Community Access Television
The View From Studio B
By John Littell
Always knew you had a face for TV? Think you’re funnier than every comedian on the Comedy Channel? Play a better guitar than Eddie Van Halen? More informed politically than Hannity and Colmes combined? Well, there’s a place to prove it easily, professionally and inexpensively.
Dynamic Duo
Deep in the bowels of the Helis Communication Center at Stephens College lies a gem of a community resource. It’s Columbia Access Television, aka CAT, which offers training, equipment, and channel time for local residents to make and distribute their own TV shows.
Leading the charge to democratize the broadcast medium are Andy Neitzert and Ryan Walker, co-station managers. Neitzert teaches filmmaking, maintains the studio, office and equipment as well as handling public relations and special event planning. Walker is the programming guru, runs the Web site, teaches production classes and coordinates the volunteers.
The 28-year-old Neitzert sits at a long conference table in a large space that contains two cubicles and shelves housing mysterious-looking electronic gizmos.
“When I first got here in August 2008, this room contained a 40-year-old wooden desk and one rickety rolling chair,” he says. “The computer operating system hadn’t been upgraded. Some of it was in disrepair or had missing parts … out of date. If we were going anywhere, we had to solve this problem,” he says.
His solution was to go before the board of directors with a plan to refurbish the station. “I probably took up most of their time,” he says with a laugh. Fortunately, the board, under the leadership of president Jeff Bassinson, responded positively and Neitzert began to make improvements, starting with the offices.
“We analyzed the budget and started buying furniture,” he says. “We didn’t go for high-end, just stuff that was better than what we had.”
A storeroom next door was transformed into a modern editing suite, replete with futuristic computers and a retro-looking guy hard at work. The overall result is a comfortable environment that has the look and feel of a commercial television station.
Studio B
At the end of a long, wide hall is Studio B, the epicenter of the operation. It, too, has been upgraded, and now includes a stage, a large projection screen, and green-screen technology. The recently acquired Panasonic DVX100B cameras are rarin’ to go, and once the control booth gets a makeover, including a new switcher, the facility will be complete – for the moment – in the fast-changing world of broadcasting.
The range of programming here is astounding – everything from a serious discussion show hosted by the League of Women Voters to an SNL-wannabe performed by high school students.
Although it is uncertain how Dostoevsky would react, there’s a freewheeling new live music show on CAT. It’s called “Notes From Underground,” and it’s a potpourri of practically anything you care to bring to the public. Have a band? Get out of the garage and let it shine. Get a music video shot. Wow ‘em with your card tricks. The next episodes include a death metal group and a junior high drum line. You can’t get more diverse than that.
“We’re an open forum for community members to voice their opinions, be creative and use their imaginations,” Neitzert says. Almost anything goes, he says. “If we started filtering programs, that would take away the uncensored aspect to it.”
Guest Stars
There are two ways to get involved. The first is to be a guest star. If you have a techno-reggae trio that Columbia needs to hear, or a troupe that favors Polish folk dancing, contact the station and the staff will fix you up for the next available shoot. You come in, set up your equipment, and the volunteers will handle the production – cameras, light, sound and action. Then you’ll get a slot on the channel, generally repeated four times a month, and the rest will be history. Start fielding those calls from Hollywood and New York.
The second way to access CAT is to become a member. If you sign up, it costs a bundle – $15 a year for students and seniors, $35 for other members and $50 for organizations. Investing that enormous amount of money will give you a chance to use the cornucopia of electronic devices, make your own show, and receive the expertise supplied by Neitzert and Walker.
But you have to be trained. That means taking a three-hour course in studio production. There you learn to produce and direct through hands-on training. It includes pre-production planning, camera operation, lighting, audio, switching and directing. Upon completion of the course, you’ll be ready to direct a CAT program.
If you want to shoot a feature in Rocheport, it would be valuable to take the field production course, where you’ll be taught the fundamentals of portable video production, using professional camcorders, microphones, lights and tripods.
Once your project is complete, you may want to enroll in the two editing classes CAT offers. The cost of each course is $35 for current members.
“Anywhere else, you’d pay $200 an hour just for the use of the editing facilities,” Neitzert says. Here, you can take as long as you need to finish.
