CMNtv Offers Video Workshop to Oakland Township Residents

Community Media Network (CMNtv), a nonprofit organization that offers public access television out of their station in Troy, is offering a 10-week workshop starting April 6. The workshop is open to residents of the area cities and townships, including Oakland Township, that partially fund the company.

CMNtv has been offering workshops for years, and though some Oakland Township residents have taken the course, CMNtv Outreach Coordinator Joe Johnson would like to see more residents take advantage of the perks the station has to offer.

“We’d like to get more people from Oakland Township in here,” Johnson said. “We’re grateful to Oakland Township because they continue to fund us.”

Other area cities that continue to fund CMNtv are Rochester, Auburn Hills, Troy, Royal Oak and Berkley.

“They receive money from the cable companies, Comcast and Wide Open West, and they in turn choose whether or not to take a portion of that funding and give it to us to provide the services that we offer,” Johnson said.

He noted that because of budget constraints, five of the 11 cities they serve have opted not to fund the station. Residents in funding cities can take the workshop for $75; upon completing the class, residents can check out video cameras and other filming equipment – and use the editing equipment for free – as long as they provide some sort of programming content for the station.

Residents in those five cities no longer funding CMNtv can still take the 10-week workshop, but for a cost of $200, and they will not have access to editing equipment and video cameras afterwards.

“It’s a great way to get your feet wet to see if it’s something that you like or feel you can be successful at; for some people it’s turned into a career,” said CMNtv Executive Director H. Jay Wiencko, Jr.

Equipment that can be checked out includes microphones, video cameras, lights and more. During the week, equipment can be checked out for a 48-hour period, and on weekends there is a little extra leeway.

Residents who have completed the workshop can also reserve studio time in four-hour blocks; Johnson advised making reservations ahead of time for both.

Oakland Township resident Diane Hennler took the workshop within the last 18 months and said her experience with the program was very valuable. Taking the course helped her in her professional life as well at MI Community Media, she said.

“To have access to that kind of equipment like Final Cut Express and a television studio to learn, and then be able to check out equipment is a huge, huge resource,” Hennler said. “Then on top of that, to be able to take the class at a really low cost – does it get any better than that?”

The amount of people who register for the program varies, and the commitment is merely two hours per week. Currently, the program can be taken by anyone 15 years of age and older and offers four different time slots: 7-9 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-noon Thursdays and 1-3 p.m. Thursdays.

The workshop involves a couple of weeks of camera training and practice in the field interviewing people and composing shots on video. A couple weeks will also be dedicated to editing and using the control room, among other learning techniques.

People who take the course produce many of the programs that are aired on CMNtv’s channel 18. The range of content aired varies from covering public meetings to cooking shows, talk shows, community events, music coverage, political events and more. It functions as an outlet for residents to impact the community by doing something they are passionate about.

“I think people really like the idea of sharing their ideas, and their creativity and the fact that they can accomplish something and show it to off,” Wiencko said. “It’s also fun because with the workshop, they meet people with similar interests and exchange ideas; it becomes kind of a public forum at times.”

The network does not work to stifle creativity, but it does not permit producers to contribute commercial content. Johnson explained that the goal is to educate in some way, not push viewers to purchase a particular product or service.

“It’s the perfect venue for someone who wants their voice to be heard,” Hennler said.

To register for the program or for more information visit CMNtv’s website at www.cmntv.org or call (248) 589-7778. Orientation is April 6 and the workshop officially starts the week following.