An Incorporated, 501c3, Registered with the Illinois Attorney General's Office
About A4PG
Community Producers have banded together to form a non-profit charity and help set up productions to replace the previous Comcast studio. (Read more . . .)
Things have been moving along quite nicely so far this year. Producers have been attending workshops and getting familiarized with the equipment in order to produce their own shows, Access Magazine has several new installments coming and new projects are coming with the Spring weather.
We are currently working with an intern, Justin Gonzales, who we would like to welcome aboard. Justin was interested in acquiring experience in doing shows and working with the software and technology involved these days and we are giving him that chance while he helps with much needed assistance both on site and in the studio. To anyone who is interested in helping as well as an intern or volunteer, please contact us at (217) 691-1301.
The fundraiser had to be postponed once more due to the inability to find a suitable date for everyone involved. More news on that subject to come.
We will be accepting applications for interviews for Access Magazine, our flagship show which is cablecast every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on Channel 4 at 11:00 P.M. Applications can be submitted by using our contact form. Please state your name, contact information, affiliation/organization, and tell us what you do in the community. We cannot interview everyone, but we will make selections based on the most appropriate submissions. The interviews will be conducted at Donnie’s Homespun at 107 W. Cook St. in Springfield, IL, between 6:00 P.M. and 10:00 P.M. during the Third Thursday Art Show every third Thursday of the month.
The new calendar is set up and all the workshop dates and interview dates are listed now. Any new events or meetings will be added when the time comes. Please refer to it to know when and where events and meetings are occurring.
Stations 2 and 3 have been operational and two producers so far have been assisted. One was a new producer doing their show for the first time. This producer wanted to video an event for his first show coming up on Access and missed the regularly scheduled workshop (second Monday of each month at Lincoln Library Bicentennial Room) so he made an appointment at Studio 2 for a special workshop to use the Camera remote kit to video his first show.
The second producer made an appointment at Studio 3 at the public library to go over the use of Sony Vegas and all went well.
In each case, be it the library Station 3 or Station 2 at 619 S. 4th, it is necessary to take the remote kit workshop and/or to have an appropriate individual go over basic details of editing with Vegas. Without this knowledge (which includes the password for getting on the computer at station 3) you will find it difficult to do your show. A4PG requires that you take the remote kit workshop before you check out the camera, but going over use of the computer at Station 3 at the public library is necessary in order to log on as you need the password and need to know where to create your show folder.
Access Magazine
We took some time off working on Access magazine during the holidays but production has resumed and new shows will be airing in the coming weeks. They will include coverage of the Music for Manning in Douglas Park from October 20th and several musical performances, and interview with Secretary General Rasmussen of NATO, and 3T: Glaze (which includes an interview with Chanell Bradbury).
Second Camera Purchased
We purchased a second Kodak Playtouch camera in case something happens to the main one in the remote kit and so that either two can be checked out or while one is being checked out the other can be used for Access Magazine. The next purchases will be made in order to put together a new remote kit so that there will be two complete kits. In each will be a wide angle lens and two lavalier mics, so this means we will be purchasing another wide angle lens and three more lavaliers.
New Calendar
A new calendar has been set up so that everyone can check on the dates for future fundraisers, workshops, and when the remote kit is checked out. To go to the calendar, click hereor at the top left of the page where it says “calendar.”
Board Meeting
We held our annual board meeting in January and ideas were had regarding the next fundraiser which will possibly happen in March, stay tuned.
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As always, to set up an appointment or to ask questions, please call (217)691-1301 or email to info[at]a4pg[dot]org
To recap, Studio 1 is at Board Member Brain Crowdson’s studio, Studio 2 is at President Ted Keylon’s studio, and Studio 3 is at the Lincoln Public Library. As of this post, only Studio 2 is functional. Studio 1 will be functional again when the iMacs have been repaired which is slated for after the next fundraiser due in February. Studio 3 is nearing completion, waiting only on the arrival of the editing software, the computer and room at the library have been set up.
Services being offered by Ted at Studio 2 include in person support with Sony Vegas editing software on the A4PG PC1 editing station and using the Kodak Playtouch HD camera to record talking head segments. To set an appointment to use the studio, call Ted at (217) 691-1301.
The next workshop as of this post will be Monday, November 12th on the 3rd Floor of the Lincoln Public Library at 6pm. Attending this workshop is required before a producer can check out the Camera and Remote Kit. Workshops occur on the second Monday of each month on the 3rd floor of the Lincoln Public Library.
