Community Media and Community Building

What You Need To Do!

We agreed to meet as follows to make the changes to the video:
Friday:  Noon - 4 pm+, or 4-8 pm  (whichever shift works best for you)
Saturday:  11 am - 3 pm, or later if desired

Please bring to the Friday meeting:

• desired music, on CD or flash drive
• exact name, title, and affiliation for each of the 4 interviewees, written out clearly
• exact language of things that you want in the graphics...this could be statistics; agency address, phone, and websites; helpline information; closing "call to action" information; anything that is to be shown in written form...written out clearly
• desired list of "solutions", written out clearly (and concisely, because length is an issue)
• ideas for a title to the show
• captured clips from the "Filling the Gaps" tape
• B-roll footage not previously seen, such as shots of pills, medicine cabinet, alcohol, youth, posters, etc...
• specific suggestions for the opening montage and other clips to be included in the video which are not there now

Punch List for Group Video

Here is the "punch list" of changes to be made to the video per our meeting on Tuesday.  Please feel free to suggest clarifications and/or additions using the Comments feature.

Graphics & Music area:

• add lower thirds, identifying speakers
• add closing credits, phone numbers/contact info., etc.
• add statistics
• change "kids" to "youth" or "young people" in lower thirds
• come up with new title for the program, if desired
• don't fade segue graphics right away, leave them up for a few more seconds
• add "signs of alcohol use", perhaps as lower-third graphics?

Tweeks:

• brighten some of Stanley's sections, Officer Sampson's clip
• increase audio on Stanley and Officer Sampson's clips
• delete audio pops when Lori hits her mic
• delete Julian's "uh-hums" under Stanley's "slippery slope" clip, if possible
• fix awkward transition at about 6 minutes
• fix awkward visual transition at about 13:40
• cut at "kids have to go home" at 15:40
• trim Rob's piece at around 19:00
• add blurb about "veil over the problem"--where, again?
• add blurb about "brushing it under the rug"--where, again?
• add blurb about "whole child" somewhere--where, again?
• add cut-aways (Boston, Liquor, pills, posters, police car, etc...)--where and what?

Re-arrangements:

• punch up opening montage with quicker cuts
• include Officer Sampson in opening montage--which clip?
• quicken the pace of solutions section--how?
• add music--what and where?
• add more to middle section, such as about the Coalition, mobilizing the community--what and where?  (see John's handwritten list of possible clips)
• add footage from "Filling the Gaps"--what and where?
• add more Stanley clips and move him up sooner in the Solutions section--what and where?
• itemize the solutions as written, see if they need to be changed or expanded
• look at closing section and see if it is as strong as it could be
• add other clips to parent section to improve flow of ideas, if possible

Plan for Last Week

Here is the revised plan for the last week of the semester.

Our last two classes are tonight and next Tuesday, January 10th, at the usual times.  They will both meet at CCTV.  In addition, we previously scheduled additional editing sessions for this Friday, January 6th, from Noon to ???, and Saturday, January 7th, from Noon to ???  Please RSVP to John at john@cctvcambridge.org and let him know until which times on Friday and Saturday you are available to edit.

In the time remaining, I have four objectives that I want to be sure that we accomplish:

1. I want us to complete a full-length video that everyone feels they had a significant hand in making.  To this end, I have done more editing on my version of the video, and recommend that we use this as a rough draft to work on improving based upon each of your comments.  For tonight’s class, I will load this draft up onto computers for each of you to watch individually and make a “punch list” of changes that you would choose to make, then we will come back as a group to share our reactions and punch lists and see how they compare and contrast.  Also, please remember to bring your tape logs and the list of clips that you think MUST be included in the final video, and be ready to see which ones are not included in this draft.
2. I want every student to have hands-on experience editing video.  Therefore, if it turns out that the differences between students’ visions are minor, then on Friday and Saturday we can continue editing as a group, with students taking turns at the controls.  If the differences are major, then students can edit their own versions individually or in small groups.
3. I want us to schedule a public screening at CCTV of the group video(s) for sometime later in January.  Please bring your calendars and we’ll schedule a time that works for all; then you can invite anyone you want to attend.
4. I want each of us to individually reflect on what we learned in the entire course about community media and community building, and describe how it might affect how we approach things in the future.  Time permitting, we’ll start doing some of this tonight; but we need to allot much more time during our last class to complete this.  (I believe that the college will provide me with evaluation forms for each of you to fill out at this session as well.)  For this reason, please plan on January 7th being our last scheduled editing session so that we don’t shortchange the process of of recapping and reflecting and looking ahead which needs to be the focus of our last class.

