New for WilliNet!

Note that the website now has schedule information for both Channels 16 and 17! Along with the new channel, our schedule is now continuously updated directly from our programming system - which means no more outdated or out-of-sync program listings! Also, there is a search function and a calendar so that you can easily find the program you are looking for. Clicking on a program listing will provide a listing of future play dates. Be aware that the schedule application is a separate website and that you'll need to use your web browser's "back" button to return to this web page! Be sure and read the North Adams Transcript articles below to learn more about exciting changes and community outreach atWilliNet, Williamstown Community TV.

WilliNet crew broadcasting live from Williamstown Town Meeting on May 20, 2008. Rebroadcasts of Town Meeting -2008 on CH-16 begin May 21. Check out the schedule for exact times.

WilliNet in the NEWS!

Williamstown's movie magic
By Bonnie Obremski, North Adams Transcript
Article Launched: 10/16/2007 12:04:09 PM EDT
Photo by Gillian Jones

Tuesday, October 16

WILLIAMSTOWN — Aaron Burns, a Williamstown Elementary School sixth grader, might have slapped his name-tag on upside town on Monday afternoon, but he was serious when it was time to don a pair of headphones and man a digital camera at the WilliNet Channel 17 public access station.

"Where's my microphone, shouldn't I have a microphone?" Aaron asked out loud as he fit his schoolmates into the camera frame.

Edward Cating, Willinet's production manager, assured Aaron that he had set up the system properly and should begin recording his classmates, who began interviewing one another about how they could use WilliNet's facilities to produce videos or even create a stop-animation film.

Debby Dane, the station's executive director, said learning about WilliNet's facilities was one of the main goals of the two-hour after-school workshop, which was part of the elementary school's annual Words Are Wonderful event series. The title of the activity was "iMovie-uMovie-myMovie!" and demonstrated how children in the past have used computer programs such as Apple's iMovie to create short films.

One of iMovie's editing effects causes purple lighting bolts to shoot out from the fingers of an actor, which incited the most excitement among the children. They also seemed to enjoy a stop-animation film produced by a 12-year-old in which a floating butter knife spread cream cheese on a bagel.

"This is like using the Force of Star Wars," Aaron said.

Heather Tomkowicz, a sixth grader, said she hoped to pursue a career in acting or film production.

"I really like making movies and acting. There's always some sort of excitement I get from it," Heather said.

She said she acted in a theatrical production of Hamlet in the fourth grade and has used camera equipment at the Williamstown Youth Center to produce short, improvised movies.

"We would just ad lib and make up our own scripts in our heads," she said.

One of her favorite movies is Apollo 13.

"But, I also like a lot of girlie movies," she said, smiling.

Patrick Archibald, a fifth grader whose favorite movie is Alien Vs. Predator, said he also enjoyed movie-making.

"You get to design anything you want about everything in life, as long as it's legal," Patrick said.

Caleb Raymond, a sixth grader, compared movies with books.

"It's showing a book without words and I think it's cool to be able to show it again and again," Caleb said.

Jake Benzinger, a fifth grader, agreed.

"It's just cool to make things move rather than just looking at pictures," Jake said.

"Nate Taskin, a sixth grader, seemed to especially enjoy the technical aspects of production.

"You can see all the different angles and if you talk into the microphone in here, he can hear you out there," Nate said, pointing out the door of the production room into the recording studio.

View the original Transcript Article here: Williamstown's movie magic - By Bonnie Obremski, North Adams Transcript

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Williamstown's second access channel to debut this month
By Bonnie Obremski, North Adams Transcript
Article Launched: 10/09/2007 11:04:37 AM EDT
Photo by Bonnie Obremski

Deborah Dane, WilliNet Channel 17 Executive Ddirector, and Edward Cating, Production Manager, are launching a second public access channel this month, using brand new digital technology, which will, among other perks, allow for streaming weather forecast updates.

WILLIAMSTOWN — A $17,000 technology upgrade is allowing the WilliNet public-access station to debut a second channel this month, Deborah Dane, WilliNet executive producer, said Monday.
WilliNet airs a wide range of community programming on Channel 17, but the new Channel 16 will mostly air municipal meeting reruns to rectify recurring complaints from viewers who say they always seem to miss them. WilliNet bought the equipment in the spring through a contract negotiation with the former Adelphia cable company.

"It's almost like On-Demand," Dane joked, referring to the television service that allows viewers to watch any program any time.

But, perhaps most importantly, the new Tightrope Media System channel-automation equipment used for both channels will free up time for Dane and WilliNet Production Manager Edward Cating to engage in community outreach.

This year for example, elementary and high school students will be visiting the studio to learn everything from television production to computer animation.

Dane said Williamstown Elementary School sixth-graders are beginning to learn to use iMovie, a digital film-editing computer program.

Seventh- and eighth-graders at Mount Greylock Regional High school will complete a three-week course in cartoon animation and will broadcast the results of their work on Channel 17. And one of the high school's seniors plans to develop a public service announcement to promote the Williamstown Youth Center. Cating said the station's decade-old equipment had been limiting his ability to work with community members because it required so much manual effort to operate. The automated systems are easier, he said, and make programming more consistent.

"Now, when our schedules say a program is going to be on, it's going to be on," Cating said, adding that the new system even has a backup power supply to boost it through electrical interruptions.

He said that feature might be especially useful during winter storms, because WilliNet is going to begin to run a scrolling weather-forecast bar at the bottom of the screen. The stations will also broadcast school closings for the town's schools.

Dane said more and more volunteers have become interested in broadcasting on WilliNet. Also, she said, advertisers who wish to post announcements on the Channel 17 message board should find it easier, she said. In the past, a person might submit information to Cating about an event, and, if strapped for time, he would simply air the typed information on a flat screen. Soon, a person will be able to design a more eye-catching ad in an office or at home and upload it to WilliNet's Web site, www.willinet.org. Cating and Dane will still be available to work with individuals at the station on designs.

The automated digital system is speeding the small station to the cutting edge, Dane said, and she hopes funds from this year's public appeal will help WilliNet buy what it needs to make the most of it. Some new equipment is still needed. She said she has set this year's fund-raising goal higher than last year's $3,000 but would not say by how much. The community donated $7,500 to the station last year. Dane said people interested in donating should mail checks to the office at 34 Spring St., Williamstown, MA 01267.

She said the station lost a portion of the community's investment in late July when a vandal absconded with two 8-foot-tall cardboard candy canes. The props were part of a set the station had planned to erect annually on Spring Street during the Williamstown Holiday Walk in December. Dane said she hopes the canes will reappear.

"They've got to be out there somewhere," she said.

Link to original article: http://www.thetranscript.com/search/ci_7126961?IADID=Search-www.thetranscript.com-www.thetranscript.com