Access Magazine on YouTube
Our new show, Access Magazine, has two episodes now, #1 of the Fundraiser at the Can Fest from August 25th, 2012, and #2 from the Third Thursday Art Show at Donnie’s Homespun on October 18th, 2012. #1 is now online and viewable in it’s hour-long entirety at YouTube and you can see it here. There is now a widget to the right on this website where you can find handy links to each show as they are uploaded to YouTube. #2 will be uploaded as soon as #3 has been cablecast. #3 is going to feature Henry Rollin’s visit to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
You can now watch Accesss Magazine on Access Channel 4 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 11pm and sometimes the next day at 7am and 4pm.
Camera Replaced
There was a mishap while shooting video of the Music for Manning event in Douglas Park on October 20th, 2012. The remote kit camera was damaged beyond use and local musician, Josie Lowder, who performed that day, loaned A4PG her camera so we could get footage. Later event organizers offered to make their event video available to us as well. The camera has been replaced with a new camera of the same model, Kodak Playtouch, and is now available to be checked out again and used at Studio 2. Note that if the camera is checked out, it may not be available for Studio 2 and so plans are underway to invest in more Playtouches while they are available so there will be enough for the producer’s needs. Also, producers are encouraged to purchase their own Playtouch cameras on Amazon (around $80) and Ebay (sometimes less), and attend a workshop or set an appointment with Ted and they can get some help learning to use it.
Access Magazine intro by Nathan Mihelich at Access 4
Access Magazine
Coverage of Can Fest, our seventh fundraiser, comprised the content of the very first show in a series of A4PG-sponsored programmming on Access 4. Making this show allowed board member/producers to investigate the exact steps required to produce a show and troubleshoot the process in preparation for workshops and tutorials to be provided for all Access producers to assist them in producing their own shows.
But since the producers for so long had their shows technically produced by Comcast employees (and before that, Insight and UIS/SSU employees) the learning curve and the lack of experience behind the camera rather than in front of it has made doing one’s own show seem too daunting and attendance at A4PG workshops and requests to set appointments for the editor and check out the remote camera kit our donations paid for have been scant at best. In order to combat this problem, we have begun work on a series of shows produced by a volunteer news team comprised of Access 4 staff at city hall, A4PG board member/producers, and members of the community who want to contribute to public access, the content of which other requestor/producers can use for their own shows as well.
Work on these shows allows the board to stay in touch with the latest videographic techniques to pass on to would be requestors as well as showing viewers of Channel 4 substantial results on the cablecast which has been almost completely non-stop re-runs for the last 3 years since Comcast shut the doors on the production studio. It also allows more people from the community to have access to the channel without taking on the responsibility of doing their own weekly show. It fosters cooperation by setting a concrete example. Producers could always have helped each other do their shows and many have had co-hosts and co-producers, but just as coming together as a group could have happened before and took a crisis to motivate, an environment of cooperation needs a solid avenue to grow and become the norm.
Most importantly, the content of the shows, which is derived entirely from what the community has to offer, will also stand as an example to others and perhaps encourage them to become public access producers themselves. Access Magazine will be a news magazine format that marries interviews with performances and news in a variety of shorts from 30 minutes to an hour, updated weekly, and cablecast Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights on Channel 4 at 11:00 p.M. (rerunning at 7:00 A.M. and 4 :00 P.M. the following days).
Work is also being done on Access Kids, Access Music, and Access Talk.
New Logo
Artist Matthew Schultz has been hired to create a vector logo us which you now see on the website. Matthew also donated his services on the can logo for Can Fest.
Studio 2 & 3
Although the IMac at Brian Crowdson’s studio at Crowdson & Co. Video has suffered kernel panic (and the other IMac from the Comcast studio has never functioned since we received it) and as a result the editing studio which was set up there has been suspended until repairs can be made, another studio has been made available and a third is on the way!
Studio 2 has been set up at 619 S. 4th St. here in Springfield. This is Ted Keylon’s painting studio and until recently there was not enough room to help with A4PG, but now he has moved into a new area with twice the space. This studio will be by appointment only, just like the editing studio at Crowdson & Co., but here Ted will provide assistance and has set up a small recording area as well, where ‘talking head’ style shows can be recorded. The money from the Can Fest fundraiser has gone to purchase a PC editing station with Sony Vegas 11 (consumer version) since the IMac went down and that is set up at studio 2 for editing as well.