In addition, those who wish to improve their grade on their first Research Project have until January 10th to turn in their revised paper.

Fifth Idea

     

My interest: I’ve really enjoyed this class in Community Building, and I wish more people knew about this program so that there could be more classes and more students in the classes.

Proposal #1: I propose to research how and why the Community Building program at Cambridge College came into being, and what is needed for it to grow and prosper. I intend to interview people   who were personally involved in the process of its genesis, and write up a report of my findings.

Or Proposal #2: I propose to plan, shoot, and edit a 1-minute promotional spot to be played on community television, encouraging residents to take classes in the Community Building program at Cambridge College.

Fourth Idea

   

My interest: After taking this class, I got really interested in the importance of individual leadership and vision in reforming the media.

Proposal #1: I propose to track down and record an extensive interview with someone who was instrumental in the birth of cable television and/or PEG Access or in the current fight over its future. This will require me to prepare a list of questions ahead of time, which will be part of the final product, along with the recording of the interview, and a short summary of what I learned from talking with this person. The person I propose to interview is: [e.g. George Stoney, Colin Low, Nicholas Johnson, Sue Buske, Robert McChesney, Ted Turner, etc…]

Third Idea

     

My interest: Before this class, I thought video was either something average people shot for strictly personal use or something that professional producers shot for commercial TV. I’ve now learned that there are other uses for video, and I would like to explore this potential more.

Proposal #1: I propose to edit a TV program illustrating all of the ways that video is used in our society. This program   will include excerpts from sources such as surveillance, video art, focus group research, social documentaries, and whatever else I can find.

Or Proposal #2: After doing additional research into the ways that organizations use video, I propose to make a video in which I would summarize the many different ways that my own organization could incorporate video into its work, and show them examples of what I mean.

Second Idea

       

My interest: This class has made me realize that the structure of media in this country is not a given, but is often evolving in response to political, economic, and social forces.

Proposal #1: I propose to do substantial reading on the history of [pick one: Public Access TV, PBS, NPR, Community Radio] in this country, and write a 5- page summary of what I learned.

Or Proposal #2: I propose to investigate the differences between the Public Television systems in the United States, Canada, and England. I will then create a chart summarizing these differences, and write an argument for what I think would be the best way to fund public television and why.

Or Proposal #3: I will do one of the two proposals above, but instead of writing out my report, I will give a 15 minute presentation in front of the camera summarizing what I learned.

First Idea

       

My interest: This class has gotten me curious about how community TV (or community   radio) stations are funded, and how they go about insuring their long-term fiscal stability.

Proposal #1: I propose to conduct a broad financial survey of community TV stations, and compile my findings in a table summarizing where these stations receive their funding, as well as a narrative describing the relative merits of each source. Imagining that I am an adviser to a brand new community TV station, I will conclude with advice as to what this station should do to insure its long-term financial stability.

Or Proposal #2: I propose to survey two noteworthy community media stations -- one in radio and one in TV -- to understand their operations in terms of income and expenses. I will write up what I learn in a narrative describing each individually, and then offer my analysis as to what each entity could learn from the other in terms of raising money and/or containing costs.

Or Proposal #3: I will do one of the two proposals above, but instead of writing out my narrative, I will give a 15-minute presentation in front of the camera summarizing what I learned.

Instructions from John

Sample Proposals for Independent Project

Although your Independent Projects do NOT have to come from this list, I thought that you might benefit from seeing the kinds of things I had in mind. In general, I’m looking for projects that directly come out of some aspect of media and community building that we've touched upon in this course, but which you would like to learn more about.

 Please think about what you might want to do, and then email me a preliminary proposal. These proposals are due NO LATER THAN November 15^th; I will reply promptly to them, and ask that you schedule an in-person meeting with me to occur no later than November 22^nd to finalize your proposal.

 Here are some samples to get you thinking. Note that, like the ideas listed below, the project may involve reading, research, interviews, and/or analysis leading to final presentations that are either written or videotaped, depending upon your strengths and interests.

 

Class Notes from 11/1 Class

Here is a compendium of notes from tonight's class from Christena, Jenny, and myself.

