OCEANSIDE — KOCT Community Television is giving area residents and organizations an opportunity to produce their own television segments. The approximately 30-minute segments are aired collectively as “Oceanside Talks.”
“Oceanside Talks” airs on KOCT channel 18 and is exactly what community television is all about.
“We are for, by, and about the community,” Tom Reeser, KOCT executive director, said.
“It really fits every aspect of our mission.”
The idea is to give nonprofits and individuals an opportunity to tell the community more about their organization, community services and point of view.
“It’s everyday people producing their own TV show,” Reeser said. “Unlike YouTube it’s
good lighting and good audio. It’s a professional TV show.”
While the program is designed to give nonprofit organizations a voice, the pilot program that first aired May 12 focused on local opposition and support of Propositions E and F.
The show will not always be thematic. Flexibility in content allows any interested group or individual to participate in creating a half-hour television segment.
To help residents and organizations end up with a quality on-air segment, KOCT staff guides interested participants through the process. Participants are given on-air guidelines and tips, and can be matched with a volunteer producer to give them additional coaching and advice.
Creating a television segment is a learning experience for participants. KOCT staff also said they needed to make a few adjustments working with first-time producers and on-air talent.
“We provide handouts so they come prepared,” Reeser said. “In the pilot we worked out a lot of kinks.”
KOCT volunteer Jerry Salyer, who also helped produce the first episodes of “Journalists Roundtable,” assisted a group in creating one of the “Oceanside Talks” pilot segments.
“KOCT is a terrific resource in the community,” Salyer said.
His advice for groups that want to create a television segment is to have a focused message, prepare lots of questions if you include on-air interviews, run through a timed rehearsal of what you will say on camera, and pre-shoot b-roll to show viewers what you are telling them.
“Have a plan, have more questions than you can ever get to and make a point,” Salyer said.
“Oceanside Talks” is produced monthly. In-studio filming is scheduled the last week of each month and costs participants $500 for a 90-minute, four-camera continuous shoot.
On shoot day, KOCT crewmembers prepare the set and studio lighting for filming. Participants have 90 minutes on set with cameras rolling.
This allows time for reshooting parts of the segment if necessary.
Pre-taped b-roll can be added to the segment for an additional editing charge.
The result is an approximately 30-minute segment that is played on-air eight times and streamed on demand on the KOCT website for a month. A promo to alert viewers to upcoming airdates is also filmed.
“It’s immediately on-air the next weekend,” Reeser said.
The arrangement of charging a filming fee allows the station to supply a crew and studio time, and ensures that the hometown program has a professional look.
“It allows us to produce community programming at a grassroots level,” Reeser said.
