March News from the Open Media Foundation
March 2011
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Website Spotlight
| | Recently our web team launched a new contests page for My Colorado Project. For this month's contest, individuals are asked to post photos that reflect the beauty of Colorado. Winner will be given $500 to donate to the member nonprofit of their choice, featured on My Colorado Project. |
Upcoming Classes/Events
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DOM Help Desk Hours
Thursdays 4:30-6pm
Your Voice. Your Media
March 2, Wednesday, 5:30-6:30pm
Final Cut Pro Workshop
March 2 & 3, Wednesday & Thursday, 6-9pm
First Friday @ DOM
March 4, Friday, 8-10pm
Field Production Workshop
March 9 & 10, Wednesday & Thursday, 6-9pm
Your Voice. Your Media
March 16, Wednesday, 5:30-6:30pm
Intro to Studio Production Workshop
March 16 & 17, Wednesday & Thursday, 6-9pm
Producer Orientation
March 16, Wednesday, 6:45-8pm
New! Using Soundtrack Pro with Final Cut Pro Workshop
March 21, Monday, 6-9pm
Final Cut Pro Workshop
March 26, Saturday, 11am-5:30pm
New! Pre-Production Workshop
March 28, Monday, 7-10pm
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First Friday at Denver Open Media
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On the first Friday of most months, DOM hosts a free community event that spotlights local performance groups, musical acts, and nonprofit organizations. These events are broadcast live on Comcast channel 57 and re-broadcast on channels 56, 57 and 219. They are also available online.
Next Event: Friday, March 4th 8-10pm
Doors open at 7:30pm
This month we will be partnering with Catalystic Cadence Collective, or C3, a new nonprofit multimedia arts company. This event will feature a live dance performance, an improv dance party, and music from Echo Minor. See you there! 
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| Reminder: Public Forums for Community Feedback on Comcast Service |
In Denver, community members can help ensure that OMF and DOM have the opportunity to continue creating innovations in community media. The City of Denver is hosting open forums to gather community perspectives in advance of the new franchise agreement Denver will be negotiating with Comcast over the next 12-18 months. That agreement will determine the future of Public Access TV, including the amount of funding and support to be provided by Comcast in exchange for their use of public rights of way, utility poles, and other public resources utilized by Comcast. All forums begin at 6:30PM and are open to the public. Tuesday, March 1st Wednesday, March 2nd Thursday, March 3rd * If interested in carpooling to East High School, please meet at Denver Open Media by 6:15pm. ** If interested in walking over to West High School together, please meet at Denver Open Media by 6:25pm.
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| Executive Dirctor Report | Monthly(ish) Update by Tony Shawcross
Last week, the Open Media Foundation and Archive.org announced a significant development in the Open Media Project, the open-source effort designed to enable more community participation and control over community media organizations. The Internet Archive Drupal Module, which was the final deliverable in OMF's 2008 Knight News Challenge grant, was updated to provide complete, automated encoding for any participating station.
Denver Open Media, the Public Access station managed by OMF, has moved all web-based Video-On-Demand to Archive.org, leveraging Archive.org's bandwidth for all video on the DOM website. DOM also turned-off their automated video encoding devices, now sending raw files to Archive.org where web-ready MP4 and Ogg files are generated, in addition to a broadcast-quality MPEG-2, following the specifications provided by the Alliance For Community Media Server Standards Working Group (SSWG). Those files are then transferred back to DOM, where the files are played back on DOM's three cable TV channels, working seamlessly with broadcast servers from both TelVue Corporation and Tightrope Media Systems. For more information and discussion of this process, check out Brian Hiatt's recent post on the project's homepage.
"It's a great example of nonprofit partnerships," said Brian Hiatt, OMF's Director of Technology. "Utilizing this open-source software, in combination with Archive.org, any community media station can eliminate internal encoding." Hiatt said. The service is free, and while initial setup of the open-source OMP tools generally requires the support of expert Drupal developers, Hiatt added, "these costs are partially off-set by the savings realized in reduced staff workload, lower bandwidth & storage needs, and avoiding proprietary software and hardware purchases."
"The long-term vision of the Open Media Project focuses on establishing a true network of PEG stations that can share the top-rated content across thousands of community media stations across the globe," explained Tony Shawcross, OMF's Executive Director. "Each community media website can serve as a portal, not only to local content, but also to a second-tier of content from hundreds or thousands of other access stations. Thanks to the collaboration of Archive.org and OMF, this vision is now possible," Shawcross said. Stations interested in participating are required to follow shared metadata structures and creative commons licensing that enable automated sharing.
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Spotlight of the Month: Elvis Leon and Vladimir Moskovkin
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How did you begin producing videos?
We started producing short films at the Colorado Film School. The problem was that we weren't able to film stuff outside of school projects...but then we found out about DOM. After we g ot our membership we began to put the knowledge we learned at school to use. Because of DOM we were able to work on various projects such as music videos, short films, interviews and more.
What is the value in collaborating and working as a team? There is no "I" in team. We've quickly learned that working on film projects isn't possible without the help of others. So much planning goes into creating a short film or music video and even after your plan is set you have to prepare for change. We actually haven't had a shoot that has gone totally smooth yet and therefore you need people on your team to overcome obstacles that will come your way. Why is your voice important? We hang our hats on the diversity of our projects. Thinking outside of the box is the way we roll. We just think that working on projects outside of your comfort zone is the way you're able to grow and expand your overall knowledge. We definitely are trying to show others that you don't have to produce a certain type of program, film, or even music video. Its OK to do something different.
What is your advice to aspiring producers? Work on as many projects as you can, especially if you have the means to do so. Experience is gained by being involved with the creation process of any production. There is nothing better than getting hands-on experience in whatever field you want to work in. Every production is a new learning experience that makes you more prepared for future projects. What do you do outside of producing videos? Fortunately, we currently are going to school full-time and are in a position to be able to produce all sorts of video content due to being enrolled in film school. At the moment we have two short films underway titled "Haus 29" and "X 2.0" We'll upload them to DOM as soon as they're completed. Why is public access television important? Why do you enjoy producing public access content? Public access television is important because it gives the 'average Joe' a voice. If it wasn't for places like DOM, creating video content would be difficult to do. A lot of what we've learned has come from being able to check-out camera equipment and having the freedom to create whatever ideas come to mind. |
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Denver Open Media's Youth Production Group: Open Media Generation
| Do you know a student who dreams of being on TV? How about working behind the scenes? If so, they should join Denver Open Media's FREE Youth Production Group!
The Youth Group meets weekly! Anyone between the ages of 12-19 can plan to stop by any Wednesday from 3:30-6pm to join the fun...and did we mention it is free?
Participants will learn field, studio and editing techniques. Students will learn how to produce youth-related content and will help solicit new youth-related programs. Please check out our website for more information or email ann@openmediafoundation.org
Also, we are always looking for food donations to help keep our youth fed and alert during trainings/productions. Please let us know if you have suggestions or information about youth group sponsorships. 
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