Audience/Goals of the Group Video Project:

• Use agencies featured in the video as vehicles for distributing/screening the program to their communities (on TV, to groups of parents, kids, educators) and potentially to funders. 
• Highlight successes in addressing the issue of substance abuse by young people in our communities
• Why so narrow a focus?   Because substance abuse is such a large issue, affecting adults as well as kids, and touches upon many interrelated issues such as alcohol, sex, HIV/Aids, etc., it will be very easy to produce a program that suffers from a lack of focus and adds even more work to our plate.  Better to start with a narrow focus, follow leads that take us in interesting directions, and then come back to our core focus so that we know we get at least the story we wanted, plus more if it turns out to be more interesting.

General Outline:

• Segment 1 defines the problem.  Combine Christena's opening with parts A & B of Julian's opening; in other words, combine statistics flashed on the screen that give scope of problem with individual (first-person) stories that show its human side and impact.  Either could serve as a hook to get viewers to want to watch the program, although usually the human side is more emotionally attractive.
• Segment 2 discusses what communities are doing to address the issue(s).  Christena's division by geographic region makes sense from a production point-of-view (getting the footage), but we should leave ourselves open to the possibility that the final program will intercut the different community's response if that makes more sense for the viewer.  Keeping it geographically segmented in the end product may make it easier for the individual communities to use just the pieces that pertain to them, but it may also prevent communities from learning from each other and paying attention to the regional aspects of the issue.  Let's keep an open mind for now.
• Segment 3 involves a conclusion, which is vague for now since we do not what is being said yet.  It will probably look at what these communities can learn from each other, and what actions viewers can do to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Privacy Concerns:

• Jenny points out that privacy may be an issue preventing participation of some youth and their families.
• John emphasizes that it would be a waste to interview people who do not give us permission to use their images and voices later.  Note from our Vietnamese Youth reading, however, that it may be possible to use people's voices without seeing their faces.  So we must be sure to get people's written permission to be videotaped and broadcast before actually shooting them, but don't let their natural timidity prevent us from trying to gain their cooperation.

Planning:

• Editing is a process of decision making….what goes where?  And if you haven’t decided that when you are planning, and you haven’t decided when you are shooting, you are going to decide it in editing...decision-making is inevitable.  John says, "Trust me...the time you spend up front making decisions at the beginning will more than make up for the time you would otherwise spend in the shooting and editing process figuring out how to make sense of all the material you have shot, which probably won't include all the stuff you would actually want to have to tell the story."
• Start with pre-interviewing the people involved in the community who are working with teens on substance abuse issues.  Ideally, this interview would be videotaped so that we have more to work with, but this is not strictly necessary.  The main goal of a pre-interview is to find out what is the story we want to tell, who we should use to tell it, and what is the best way to tell it.
• Who do we pre-interview.  We're lucky because we already have contacts in this area.  So let's start with who we know, but don't assume that the person you know is the person you want to ultimately talk to.  That's part of your assignment, finding the key people to videotape.

Let's make a core list of questions for this first level of contact.  We'll start this list tonight in class, then everyone should go home and amplify this list.  Also be thinking about the types of questions you want to pose to the second-level of interviews...the agency staff, parents, kids, police, etc...

First, define the scope of your project to your interviewee: 
"Hi I m so and so, and I am doing a project for Cambridge College in conjunction with CCTV that is focusing on the issue of substance abuse among kids and the positive steps that communities are taking to combat this rising problem.   
   
Then the core questions.  Be an attentive listener to the answer for each question, ask relevant follow-up questions, and dont' be afraid to pursue interesting side stories.  But remember, always come back to the core list!  This is your bread-and-butter, the in-the-bag stuff which you need to get in order to be confident that you have at least one story to tell.
   
Documenting the Problem:

1. The first question is, what are the biggest problems facing your communiy in terms of substance abuse among kids?
2. Can you give me a specific example or statistics that show just how bad the problem is?
3. How are these problems changing?  Are they getting worse or better?

Addressing the Problem:

1. What strategies are you (your agency) pursuing to combat this problem?
2. What programs and interventions are actually working, and why?
3. Can you share a specific success story or statistic that illustrates your positive impact?

Inviting Viewer Response:

1. What are you doing to involve the community in this issue?
2. What words of advice can you give for parents?
3. What can the average person do to get involved?
4. What do you think that other communities can learn most from what you have done?

Advancing the Production Process:

1. This has been fascinating.  Who else should I be interviewing for this program?
2. What agency staff, parents, youth can talk about this from first-person perspective?
3. Are there places we should go to get videotape of the problem and/or solution?
4. Finally, give me your 30-second "elevator speech" about the work that you are doing, why it's important.