Giving Thanks
 ACMI's FALL OPEN HOUSE Saturday November 17th, from 11
AM - 4 PM, tea and cakes were served to our guests as we celebrated the beginning of our second
year as operators of Arlington's television training and production facility at 85 Park Avenue in Arlington Heights.
During this warm and cozy drop-in gathering of Arlington
neighbors, the Board and staff offered an early thanksgiving for the many blessings of our first year at Arlington Studio.
We all agreed that we
are excited about expanding our programming and our outreach to local non-profit organizations in our fair town. The impulse to creatively inform and entertain our community through media is ACMI's source of energy, and it comes from you--the viewers and vlunteers.
Please keep it coming!
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Our Newest Staffmember
Cheryl Brusgulis,
Administrative Assistant
Before joining the Arlington Studio staff as
Administrative Assistant, Cheryl volunteered during more than a decade at Arlington's local cable
access television studio.
Her series production credits during that time included Cable
Cuisine, Golden Opportunities, and The Front Page. She subsequently
produced for the Arlington Historical Society several episodes of Inside
Arlington and a few specials.
She was a member of the board of directors of Arlington
Cable Access (ACA) where she held the positions of Secretary and Clerk.
In her spare time, she offers private computer lessons and
is an avid photographer.
A resident of Arlington for more than 30 years, Cheryl has
come to appreciate the town's unique charms. Now employed by the studio at
which she first volunteered, she is impressed by ACMI's recent and bold
adoption of 21st century digital HD video technology and she looks
forward to seeing more Arlingtonians using the Arlington Community Media studio
facility. We do too. Welcome Aboard Cheryl!
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"And then came the shortest day, and theyear died. . ." * - but not at ACMI's Arlington Studio!
We kept the year alive here for ten more days following the December 21st winter solstice, and then we brought to life a brand new year-- right here at your:
* From "The Shortest Day",
a solstice poem by Susan Cooper. |
Awards on Parade
ACMI's Arlington Studio delighted in covering two awards events during the winter season. One was hosted by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and was a gala dinner and ceremony to present awards to Chamber members that distinguished themselves as exemplary merchants during 2007.
The other awards event was the Town of Arlington awards presentaton at Town Hall of awards "to honor distinguished
individuals and organizations in Arlington that have worked to enhance the quality of town life in business, health, and
government". It was the sixth year these awards have been presented since 1976. |
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The cozy glow of Arlington Studio during the winter holiday season.
Dear ACMI Members and Friends --
The winter season at ACMI's Arlington Studio was warmed by the comings and goings of our ever-growing community of members and volunteers, actively engaging in training workshops and production projects.
We also covered several local events and activities, from the Thanksgiving Day football game with Somerville, to the candiates' forum just prior to the February primary. And before our Spring newsletter is out in May, we will have covered another Patriots' Day Parade and the commencement of Arlington Town Meeting 2008. And we're lovin' it!
To you we
now extend the warmest of winter greetings from the Board & Staff of
your own Arlington community television production training and cablecasting facility -- Arlington Studio.
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More Workshops
 With the new year, came to ACMI a new, quarterly schedule of workshops and FilmTalk gatherings at Arlington Studio. Basic Camera Operation and Shot Composition workshops are now offered every month, as are digital, non-linear editing workshops for both PC and MAC users. to those basic
trainings, We have added three others--
offered his unique overview of Studio Operations workshop was held
the television studio production on January 22nd at 85 Park Avenue,
process to more than twenty and featured ACMI's very own Jim
ACMI members. Clements, Associate Professor of
Digital Media & Communications at
Lighting 101 makes its debut on February 18th at the Studio and features guest instructor Brian Fraser of Barbizon Lighting. Brian, drawing upon his years of experience as a Director of Photography in film and video, will demonstrate to his ACMI audience just what it takes to "make the best shot".
In March we unveil Advanced Editing - Professional Cuts. This workshop starts where basic editing left off and delves into the techiques of more sophisticated editing.
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Arlington Decides 2008
and Candidates' Night Coverage
To serve the Arlington public's desire to make an informed choice at the primary election polls on February 5th, Arlington Community Media's Arlington Studio, offered each of the five candidates for the recently vacated state representaive seat (in the 4th Middlesex district that serves Arlington and West Medford) a 3-5 minute, in-studio presentation of why he should be chosen. All five candidates accepted, and their presentations were cablecast repeatedly during the two weeks leading up to the February 5th election.
In addition, Arlington Studio carried live, and replayed frequently, the local League of Women Voters' forum, Candidates' Night held at Town Hall.
ACMI's Executive Director, Norman McLeod observed, "This public information service fits squarely within our mission--as stated in our Articles of Organiztion--to provide 'an electronic forum for the free exchange of
information and ideas which reflect the talents, skills, interests,
concerns, and diversity of the Arlington community'. We are privileged to provide such a service."
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ACMI's New Beacon: A New Website in March!
We are looking forward to the completion of one of our primary wintertime goals: going LIVE with
our new website. In March we anticipate that the site will be fully
tested and on line for you, our dear members and friends, to use and
enjoy. It won't be long thereafter that live video of
important local meetings and events will be streaming to you fom our new online beacon. You
will be among the first to hear of the new service as that day approaches.
Meanwhile, check out the stories on this page, and click through on the links, if you like, to see and read more.
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New Programs
Turning to programming, we are
delighted to now be busy with training new members to produce their own
new programs and to be in pre-production on several new offerings. Two
of our new programs from 2007 are now regularly yielding new and
interesting shows. Right Turn LIVE! and College Life are now staples of our program schedule. (Click on this link to see a listing of our current regular programs.)
Now on the prep table or in the oven are some brand new shows to look
forward to. Among them are: new episodes of the ever-popular Golden Opportunities, soon coming back online after a six-month hiatus; new episodes of Just Cook It!
and soon-to-be-revived Indian Kitchen, a cooking show featuring Arlington
resident Ruka Srinivas. Now in pre-production is a new program about financial management and
investment strategies for these times. The Ottoson News Network (ONN)
youngsters and a local girl scout troop continue to produce half-hour
specials. ONN treated us to an interview with the new principal at
Ottoson, and Girl Scout Troops 1032 and 1065 combined to interviewed former Lieutenant
Governor and current Girl Scout executive Shannon O'Brien.
It is so
amazing to see young teenagers deftly producing a three-camera studio
shoot--complete with video switcher, pre-recorded roll-ins, lower-third
IDs and other graphics as a live-to-tape program. All this after only
8-10 hours of training! It's truly inspiring. ACMI's Arlington Studio
and its staff provide the resources, the members and their volunteer
crews do the rest. The result is new programming-- increasingly
diverse and increasingly sophisticated. There's still plenty of space
on our channels for new productions and new crews for high school
sports coverage, cultural event coverage, official town meeting and
event coverage, TownDay crew
members. . . The possibilities are almost endless. Let us know what
you are ready to create, or which ongoing project you would like to
help produce. Call us at 781-777-1115 or email me:
Walter@ArlingtonStudio.com. Now it's your turn! (Link here to other new progams.)
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As always, we wish to thank our growing membership for its increasing use of our resources, since that is precisely what we are here for. In enabling you, our neighbors, to bring forth your creativity and your stories, we are together enriching the connection within, and the cohesion of, our local society. We invite all those who live and work in our lovely little town to join in our happy collaboration.
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Please Note: ACMI's Arlington Studio is a smoke free and fragrance-free environment. Please do you best to remember, for the sake of those with allergies and respiratory conditions, to not use or wear scented products or clothing when visiting or working at the Studio. Thank you.
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