The city has approved spending some of the subscriber money to set up an editing station in a private room in the Lincoln Public Library which will also have a PC with Sony Vegas (here they have purchased the pro version). This editing station will be available during library hours and will be called Studio 3.
In terms of funds raised, this was the best fundraiser ever. If anyone remembers, our July 2010 fundraiser at Broadway Nites, with runway model show upstairs and art show downstairs, was the best in terms of number of guests, but we only raised around $300. Last night we raised twice that.
SO many things went well that it is difficult to know where to begin.
Thank yous:
Dan Rohde – sound, Scott Kelly – proprietor , Heather & Jamie – bartenders, John Aten & Don White – door/raffle, Cameron Counts – Interviews, Matthew Schultz – logo design, Greg Bishop & Summer – FM/AM Radio DJs, Brandon Scrimpser, Rhyno Ranch, Bubba from Southern Fryed Radio – Internet Radio, Nathan Mihelich – video promotion, Darrel Moore – cross promotion with Lincoln Land Roller Derby League, All the musicians, Chris Umhoefer of Lincoln Apparel and Mick Conboy of Texas Trucker Speed Fiends for generously donating his half of the 50/50 to the cause! Thank you all!
ARCHIVES
Thanks to Southern Fryed Radio we have archives of Can Fest! Also, every half-hour Ted Keylon was calling in to Saturday Session with Greg Bishop on WMAY from 3pm to 7pm and the show was also archived on the web.
SFR Archive Highlights (these are mostly complete sets and not just the one song each as recorded for Access 4 and interviews include those which did not turn out on the Access camera)
The results of the review revealed that there were some issues with audio on two of the four reviews. The review with artist Matthew Schultz and Greg Bishop will be re-recorded in James S. Murray Gallery at Lincoln Land Community College, location of Matt Schultz installation exhibit, “The History of the Division.” Usable video was captured of at least one song from each of the performers with the exception of Hot Shot Sugar Force, however, an interview of Tenika Beard and Carrie Jo Stuckey of the band by correspondent Mason “the Piper” Summers in Tin Can Alley was shot to make up for it. The interviews of Caleb Smith of Black Queen and Food Fantasies and Drew Duzinskas speaking as an Occupier are both usable.
NEXT WORKSHOP
At our next workshop, which are held every second Monday in the Bicentennial Room of Lincoln Public LIbrary (the next one is September 10th), we will test the camera and attempt to get some usable video for “So You Want To Do A Television Show,” a demonstration of how to do an Access show here in Springfield. This show will be produced by A4PG and be available to be included in all producer’s shows as well as on the upcoming A4PG show. If we get the video successfully, we will move on to getting the video onto the editing computer and opening it up in iMovie. As we progress, we will then use Final Cut at the next workshop.
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The posts leading up to the event:
The fundraiser has taken shape! Details below….
A quick business update first. At our last meeting it was proposed and agreed to that we would stop having monthly business meetings and simply hold an annual Board meeting each year on the second Monday of January. The other Mondays we have scheduled at the Library’s Bicentennial Room will be for workshops and Q&A and will continue every second Monday of each month.
Right now the editing station is reserved for fundraising operations; to edit shows that will be played at the fundraiser itself. It will be reserved indefinitely, however if someone calls Brian to reserve time, we will arrange to have it returned to his studio with one week’s notice. During the time after the fundraiser, work will be done to create the slide show tutorial and an instructional video.
Here is the schedule for the events at the fundraiser (please join us at the FaceBook Event page):
*ON site LIve-to-tape interviews for Public Access 4 by Cameron Counts of the Central Illinois Film Commission and Access 4 Producers Group
*Screenings of 3 Access Shows brought to you by Poop TV, BTWTV and A4PG on the Flat Screen!
* WCVS 96.7 FM Live Remote 2-4pm
*Twice Hourly call-ins to WMAY AM 970 Saturday Session with Greg Bishop 3-7pm
* Southern Fryed Radio Cybercasting live on site!
* Lincoln Land Roller Derby League After Party after 10pm.
