Tomorrow (Friday 11/14) is the night of our annual VCAM Producers’ Recognition Dinner, where we get everyone in a big room, feed them, and thank them for all of the time and effort they put into creating VCAM content.

As with the last few of these events, the evening will be emceed by Seven Days videographer (and VCAM producer) Eva Sollberger. Our keynote speaker will be author, blogger, VPR commentator and UVM prof, Philip Baruth.

These dinners are always a good opportunity to take a look back at some of the accomplishments of our community of media-makers. Here are a few highlights…

• Our hostess tomorrow, the afore mentioned Eva Sollberger, recently won first place in her category at the Alliance for Community Media Northeast Regional Video Festival for her Stuck in Vermont series.
• VCAM’s own staff took home the first place prize in the “PEG Promo” category in that same festival for the first episode of our rare-but-excellent VCAM VCAST!
• In October, two BHS students who are VCAM producers were the only high schoolers to compete in the Vermont International Film Festival’s Student Showcase — and they won awards! Sophomore Graham Raubvogel took home the Best Short award for a film he co-directed called The First Supper, and freshman Keith LaFountaine won an Honorable Mention for his film, If You Can’t Say Anything Nice….
• The very same Graham Raubvogel won first place at the Santa Monica Teen Film Festival this summer for his film, Keeping Time.
• At the Alliance for Community Media’s national conference this past summer, VCAM took the prize for best access center website, and VCAM production Manager, Bill Simmon, got an Honorable Mention for his short documentary about Vermont blogger, Steve Benen.
• That same short documentary, Digital Pamphleteer, screened at several film festivals in 2008 and won the Best Short Documentary award at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival in July.

I hope I’m not forgetting anyone — if I am, send me a note and I’ll update the post.

Congratulations to all of the award-winners and keep up the great work! And remember, we’re giving out some awards ourselves tomorrow night, so stay tuned for that!

One of the most divisive programs in VCAM’s 24-year history in terms of viewer response is calling it quits.  Subterranean SINema, produced by Magister Matthew G. Paradise, has aired its last episode on VCAM channel 15.  Matt began producing the show back in 1997 and over the years, “SubSIN” has been notable both as one of the shows that generated the most viewer response, and as a show with particularly high production values.  Matt used to edit his episodes of SubSIN at the channel 15 studios, but as his production skills improved and editing software became more readily available, he started producing the shows totally in his own home, from soup to nuts.

Matt writes…

 … somewhere in there also lurks the reality that much of the material the show was famous for can now be seen around the world by visiting online sites such as Break.com and YouTube. Back in the late-90s, SubSIN was highly sought after, whether its live transmission, VHS copies, or, later on, the DVD. But, alas, the Internet changed all of that and I, intelligently, must change with the times. If you loved the show, the spirit of Subterranean SINema certainly permeates the online world in ways public access television never could on its own. That’s my indirect way of saying that I love you, VCAM — and you need to put a streaming feed of your programming (not just a few shows) on the Internet. Merely a helpful, if not belabored, suggestion.

It was a very good time. Subterranean SINema, like so many things I do, serves as a roadmap through a period of my life — in this case, my 30s. SubSIN, believe it or not, prompted me to go back to college and get serious about video, and VCAM was instrumental in that regard, giving me exposure to editing, shooting, lighting, and producing an actual show. How can I not be grateful to both public access TV and that little controversial show monikered by a pentagram-trapped skull and crossbones?

VCAM is indeed looking at putting all locally-produced VCAM programming online — though probably in an on-demand way rather than as a 24/7 live stream.  There are some organizational concerns to tackle first, which are surprisingly more complex than the technical issues, which seem pretty straight forward.  Stay tuned for more info on that.

Matt also produced the show Satanism Today, which aired on VCAM’s channel 15 a few years ago.  As a result of Matt’s involvement here at VCAM, we are still sometimes asked if VCAM is the home of “that Satan channel.”   It’s interesting that featuring shows like Victory For You!, Calvary Life, Good News Broadcast, Key to the Kingdom, Time of God, Heavenly Sonshine, Revelations, Tomorrow’s World, Living Bread and the weekly Catholic mass (all shows currently in our playback rotation) doesn’t get people to ask us if we are the home of “that Jesus channel,” but I guess the word “Satan” is particularly memorable in a TV show title (take note, future VCAM producers!).

Good luck in your future endeavors, Matt!

Graham Raubvogel, a local film/video director, BHS student and inspired VCAM Producer, recently took first prize at the Santa Monica Teen Film Festival with his short film Keeping Time.

Graham’s award winning piece is about a young man named Oscar who is haunted by his past and struggling to move forward with his life. It is one of Graham’s very first short films (many of which can be viewed on his You Tube channel) and was shot during his freshman year at Burlington High School. It is clear he is a talented young filmmaker with a bright future ahead.

