KMVT Workshops

I went to KMVT last week to meet with Shelley Wolfe, the Executive Director. KMVT, a non-profit community access station is in Mountain View and covers Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos and Cupertino. I love the fact that anything can be aired on public access television. Any individual, or organization, can produce a program and air it on KMVT. And it’s great that KMVT produces and airs so many programs that are based in our community, like local government activities, all kinds of local school sporting events, and community events like the Art & Wine Festival and annual parades.

I asked Shelley to talk to me about the different ways the community can get involved in KMVT. She told me about the numerous workshops that are offered throughout the year. The first one that should be on your agenda if you are at all interested in being part of a crew is the “Studio Production” workshop. You’ll learn about operating cameras, teleprompter, and audio equipment. Other workshops being offered include: Producer Training, Field Production, Adobe Premiere, Intro to Motion Graphics, and Citizen Journalism. There are some Students Camps (ages 10-14) that are very popular, including Claymation. I expressed interest in the Claymation workshop and Shelley told me that they’re working on creating a Claymation workshop for adults as well. I’m pretty sure that we all secretly wish we knew how to film our own version of Wallace & Gromit.

People attend the workshops for all different reasons—some want to learn about the station so they can volunteer, others want to know more about the ever-changing media and the role that they play in our community, and others want training for a career in television. Whatever the case, KMVT is very progressive and they offer a wide variety of possible opportunities for people who want to get involved.

KMVT is always looking for experts who would be willing to teach workshops. If you have some amazing skill that you would be willing to share with others in the community, please contact Shelley Wolfe. And KMVT is always interested in getting feedback from the community. If you have ideas or comments about programming, please get in touch with them. If you know of anyone who would be willing to donate a small, fuel efficient vehicle to the station, please pass the word along. Currently, they have a large vehicle and it works great for big community events like the festivals, but they need a small or medium sized automobile that can carry the equipment needed to cover sports events. It would be a good tax write-off.

If you aren’t able to watch KMVT (if you have dish or satellite TV instead), you can find them on YouTube. Please visit the KMVT website if you have questions about the station, their message board, or their programming—really, they’re doing some amazing things. I’m always in favor of public access television, creative people getting involved in the community and our First Amendment rights. I love Mountain View.