March News from the Open Media Foundation
March 2012
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| Class Highlight: Making Music w GarageBand |
In just a few weeks, we'll hold our next Making Music with GarageBand workshop, which introduces students to the world of making your own music tracks. GarageBand comes free with most Apple computers, and can be cheaply downloaded on PC's.
By the end of this workshop, students will be able to create audio for your film or videos, edit existing audio tracks, or record podcasts.
You'll leave this class with your own custom ringtone that you've created in class!
Open Media Foundation has partnered with local musicians and Flobots.org to offer this course!
Hold your spot by registering here.
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| Cocktail Talk |
Learn tips for working the room and turning social events into business opportunities. The[news]Seen is hosting an evening with tips and tricks for better networking at social gatherings.
Event is Tuesday, March 27th, 5p-7p at Open Media Foundation.
More information registration here.
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| Hometown Media Awards | |
Are you a DOM member who has produced and aired a program on DOM in 2011?
Want national recognition for your efforts?
The Alliance for Community Media (ACM) annually holds the Hometown Media Awards to honor and promote community media and local cable programs that are distributed on PEG access cable television channels. Awards are presented to creative programs that address community needs, develop diverse community involvement, challenge conventional commercial television formats, and move viewers to experience television in a different way.
The Hometown Media Awards is local cable's largest video awards competition. Winners of the Hometown Media Awards will be recognized during the Alliance for Community Media 2012 Conference & Exhibition in Chicago. July 31-August 2, 2012.
The Call for Entries for the Hometown Media Awards is now open. Please go online for the new online submission form and uploading of video entries.
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| Upcoming Classes/Events |
Narrative Scriptwriting Series
March 1, 8, 15, 22
6:30p-8:30p each evening
First Friday
March 2, Friday 6:30pm
Adobe After Effects Workshop
March 6, Tuesday
6p-9p
Field Production Workshop
March 6 & 7, Wed & Thurs
6p-9p each evening
Your Voice. Your Media Tour
March 7, Wednesday
5:30p-6:30p
Intro to Prezi Workshop
March 12, Monday
6p-8p
Making Music w GarageBand
March 20, Tuesday
6p-9p
Your Voice. Your Media Tour
March 7, Wednesday
5:30p-6:30p
Intro to Google Docs
March 26, Monday
6p-8p
Intro to the Steadycam Workshop
March 26, Monday
6p-9p
Intro to Studio Production
March 28 & 29th, Wed & Thurs
6p-9p each evening
3D Animation w Blender Series
March 28, April 4, 11, 18
6:30-8:30 each evening
Intro to Digital Photography
March 29, Thursday
6p-9p
Final Cut Pro X Workshop
March 31, Saturday
1p-4p
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| Executive Director Report | |
Monthly Update with Tony Shawcross 
Six years ago, the Open Media Foundation set out to build a set of software tools that would enable the revival of Public Access TV in Denver. The City of Denver had previously removed operational funding support for Public Access, so we needed a tool that would reduce our role as gatekeepers for the TV stations and enable the community to drive Denver Open Media themselves. One by one, we built tools that empowered the community to manage tasks that formerly required paid staff. Borrowing from web2.0 models ranging from CurrentTV to Wikipedia, we looked for every opportunity to position our community to take the reigns of their TV station. From equipment reservations to show submission, data-entry and channel scheduling, Denver Open Media became a unique experiment in taking people-powered TV to the next level. We partnered with Archive.org, Creative Commons, and other partners to automate content storage, encoding, licensing, and webstreaming: and two years later, DOM had proven that this model for community-powered TV could work. The Knight Foundation invested $380,000 in helping us re-build the software using a more flexible architecture that would make it work in other TV stations with distinct workflows and needs. We installed and beta-tested the software in 6 other cities to evaluate the viability of our model in a variety of environments. Through 2009 and 2010, we learned that our approach in Denver would not work in most community TV stations. Our software was so open and flexible that making it work generally required skilled Drupal developers and experience network administrators. Consider the different staffing makeup of Wikipedia vs Encyclopedia Brittanica and you begin to understand why we were left trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Even if the staffing costs of our model were a small fraction of those for a traditional community media station, we were essentially asking these partners to completely re-train or replace half of their staff, and very few were interested in taking such extreme steps. The Open Media Project is not just about cutting costs. Our long-term goal is building a new network of people-powered TV stations. We want to shift the way that mass media happens on TV and the web, putting everyday people in the driver's-seat and seeing how the conversation and our awareness shifts. With the Open Media Project, the innate desire of people to communicate and engage with their community is the driving force behind the creation of content, not the profit motive of media corporations. The Open Media Project is designed to engage communities that advertisers and ad-driven media have little interest in, including low-income and fringe or minorities. With these goals in mind, we've taken the lessons of the Beta-Test, and partnered with Warecorp and The Uptake in a major re-design of the tools to make them available as a cloud-based, fully-supported subscription service that requires no re-staffing or re-training to implement. Version 2.0 of the Open Media Project will be launched this year at the Alliance for Community Media conference in July.