*Raffles
*Music:
Noon – Ted Keylon
******1:00 – Announcements/Interviews
1:30 – Josie Lowder
*******2:30 – Announcements/Interview with Artist Matthew Schultz!
3:00 – Dan Rohde
*******4:00 – Announcements/Poop TV – Lincoln Land Roller Derby League Part 1
4:30 – Hot Shot Sugar Force
*******5:30 – Announcements/Poop TV – Lincoln Land Roller Derby League Part 2
6:00 – Ghost Hollow Road
*******7:00 – Announcements/Interviews
7:30 - Grocery Store Ninjas
*******8:30 – Announcements/Interview with Greg Bishop of WMAY’s Saturday Session!
9:00 – Black Queen
*******10:00 – Announcements/Blowing the Whistle TV – Hot Bag O’ Donuts at Soho 2012
10:30 – Texas Trucker Speed Fiends & Lincoln Land Roller Derby After Party
At our last few meetings we have amended the by-laws and made progress on the use of the remote kit. We have formulated rules for using the kit and have held two hands-on sessions with the kit directly after the last two meetings. At the last hands-on session, board member Brian Crowdson properly attached the wide-angle lens to the camera and surveyed the equipment for the first time since itemizing it for purchase last winter. Now that we have the kit, a bag and a tripod, we are ready to learn how it integrates with the editing station.
Logo designed by Matt Schultz.
Brian will be bringing the iMac from the editing station to the August meeting. After the business meeting at 6pm, we will go over shooting video with the camera and getting it over to iMovie and Final Cut right there in the Bicentennial Room at the Lincoln Public Library. The public is welcome.
We also approved the proposal for our next fundraiser now that we have sorted things with the Attorney General’s office and are legal and registered to solicit funds and donations in the State of Illinois. The fundraiser will be at Tin Can Pub on Saturday, August 25th. There is a FaceBook Event Page for the event if you are on FaceBook and you can get there by clicking this link.
The meeting was adjourned due to lack of a quorum. On the bright side however, we have a working editing station and remote kit so it is now possible for producers to make shows. Ted Keylon will be working with the station on Friday the 13th at Crowdson and Company. Here is Boardmember Brian Crowdson’s message regarding access to the station:
“For now, the editing station will be by appointment only, and there is no guarantee of availability. It will be available only when I or one of my employees is scheduled to be in my office. Email me for an appointment - brian[at]imaketv[dot]com.”
1999 Wabash Ave. Suite 203, Springfield, IL 62704
The Remote Kit will be available after this Friday 13th to check out by contacting Brian at the email address. There will be a log book at the editing station to sign up for it. Until voted on at a meeting we will allow up to one week at a time to use the kit.
A slide show of step by step instructions is in development and workshops are being planned. Please come to the next meeting to help decide on these matters and how we can teach the producers how to use the equipment.
At our last meeting we received a carrying bag for the remote kit equipment from VP Cameron Counts. The equipment was cataloged at the last meeting and the serial numbers were all listed by Cameron and he will provide that list plus the others he has collected prior to his move coming up this June. Cameron has been very helpful and we will be sorry to see him go.
The remote kit will be tested and the resulting raw video will be brought into the editing station computer at Crowdson and Company, here-after referred to as Station 1. Once the raw video is transferred to the computer, it will be edited into a show with iMovie and the steps will be recorded and put into a slide show that will be available on Station 1 for others to use so they will be able to edit their shows.
Holding a workshop to help teach other producers how to use the equipment is still being discussed and more information will be posted here as that develops.
Our next fundraiser has been post-poned due to an error in our registration. We are going to postpone any further fundraising activities until the error is straightened out.
Due to the library being closed on our regular meeting night, we will be meeting the following Wednesday, February 15th at 7pm instead of 6pm in the Bicentennial room at Lincoln Public Library. As per the decision at the January meeting, we will inventory the new remote kit and if we have time, we may try it out as well. The public is invited.
All the equipment itemized by Brian Crowdson has been ordered and received except for a bag to put it in and a tripod. Those last two items will be purchased soon and on the next meeting, we will take time to remove all the items from packaging and inventory them by writing down their serial numbers in a registry that will be kept by Cameron until further notice.
Plans are underway to set up a time to have a workshop on using the equipment, both the remote kit and the editing station.
Treasury:
Only two producers have paid dues this year, not counting the Board members who have all now paid their dues. Dues are $10 per year and 2012 is due by July 2012.
Fundraiser:
The next fundraiser was scheduled to happen in February but may have to be postponed until later, depending on how long it takes to set up the editing and remote kit workshop. There is the offer to work with Basement Radio Network on the fundraiser as well as with a physical space. At the last meeting the pros and cons of this were discussed in general the group assembled thought it would be a good idea. More discussion will happen on that at the next meeting.
