The details are in place and now all we need is you! Representatives from public television station WPSX, channel 3 in State College visited and presented all the details on the one hour vide scrapbook of the people, places and happenings of the Tyrone area as seen through the eyes of its residents. The taping date has been set for Saturday, October 25. The award winning “Our Town” program has been produced and featured on WPSX for the last five years.
For the program to be successful, 25 to 30 area residents with their personal camcorders are needed. WPSX-TV provides one hour of blank videotape for each volunteer in the format of their choice. There are no restrictions regarding age or experience, just a willingness to participate in the process. Two pre-production meetings will be held on Tuesday, October 14 and Wednesday, October 15. At the meetings, of which you only need to attend one, brainstorming, show topics and landmarks to shoot will be discussed.
“We try to make show that each topic that will be shot will be exclusive to that person or persons, so that we don’t have all of the same things. We will pick from a list presented by residents and pick the top fifteen items that will be shot on October 25.” said Greg Petersen, director of programming services for WPSX.
Residents who sign up can shoot video in the Tyrone area, including Tipton, Warriors Mark and Sinking Valley. “If its important to the people, then its important to the project. Topics include football games, churches, parks, unique businesses, places and things.” added Petersen.
The program when finished will be broadcast in December at least once, during one of the station’s on air membership campaigns. The television station is hoping to have local residents answering pledge phones while the Tyrone program is airing. Everyone who calls in a pledge at a specific level will receive a tape or DVD version of the Tyrone based program as a gift. A special premiere preview for volunteers, their guests and other invited guests will be held in Tyrone about a week prior to the program’s broadcast on Channel 3. The original tapes of your footage will be returned to you after the post production phase of the project.
From all of the 25 hours of footage recorded by residents, the best footage will be used and you will narrate and tell stories for the program about the footage that you shot while the natural sound of the video plays to the audience. “From our experience of past shows and communities, 95 percent of Tyrone will be watching that night that it airs.” said Petersen.
Channel 3 is also seeking a total of $10,000 from four or more underwriters, offering levels of $2,500 and $1,250 to any business. Your business will be featured on the show at the beginning and the end of the program, on promos that run before the show, print ads, on the “Our Town” website, at the premier screening in town, WPSX-TV members guide, and on the tape and DVD versions of the program that will be made available to the public. The show will air on Channel 3 at least once in prime time and probably again on New Years Day 2004 as part of a special “Our Town” marathon. If your business is interested in underwriting this special program, contact Bill Hiergeist at Penn State Public Broadcasting at 942-9777.
Working with The Daily Herald as a media partner, recruitment of volunteers begins immediately. Volunteers can call the Tyrone Area Chamber of Commerce at 684-0736 or Greg Petersen at WPSX-TV toll free at 1-800-245-9779. You’ll then be asked to attend one of the two pre-production organizational meetings to answer any questions about the project and to brainstorm. From the list, each volunteer will receive one assignment. You are also free to tape anything you think will be interesting for the program.
Let’s make Tyrone shine on the public television station that serves a very large geographic area and has produced “Our Town” projects for Huntingdon, Bedford, Bellefonte, Altoona, Punxsutawney, Indiana and more. Volunteer and make the call on Monday and bring out the film maker in you.
