BCM SPRING NEWSLETTER

Spring Studio Update  Greetings Friends From the Interim Executive Director Arielle Krnich If you have dropped by BCM over the last few months, you may have noticed a few changes that have been happening here!  We’ve redecorated our front office with a fresh new look, upgraded our Express Studio (still in progress), and switched over to a tape-less recording system!  Consider it our Spring Revival of Berkeley Community Media.But that is not where the end begins In the coming months, more big changes are coming – including a brand new website that is designed for members to be able to have video on demand, schedule their own shows, make their own reservations, and much much more. We’re even working on a new workflow so that you can submit your shows from home via the internet! These are exciting times for BCM: a new beginning with even more light and heart than ever before. I look forward to take BCM back to the future, and enhance your experience with us!   See you soon! We’re staying closely connected to our membership because of these new changes. We need to make sure we have your current contact information to notify you of special events, workshops and neat discounts! If you missed the last opportunity to get $5 bucks off your next class or membership, click here to update your info and enjoy your reward: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5RV85JT Jeff Kimmick, Access Facilitator says: And remember, Berkeley community’s equipment is blasting into the future too. We now have two HD cameras that can shoot 1080 at 24 frames per second onto SD cards, delivering incredibly high quality imagery that can then be simply copied onto a computer for post-production, eliminating forever the real-time capture process!  And once those files are copied, they can be imported into Apple’s state of the art Final Cut Pro X, allowing for greater flexibility than ever seen before with this application. Our Express Studio has been upgraded and with much higher quality cameras and a design making it easier than ever for one person to tech an entire show alone.  And both studios now have the capability to record shows directly onto a computer hard drive so they can be uploaded or streamed to YouTube or Vimeo immediately.  We here at BCM are committed to providing you with the best equipment and the newest methods possible. BCM would also like to welcome Ellora Coombs, previously a production intern, Ellora is now part of the staff. Hello! My name is Ellora and I’m the new administrative & technical assistant at BCM. On a day-to-day basis I will be assisting the Executive Director, answering phones, helping out in the mac lab, assisting in the production of City Council, Zoning Adjustment Board, and Rent Stabilization Board meetings, and editing for media service projects. I’m excited to be apart of BCM! Donald Bauer has rejoined the organization as Business Manager for BCM.  Donald was previously BCM’s Operations Manager from 2003 until late 2009, during which time he managed the full gamut of BCM’s financial and operational issues. Since departing BCM, Don has worked for the U.S. Department of Commerce,     as the Senior Accounting Manager for a commercial testing laboratory in west Berkeley, and as Accounting Manager for another non-profit organization headquartered here in the east bay. Don is happy to return to BCM — an organization he cares greatly about, and one where he invested a great deal of himself during his earlier tenure with the organization. An experienced business professional with a master’s degree in business administration, Don will be a big asset to BCM as it grows and evolves as an organization and as a key community asset in the City of Berkeley, California. From the Community Outreach Coordinator Melanie Mentzel Community is the heart of BCM and filming and airing events such as Berkeley Sunday Streets, Telegraph Ave Holiday Fair, The Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast, and the Peace Symbol Birthday exemplify the uniqueness and diversity of Berkeley. We are always reaching out to potential new members and creating more opportunities for people to get involved with BCM. Coming in May, we will have our first ever “BCM Screening Room” where producers with short films can show their work. Our 3rd Annual 48 Hour Summer Shorts Movie Jam, where people gather to create a 5 minute film in just 48 hours, happens towards the end of July. Watch for a House Warming Pot Luck Party in between to get to know the staff and check out the new studio space and equipment! We think you’ll like it all!        Thanks for all of your positive energy towards keeping BCM a vibrant center for promoting something Berkeley is known for… Free Speech! From the Interim Director of Education Michael Vaughn The training and continuing education of our members and the Berkeley community is central to our mission. BCM offers core classes in Studio Production (and lighting & directing) Field Production and Final Cut Pro X (with our new teacher John Clark). This spring we have added a new class, Audacity. This will focus on sound recording and mixing. I hope this too will become a “core class”. Our internship program has over 16 students; they come from Berkeley High, BCC, Laney, Cal and from the neighborhood. We have begun two exciting new partnerships. One is with students from U.C Berkeley, in particular CALTV. In this we anticipate original content in all genres developed by Cal students. The other is with The California Lawyers for the Arts. We have started to offer free public workshops and lectures at the Berkeley Public Library on legal issues important to community broadcasters. Finally, we are pleased to have begun developing content with the Berkeley Senior Centers and the Center For Independent Living’s teen group. Stay tuned to both channel 28 & 33 for these and so much more upcoming programs. And Finally, Our Government Producer, Joe Liesner The staff of BCM would like to shout out a special moment of gratitude to our amazing government producer, Joe Liesner, who has faithfully been producing all of our government meetings productions that air on Channel 33!   He is a beacon of light and love here at BCM, and we are eternally thankful for his efforts!   Hooray for Joe!