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| OMF Spotlight: Grant Hammel, OMF Intern | |
This month, we talked with Grant Hammel, one of our interns at Open Media Foundation. Grant started out as a Station Access intern, then moved to the Production and Editing team for a second internship.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am a Colorado native who loves to skateboard, watch hockey, and hang out with friends at the pub. I travel as often as I can and have an ever growing record collection. Yes, I am a vinyl-phile, I think everything sounds better on LP.
How did you become involved in multimedia work?
I studied Multimedia/Digital Design at University of Colorado Denver which was a somewhat unorganized field of the Fine Arts department. I was given a crash course in all things design. Growing up with a skateboard under my feet meant most times, I also had a video camera in my hand. So working with experimental/documentary video really seemed to appeal to me. I liked the idea of creating "fine art" outside of a traditional studio while using cutting edge technology as a medium.
Tell us about why you decided to do an internship with Open Media Foundation?
OMF appealed to me because their philosophy of putting the community first is a breath of fresh air. I like the idea of enabling anyone in the community to tell stories and create high quality work. Being part of the OMF family gives me the opportunity to share my knowledge and skills with our community members.
What kinds of projects have you worked on with OMF?
I have taken part in many different projects with OMF. As a member of the Production Team, my most memorable project was shooting the Colorado Irish Festival last summer. It was easy to tell just how important the festival was to the Irish community in Colorado. I was honored to help capture the all the fun and magic of that weekend. The client was also extremely generous and supportive of our needs. I look forward to going back next year!
As far as studio work, I am always excited to direct the monthly Drupal Meet-Up in Studio A. Preparing for a live broadcast with a group of 40+ in the studio audience has its challenges for sure! I find that taking on that responsibility and pressure has its rewards.
What have you gotten out of your internship with OMF?
Working with OMF and the community is rewarding in itself! I like to think that I learn something new everyday and in some cases, teach others a trick or two.
What are your career goals?
My goals are to continue to learn about media, broadcast, and production. I am looking for a long term position in media that is both challenging and gratifying, preferably in the great state of Colorado.
Why do you think community media centers are important?
The community media center is important because it gives ANYONE the opportunity to create something meaningful. The idea of putting the power of media in the hands of the people is a unique model that takes away the capability of corporate sponsors and money. Removing monetary value from the media equation levels the playing field which is why OMF is vital to our community.
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First Friday at Denver Open Media: Key of D
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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 as well as streamed on our website. They are re-broadcasted on channels 56, 57 and 219. They are also available online for on-demand viewing.
Next event: Friday, March 2 
Doors at 6:30
Event starts at 7p
This month we are excited for the return of "Key of D", a participatory music and visual 'art' show. The Key of D features Tony Shawcross on Piano, Guitar, and Trumpet, playing renditions of songs requested live by the viewership via text/sms. Text requests can be sent to 41411, and your request MUST begin with the word "keyofd". John Montgomery will run the show from behind the curtain, contributing biting witticism, beautiful mixed video visuals, and the occasional chorus for a live music video of any song requested by you, the viewers. The song requests are received and displayed on-air, Tony looks up the music on-line and plays a snippet of the song, then takes a stab (or a flying leap), with varied results.
This event will be held inside Denver Open Media's Studio A. This event is free and open to the public; and will be broadcast live on Channel 57; see you there!
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| OMF Internships: A Great Way To Build Your Portfolio |
Gain valuable multimedia skills and give back to a community media center.
At Open Media Foundation, we have 8 different internship positions that are housed within our different departments. Each position offers an incredible opportunity to work on a professional media team, as well as work on real-world projects. We ask that candidates are able to commit to a 12 hour/week, 200-hour total internship schedule, and meet the specific expectations of each internship position. Our internships are perfect for someone who would like to build their media resume, while at the same time gaining access to the incredible internship benefits OMF has to offer, such as access to free classes and a free membership upon completion of the internship.
If you are interested in this opportunity or any other internship opportunities at the Open Media Foundation, please visit our internship page for more information. |
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Spotlight of the Month: TEDx MileHigh Salon
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 | | Click above to watch Michael Huemer - The Irrationality of Politics |
Recently, Open Media Foundation was asked to film the inaugural TEDx MileHighSalon, a day of stories about "risk and reward".
All of the changemakers who presented share one common ideal: Change does not happen by playing it safe. Change is about community, raising our expectations of ourselves and of those around us, and making connections. Some ideas have to be experienced and some experiences are magical.
We encourage you to check out all the presenters sessions, which you can access here.
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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 Open Media Generation Youth Group meets weekly! Anyone between the ages of 11-24 can 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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