Creative Commons and Community Media

In community media, resources can often be scarce.  It can be hard to find supplemental materials to help make your productions pop.  Quality stock media tends to be too expensive and if the price point is right, it is often bland and out of date.  Even if you do invest in quality libraries, the limited options can lead to problems.  Imagine your members all gravitating to the same music track for their theme song or the same photograph for their opening graphic.  Productions can begin to all look and sound the same.

The solution to this problem? Creative Commons.    

Established in 2001, Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools.  CC created easy-to-use copyright licenses that provide a simple, standardized way to share and use creative work.  CC licenses work alongside copyright and enable you to modify your copyright terms to give people the right to share, use, and even build upon a work you’ve created.

There is already an immense amount of CC-licensed content that you can freely and legally use; everything from songs and videos to academic and scientific materials.  Major companies and organizations are providing CC-licensed content or creating tools and services to help support the sharing of that content.  You can explore Creative Commons content by visiting search.creativecommons.org.  CC offers convenient access to search services provided by other independent organizations such as Flickr, Jamendo, Google Images, Youtube, and more.  For general information on Creative Commons visit creativecommons.org.

At ONTV, we have begun the process of designating our programs with Creative Commons licenses and we’re encouraging our producers to do the same.  We are also sharing with our volunteers the CC resources available to them for their productions and creative projects.  Our hope is that these new avenues will spark creativity and originality amongst ONTV producers.  Current volunteers are encouraged to stop by the studio to learn more about Creative Commons licensing and content.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer producer at ONTV the first step is attending a free orientation.  Our next orientation is schedule for Monday, July 15th at 6:30PM. For more information visit our website at orionontv.org or call the studio at (248)693-3377 to reserve a spot.  We offer classes in video production, television broadcasting, and advanced media workshops.