Are you a new producer or are you looking to become a television producer? I wrote this article with you in mind. Here are the details.
Desire - If you have a desire to produce television shows, you can do it. All you need is a great desire to be successful in this business and you need the time it takes to do the productions. You might need time for rehearsals if your show is one that requires rehearsals. But you can begin with hardly any money at all. Most community access studios and stations have classes and courses that are free and or at low cost. When you investigate the cost of college film classes and college television production classes you will see that the cost of the community access courses is a small fraction of that. (You probably can take a course at most community access studios for under one hundred and ten dollars). And then once you take that course there are other courses, some of which are totally free. Once you are a certified studio producer, you might have access to media labs and to editing stations, depending on where you live and what studio you are involved with.
The basic cost to you is the first course price, plus you pay for your own transportation and meals and whatever else you need. Here are some guidelines and some information to help you get started right away:
Begin:
First, never let anything, that is correct, anything stop you from beginning. If you have that desire to produce television and you have no money to go to school, know that this is not going to stop you from reaching your goals. Do one single thing each and every day towards working towards your goal and you will be more successful than the average person who is embarking on a new career.
Do a web search or a telephone search for the community access station in your neighborhood. (Most require a residence proof - a utility bill or lease from your apartment to show you are a resident). Near the end of this article I will list some sites to get you started on the right track). In New York City, look up MNN, and look up other community access television studios.
Call your local community access station and ask what their requirements are. If you like what you hear, tell them right there that you want to become a studio or remote/field producer. Follow their instructions as soon as possible. Ask them to send you the application through the mail, if they do that.
Get a check or money order for payment of the courses. Most of these studios will not accept cash. Have your check ready when you go there, just in case they are ready to accept your application.
Put the date on your calendar and then just show up.
There you are, you have begun your career or hobby in television production by beginning your education. There are some studios where you can go to school for a little as six weeks and you can become officially certified as a studio producer. Call your own studio to get the exact details on classes and timing. To get you started now, in real life, I am providing great web links. Check these links and you are taking the first steps to becoming a community access producer right where you life. The first link is for those who live in Manhattan, New York. The second link is a universal link that will connect you with community access stations all over the whole United States of America. And the next link after that is one that lots of people would be interested in. Are you interested in producing shows in Hollywood? Well, there is a link for West Hollywood. That is a beginning for you if Hollywood is your goal. And check the global link for all other cities. The key here to most all community access is that you must live there; you must be a resident of the city. So if you want to produce shows in Hollywood studios, you need to move to Hollywood. If that is your goal, I suggest that you begin where you are in your own city, become established and experienced and then make your move is Hollywood is your goal. You might take a vacation there just to see how it is. I am sure that there are many community producers there who might love a visit from producers of your own city. Take a studio tour and see what is happening in West Hollywood. Almost every large city has a community access television studio. Even Palm Springs has community access (PSC-TV and PS-TV Channel 17). The last link listed is for the California community access studios.
Five Links to Get You on the Right Track!
http://www.mnn.org/saveaccess
http://www.communitymedia.se/cat/linksus.htm
[http://www.weho.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/nav/navid/50/]
http://www.briconline.org/bcat/default.asp
http://www.mhat.tv/access/CACATlist.html
The reason why only one link is in bold is because this link contains links and information on most community access studios throughout the United States of America, and the other links are for individual cities or areas. The bold link gives you information on no matter what city in the USA that you live in. The other links are for cities in New York, California and other states. Now you are beginning. Congratulate yourself on taking first steps to becoming a certified television producer. Good luck with your adventure and with your education. I would love to hear from you about your experiences in your own city.
Why all the secrecy? The reason it is hard to find out about community access television in some communities is because some insecure producers feel threatened by new producers coming into the business. They have the misinformed idea that new producers are in competition with them, so they do not and will not share free information with the newer or prospective producers. I feel differently. I love the share the information that I have because I know that everyone can use good information. So here are some suggestions for when you become certified in your own city or state:
Reminders:
Welcome all new producers and see them as co-workers, not as competition.
Treat everyone with the same respect. That means treat the new producers with the same respect that you treat seasoned producers with.
Be prepared. Do lots of research for your shows. Come prepared, even if you do your show ad-libbed, have the research with you just in case you need to use it.
Invite everyone to be on your show. Most people have an obvious or a hidden talent. IF the talent is hidden, draw it out now. If the talent is obvious then -wow, get going on your show.
Be courteous, kind, professional to all human beings that come across your path.
Keep your trust guarded. As every community access station has people from all over the community, all types and all personalities, remember that your studio is just a smaller world. Therefore, get to know people very well before you trust them. You do not trust producers just because they are producers. And remember that you can respect people without trusting them. Let producers earn your trust; do not give it away freely. That will keep you and your production safe.
Give No Money to Participate In Shows:
If any community producers ask you for money or expect to get paid for their help, go in the other direction. True community producers do not ask or hint for money, so do not take the hint and never pay producers. You can bring food if you like or bring food for the spirit, but the moment that a producer insists on money or asks or demands money, take that producer off of your list for future productions. There are way too many excellent producers in the business to be bothered by producers who are in community access to make money from you.
These are ways to help you get started and to help you stay in the community access television business. You can think your own ways up. Brainstorm with your friends or co-workers. You are the voice of your community. Share that voice with others and you will all be successful in all your endeavors. I hope this information helps you get started in the business of community access television.
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