Don't Like What's on TV? Make Your Own Show at CM2

Marin County may be known as the home of cinema super-producer George Lucas, and independent filmmaker John Korty has made a career from our own backyard. But for others who want to apply film or video skills to community projects, whether as a mentor or a student, the place to go is the , or CM2.

In the brick office down on A Street, home to the Community Media Center, a dozen Final Cut Pro workstations, a professional production suite, and a studio for high-quality, in-house shows await aspiring filmmakers and media producers.

“Creating the space where people can work on their projects is just as important as the equipment,” said Executive Director Michael Eisenmenger, who joined the organization when it moved to A Street in 2009 after his many years in New York community media and education.

“It’s about building community out of media. And it hasn’t let up since the day we opened," he said.

Membership is $35 a year for any Marin County resident, $25 for seniors or students. Currently there are about 375 active members of the total of 600 who have joined since the CM2 started in 2007.

Although the membership fees contribute to the CM2 budget, most of their funding comes from the county’s Cable Franchise Agreement, which requires cable suppliers like Comcast or AT&T to provide funds or facilities to support public, educational and governmental coverage.

CM2 was formerly given space in the AT&T studios themselves, but they moved into the current downtown location, next door to the Youth Center facility next door (one of their target user bases) and a short walk from bus stops.

Programs originating in the CM2 studios, or supported by members or organizations who want certain programs on the air – like Democracy Now, Link TV or Al-Jazeera – are “cablecast” to all subscribers in a coverage area, including those who just sign up for “basic” services.

On Comcast, their programs can be found on Channels 26 (with a community emphasis), 27 (government) and 30 (education) in Marin; AT&T subscribers can find them on “the infamous Channel 99,” as the CM2 crew referred to it.

Regular programs can be accessed online at the Marin On Demand section of the website. They include a recent series on the Occupy demonstrations produced by CMCM, called OccupyTV.

Who are the members? “I’d be reluctant to create one profile for our users,” Eisenmenger said. “We support everyone who comes through the door.”

This includes residents from all over Marin County, from Inverness to San Anselmo, Sausalito to Novato.

Members who want to use the equipment, including video recorders, mixing boards, lights for studio or field shooting, must take accreditation classes. There’s also a private editing suite for more technically demanding projects.

Both core and advanced workshops are offered year-round (you can sign up online), ranging from a free one-hour session on basic Mac skills or three sessions on basic Final Cut Pro ($75), to multi-camera field shooting, even screenwriting and social media. Classes usually cost $75 per session.

“What’s been exciting for me is to see the interaction of the members,” Eisenmenger said. “We have some retired professionals here who share their skill set with those who are just learning. That’s what community media is.”

And members enjoy that community feeling.

"One of the nice things about this place is when you walk in, people are happy to help you," said member Ed Dudkowski, a Marin County senior working on several projects at CM2 including a documentary in development, Farmers Market Today.

The studio, likewise, can be rented with or without crew for productions. Whether field production or studio, projects need to be submitted by proposal to the Community Media Center of Marin by members – a form is available at the A Street studio or online – as long as it’s produced for the community, has no commercial content and is suitable for cablecasting.

Other services include a community calendar, not just online but on cable – local organizations who want to announce an event can add it to the calendar online, and within the day it should be on the events calendar cablecast to the public channel. “Look upon it as a resource for the community,” Eisenmenger said.

The Community Media Center of Marin is open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 2:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Fridays 11a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays noon to 6 p.m. They are closed Sunday and Monday. For more information, contact them at (415) 721-0636 or info@cmcm.tv.

To learn more about the Community Media Center of Marin, check out their Introduction to CM2 video online.