Now preparing ... Portland

The wheels have been set in motion for a public television special featuring Portland.
More than 20 local residents were on hand Thursday for a meeting at Jay County Hospital with representatives of WIPB-TV, the Public Broadcasting station based at Ball State University.
Portland has been selected as the first town to be featured in a new series called “Now Entering …”
Organizations and individuals have been invited to gather raw video images that will be edited into a program tentatively set for broadcast March 19.
“There is so much going on here,” said Michelle Kinsey, WIPB’s community engagement coordinator. “There’s one potential story after another. There are lots of things going on, but we want the stories as you see them. … What is it that you think is unique about Portland? This is going to be the perfect town to kick this off.”
“What a great opportunity,” said Jay County Chamber of Commerce  executive director Dean Sanders, who has been developing a long list of potential story topics. “This is going to be a wonderful tool for promotion and economic development.”
Senior producer Sam Clemmons said WIPB had been considering such a project for a few years but only recently decided to make the plunge.
Participants must sign up with WIPB and maintain a log sheet that details the subject matter, descriptions of content and the length of time of each segment of video. That way, said Clemmons, it will be possible to find the right video pieces quickly and accurately.
“This is a new venture for us,” said Clemmons.
Five simple, high-definition video cameras will be kept at Jay County Public Library and will be available for overnight check-out by participants in the project. SD memory cards will be provided, so that each participant’s video content is kept separately.
“You’ll get high quality video and fairly good sound,” Clemmons said.
In addition to those videos, participants will be providing thumb drives with JPEG files of scanned photos, DVDs and even old video tapes for potential inclusion in the program.
Participants will take those materials to Arts Place on Jan. 23, when there will be a 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. production day. Individual “storytellers” will be interviewed by WIPB staff at that time and those interviews will be edited to provide much of the audio content to accompany the video.
“You will get all your media back,” said Clemmons.
Tips on shooting video, a downloadable participation form and further details on the project are available at http://www.wipb.org/nowentering.
Participation forms, release forms and detailed information are also available at the Community Resource Center and Jay County Public Library. It’s important for participants to be registered with WIPB so interviews can be scheduled on production day.
A preview party is planned for March 5, with the WIPB-TV broadcast on March 19 as part of a Portland-themed pledge night for the station. Donors at a certain level will receive a DVD of the finished production.
Among the organizations represented at Thursday’s meeting were Jay County Public Library, Arts Place, the Jay County Historical Society, Jay Schools, the Jay County Tourism and Visitors Bureau and the Museum of the Soldier.
“It’s great to see the city of Portland was the first community picked,” said Mayor Randy Geesaman.