Congratulations Graham on all your hard work and momentous award! We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for new projects in the future…

Ira Glass, producer and host of PRI’s wonderful radio program, This American Life, gives some wonderful, inspiring and reassuring advice to media makers in this YouTube video. Whether you’re a newcomer to media-making or have been producing your own show for years, this is incredibly valuable advice…

Lately Glass and the TAL crew have taken their show to TV, and are now in their second season of This American Life on Showtime. The cable show presents some of the finest short-form documentary filmmaking happening right now. The first season is available on DVD.

Forest, Bill, Paul and Charlie from The Advocacy Team were in the VCAM studio today recording their 100th episode. Above is a snapshot from their preproduction session where they met with their special guests from the Green Mountain Self Advocates. As you’ll likely notice on their website, the GMSA is:

a statewide self-advocacy network run and operated by people with developmental disabilities [and they're] building a movement for self-advocacy through public education and awareness, peer mentoring, support, advocacy and direct action.

The folks from the GMSA are a few of the guests among the dozens of individuals and organizations featured on The Advocacy Team since 2003. The list includes Special Olympics Vermont, Vermont Expos, Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, VSA Arts and the former mayor of Burlington, Peter Clavelle.

The Advocacy Team is sponsored by Champlain Community Services and can be seen Sundays at 8:30am, Wednesdays at 10:00am and Thursdays at 9:00pm on VCAM Channel 15 . We’d like to congratulate to all the members of the Advocacy Team for reaching this milestone and thank them for all their hard work and ongoing commitment to community media.

This is an update for all you folks out there who read VCAM’s blog post from last August about Jackie Yantachka , the senior from CVU who as of yesterday has completed her Senior Grad Challenge in Broadcast Television at the VCAM studio.

It was a delight to attend her final presentation yesterday. She was in front of a packed house, filled with family, community consultants and a sizable panel of teachers and instructors.

Jackie covered everything from the appropriate use of a lapel mic to the work flow in master control. She employed an impressive Power Point presentation that included still images of nearly every component to the VCAM studio, screen captures of her FCP timeline and bin structure, plus images illustrating the strategy behind the different shots she incorporated. She concluded her presentation with a short segment from her video project highlighting a variety of footage including interviews with moviegoers, film reviews and movie clips. The uproarious applause from the crowded room was indicative of the the quality of Jackie’s work.

It was obvious from the start she arrived at VCAM with a good deal of experience, however throughout her time at the VCAM studio her skills grew even sharper. By the end, her ability to navigate the FCP interface was quite impressive.

As part of her grad challenge, Jackie was also required to write at length about her learning experience in a final paper that she concludes by saying:

For years I’ve been interested in the production of the shows that I see on TV. At the local public access channel VCAM, I was able to take on the challenge of making my own TV show and airing it – something that I have never been able to do with my previous films. VCAM is all about encouraging others in the community to learn the filming and editing processes to make their ideas come to life. For the first time, I was able to film in a studio and learn how to work the multifaceted equipment. For CVU Filmmaker’s Club, the movies I’ve been involved in have always had crews of at least four people, so with my project at VCAM, I felt that I had more control, and there was better communication with my cameraman. I was able to create a show that incorporated footage from the field, studio, and additional movie clips, and then broadcast it for many others to see. Hopefully, I will be able to continue using my skills and explore more techniques for creating TV shows like the ones I have always admired.

There’s little doubt Jackie’s wishes will be granted as she will be attending the school of communications at Syracuse University in the fall. Way to go Jackie!

Thank you for all the hard work and best of luck from all of us at VCAM!

Check out Rebecca Kopycinski’s opening credits for her new show Burly Song. She designed them using Adobe’s CS3 here at the VCAM studio and in the process she has rapidly become quite skilled at After Effects. Burly Song will feature performances by musicians from our local independent music scene as well as special guest appearances from touring musicians performing in the Burlington area. You can look for Burly Song to premiere on VCAM Channel 15 next week!

VCAM producer Brian Plisko and his partners at Rise Up Vermont traveled to Senegal and Gambia in February to put on the Foreward Home 2008 West African Tour, featuring music by leading Virgin Island Roots artists. They brought with them a camera package from VCAM, and they’re making a documentary about the trip, which will air on VCAM channel 15 upon completion. Brian stopped by the studio today to share some photos from the tour and to thank VCAM for the support, which we were happy to give. Brian writes…

With your camera we were able to document a truly beautiful tour, with the resilient and colorful African culture at the forefront of our consciousness. You have helped us so tremendously bring the beauty and spirit of Africa back to Vermont…

The trip wasn’t all about music, Brian and crew also brought seeds (for farms), solar panels, water pumps and medical supplies for a midwifery called The African Birth Collective.

Here are a few photos…