WIPB-TV plans Portland program

WIPB-TV — the Public Broadcasting station affiliated with Ball State University — is coming to town.
The station is launching a new series of “Our Town” videos, and Portland has been chosen for the initial outing.
“There’s a lot going on in Portland,” said Michelle Kinsey, WIPB’s community engagement coordinator. “We chose it for a reason.”
Kinsey envisions a “video scrapbook of the people, places and history” of the community.
Rather than send a camera crew and reporters from WIPB to Portland, the “Now Entering…” program will involve local people telling local stories via video. Those will then be edited by WIPB’s staff and coupled with on-site interviews.
“This project is a way to kind of celebrate small towns,” said Kinsey in a preliminary meeting this week. “We are putting the cameras in the hands of the community members.”
A community meeting on the project is set for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 7, in the conference room at Jay County Hospital.
At that time, Kinsey and senior producer Sam Clemmons will explain the details of the project, provide some basic training on video production, and sign up volunteers.
WIPB will lend four video cameras which are expected to be available at the Jay County Public Library for check-out.
“We want to walk everybody through the process,” said Kinsey.
WIPB is hoping that community organizations ranging from the Jay County Chamber of Commerce to Arts Place, the Jay County Historical Society, the Museum of the Soldier, the Jay County Fair, Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Association, Jay County Development, and more will participate.
Kinsey and Clemmons are also looking for individuals who have their own unique stories to tell about their families, their businesses, or themselves.
“I don’t think we’ll have any shortage of storytellers,” said Kinsey.
“We want everyone that wants to participate to be able to participate,” she said, noting that smartphone technology has put the ability to shoot video into the hands of the public. It will also be possible for people who have moved away from Portland but have stories to tell to participate.
The Jan. 7 meeting will be followed up with a production day on Saturday, Jan. 23, at Arts Place.
“On production day, we will interview the people who did the stories,” said Clemmons.
“That’s going to be a pretty intense day,” added Kinsey.
The locally-made videos don’t have to be shot during that Jan. 7-23 timeframe. Previously made videos of festivals, parades, and other local events can be incorporated along with digital files of old photos.
Those technical details will be explained and sorted out at the community meeting on Jan. 7.
After the production day work is complete, the project is turned over to Clemmons to be edited and “whittled down” to a workable length for broadcast.
A tentative date for the premiere broadcast has been set for March 19, and WIPB-TV will hold a Portland-themed pledge night at that time, involving many of those who produced the Portland video segments. “Because this is our first time out, there could be some adjustments,” Kinsey said.
For a look at what another Public Broadcasting station has done with a similar project, go to http://wpsu.org/tv/programs/ourtown/.