topics, and produced short “roll-in” segments shot and edited in the field. When we taped the big live production, they would recruit their friends to be in the studio audience or host. It was a blast.
The program ended up winning two WAVE Awards (the public access version of the Emmys), and was presented the “Silver Apple” Award by the National Educational Media Foundation. I still keep in touch with some of those kids today. One is a DJ at a San Francisco radio station, and a few others have gone into broadcasting at the University level. The program changed lives, and sparked an exchange of ideas between young people. As with most teaching experiences, I think I learned as much (if not more) than the teens did.
The Green Room had $0 budget. We did it as volunteers, just for fun; and since we had access to a TV station for free (as do you!), there were no production costs. I think my co-producer and I split the price of the videotape and pizza we bought for the crew. That was about it.
As producers are starting to filter into CMAP inquiring about doing a show, I let them know that money isn’t necessary. Really. If you have an idea, and the willingness to take our workshops and learn about production (or perhaps you have kids or friends that are willing to learn and help), you’ve got yourself a TV show.
Let me walk you through this. STEP ONE: Take Orientation at CMAP. It’s two hours, and we go over exactly how to use the facility, copyright law, how to make a TV show, etc. You’ll also get a tour of the station.
STEP TWO: Sign up as a CMAP member. This guarantees you access to the equipment for free; and with membership, your basic workshops are included.
STEP THREE: Get trained in the equipment you want to use. Want to do a studio show? Take the studio workshop. Want to shoot in the field with our camcorders? Take the field production workshop. Want to edit a movie? Take an editing workshop. It’s that easy. The workshops are designed for the beginner, not the video guru, so no worries. They’re meant to get you trained quickly, and give you lots of hands on time.
STEP FOUR: Submit a project proposal. We have blank ones in the lobby, or you can download from our website (www.mycmap.org). You’ll be asked to name the title of your show, the proposed length, and a treatment (that’s TV lingo for a description of your show). Once it’s approved, Operations Manager Kelly Abbott will give you the thumbs up, and you can start reserving equipment to make your TV show. Again, there’s no cost for airtime or using our gear. It’s your TV station.
STEP FIVE: Once your program is complete, simply turn it into our Program Manager Jan Janes, and you’ll get an airtime on Channel 20. It’s usually about four days after you turn in a tape. Your show will air several times on the channel, so check our website for schedules.
The process of making a TV show might seem overwhelming, but with a little help from the CMAP staff here, you’ll be just fine. We can help you fine tune your show idea, recruit volunteers, and organize a script.
FINAL PIECE OF CRUCIAL ADVICE: For speedy approval of your project proposal, or a prime air time on Channel 20, buy CMAP staff chocolate. It works everytime…lol!
Suzanne St. John is the director of CMAP. Her column, highlighting the news from our local community access television station, is published each Wednesday in The Dispatch. Reach her at: ss*****@ma***.us