Misconceptions
Some people think CAT is all about religious programming or is only for Stephens students or students in general, Neitzert says. Nothing could be further from the truth. Among the members are a 13-year-old girl and a nonagenarian. Even Neitzert’s grandmother has joined to polish up her production skills.
“If I had an interest in TV production, TV commercials, music videos and working professionally in any aspect of broadcasting, which I do, I’d be here every day, which I am,” he says. “This is an incredible experience and an incredible opportunity. You’re experiencing something that’s genuine and something you’ll be able to use in the real world. We use the exact same equipment as commercial stations.”
CAT has launched a program of community outreach, contacting the broadcast journalism classes at local high schools and junior highs, as well as the city in general. Although there are about 498 current members, only 25 percent are active. “That means they’ve checked out equipment or turned in programming or have come in to edit,” says Neitzert. “My goal is to double the active membership.
“I find it amazing that with a population of 70,000, only 120 people are taking advantage of our program. Everybody I know has an idea for a show, or has had one. If they knew all they had to do was spend three hours of their lives to learn how to do it from beginning to end, they’d be here in droves.”
Get those creative juices flowing and visit www.cat3.tv.
Mickey, Minnie & Marceline
Co-station manager Andy Neitzert is descended from a long line of creative people based in and around Columbia. His grandfather was a photographer and so are his father and brother, who own Creative Photo. Just to wrap up things neatly, his sister attends Stephens College, pursuing a theater management degree.
Neitzert is a graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography where he received a degree in film and video production.
His latest project is in post-production. It’s a documentary called “Marceline,” named for a small town about 90 minutes north of here. Marceline was Walt Disney’s boyhood home and Neitzert found the place had charm to spare.
“The people are holding onto Walt’s memory for him and celebrate that he got much of his inspiration there,” he says. “There are a lot of great stories and great people, which is why I was drawn to it.”
Chad And Me And Andy Makes Three
“Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to host my own show,” says Sara Leeper. Through the facilities of Columbia Access Television, she finally got her shot to shine.
“Whatever! With Sara” is not your average talkfest. Sara has a co-anchor, namely a sock puppet named Chad.
“I do more in the studio, Chad goes out in the field,” she says with a smile.
She is currently working on a retrospective of “American Shopper,” a movie shot here in Columbia several years ago.
“I thought it would be great to bring back the people in the film and talk about the whole experience,” she says.
When the TV’s off, she is a preschool teacher in town. “Eventually, I’d love to teach film and video production to children,” she says.
But that will have to wait for a while because she is planning to marry in April. The groom? None other than Andy Neitzert, co-station manager. What Chad thinks about all this has yet to be determined. He refused the opportunity to be interviewed by Inside Columbia. TV stars can be like that sometimes.
Face Time
The last time I was on television was in the peanut gallery at the “Howdy Doody” show. I was 6 years old and amazed that the studio looked nothing like the crisp, black-and-white images on our giant, 19-inch Muntz TV at home.
The sets seemed tacky and temporary, Clarabell the Clown, with his horn and seltzer bottle, scared the hell out of me, and even Buffalo Bob looked tired and harassed. What I remember most was receiving the sponsor’s products, a loaf of Wonder Bread, which in those days only built strong bodies 8 ways, not the current 12, and a package of Hostess cream-filled cupcakes.
Based on this vast experience in the medium, I was wondering if the technology had changed any since 1952. It must have, because I failed to spot a single 7-foot-tall camera with a formidable 10-inch lens poking out the front like a naval gun. The new Panasonic DVX100Bs were neatly packed in blue carriers and are about the size of a football.
When no one was looking, I shoved my face in front of a camera trained on the stage, and shuddered at the image on the monitor. They used to say TV adds 20 pounds to a person, and I did resemble Jabba the Hutt, but that’s the way I normally look. High-definition equipment has eliminated this weight-gain problem. The new wide screens don’t make you wider, but they emphasize every flaw and blemish. My face looked like a used sponge studded with blotches the size of Toledo.
Perhaps I should have eaten more Wonder Bread over the years, and avoided those damn cupcakes.