We will be broadcasting a multi-camera production of the Democratic Gubernatorial candidate debate in Ludlow tomorrow night (Thursday), LIVE on Channel 10 at 6PM.

The debate will be held in the Ludlow Town Hall 2nd floor auditorium. Not sure yet if they will be using the stage or the stage lights- I really hope so. And I also really hope the sound works out OK. It will be crucial that the moderator and hosts require anyone speaking to use a microphone. That's a must, in order for our equipment to interface well with the Town Hall sound system. So...if you are planning to be there and planning to speak, please be mindful that you need to use a microphone. Not only will it make it possible for everyone in attendance to be able to hear you, but it will also help out the TV broadcast tremendously. Thanks.

We are now selling tickets, in preparation for what will hopefully be hundreds of little rubber duckies floating down the Black River through Ludlow on August 15th.

Thanks to the Ludlow Rotary Club, LPCTV is this year's recipient of the proceeds for the Annual Duck Race. Tickets are on sale now. $5 for individuals and $50 for coroporate sponsors.

Come on, people...we need you. Please help support LPCTV and the Ludlow Rotary Club by sponsoring 1 or more ducks. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 3 finishes as well as the "last little duck".

Anybody with questions regarding the specifics of the event should contact "Head Duck" Rotarian Sharon Bixby. If you simply want to buy a ticket, or 2, or 15, that's easy...just let us know now by emailing or calling us at 228-8808.

Do you love to take pictures or shoot video? Or do you want to learn how? There are a lot of events and activities happening in our area this summer, many lending themselves well to the camera. We'd love to see some of this action get caught on video (or, as is more and more the case these days, caught on HARD DRIVE).

One idea is shooting the schmorgasboard of music taking place throughout the summer. There are several free concerts in the area each week. It's great to be able to share the music through video and to promote these summer gems.

There is so much going on this summer; anyone who is participating in any of it is encouraged to bring a camera and share with everyone else part of what makes Vermont summers so great.

Just throwing some ideas out there.

As always, we have cameras and will train you.

Elections for the LPCTV Board of Directors were held during the Annual Meeting on Thursday evening, June 24th. Re-elected to the Board were Fred Marin, Jean Morrill, Norm Vanasse, and Jay Jurkoic. Lois Brown of Ludlow was newly-elected. LPCTV welcomes Lois and her ideas as we move forward with our plans and mission.

LPCTV would also like to thank outgoing board members Nancy Timmerman (3 years) and Russ Hurlburt (1 year) for their past service.

The LPCTV Board of Directors will meet on Wednesday, June 3rd at 5PM. The meeting was originally scheduled for Wednesday May 26 but had to be post-poned due to scheduling conflicts.

The LPCTV Annual Meeting & Elections will be held on Thursday, June 24 at 7PM. Prior to the meeting, beginning at 6PM, LPCTV will host its annual awards night, where we recognize our most active producers and volunteers for their work over the past year.

The public is encouraged to attend LPCTV meetings and gatherings. As we move forward with our studio expansion & renovation plans, it is especially important to hear from everybody and collect community input.

Today my day has been filled with educational sessions and listening to big telecommunication policy discussions. From learning more about Motion, Apple's animated text and motion graphic program to getting advice from documentary filmmaker Christine Steele to siitting in on the keynote speaker, FCC Chair Julius Genachowski about the commission's proposed broadband plan, it has been a busy day. I will be wrapping up the day in a session with Matt Weiner, the creator of the Emmy-winning TV show Mad Men, followed by yet another walk-through on the trade show floor.

In particular interest to LPCTV on the floor is the wealth of digital media archiving equipment. I will be comparing systems as I prepare to include asset management and archiving into our new studio designs. Maximizing efficiency, both in workflow and economy, is the key.

Just a quick update from Las Vegas...I am sitting in the newsroom of the NAB 2010 conference. NAB is the National Association of Broadcasters, the largest electronic media trade and advocacy organization in the world. Its annual exhibit is the single largest of its kind on the planet. As it happens, Ann Marie Cumming, daughter of LPCTV board member Jean Morrill, works in Media Relations for NAB. She has proven to be a gracious host and thanks to her, I am lucky enough to have the newsroom to retreat to when I want to do some work or just chill. Keep an eye out for a video blog update that I will be posting here with Ann Marie this week.

About the exhibit...So far, I can tell you that the big themes this year are 3D stereoscopic video (finally emerging as a reality after all these years..although you still need glasses to view) and DSLR video (that's shooting HD video on Digital SLR cameras, pioneered by the Canon 7D, and its predecessor, the 5D). To a slightly lesser extent, another major theme is emerging LED lighting technology; 3D and DSLR seem to be grabbing all the fanfare, but I am equally excited by lighting, considering LPCTV's new and exciting venture with our new studio design. We will be looking for ways to incorporate new technologies into our new studio and its workflow.

Money doesn't fall from trees, although - to some extent - it sometimes appears that way at NAB. People literally travel from all over the world for this event, and most of the items on display or in the thousands of dollars range, if not the tens of thousands of dollars, and transitioning to HD and tapeless workflows is costing many broadcasters well into the hundreds of thousands. So in some ways it can feel a little funny pricing out things like light stands and gaffers tape when I'm standing next to broadcast executives pricing out new 3D studios with robotic cameras. But everything is relative.

More to come...

 Learn to Produce Your Own Show…for TV and the Web

LPCTV is expanding its free television and video production training offerings. In addition to its traditional camera and editing workshops, LPCTV now offers individualized training in a variety of new areas. These new areas include web-based video and motion graphics. “As the world of media is constantly changing, it’s important for us to evolve”, says Executive Director Patrick Cody. “We realize that there is a growing interest in web-based distribution and, because we are here to serve the community’s needs first and foremost, it’s our job to accommodate that”.

LPCTV is a non-profit community television station serving the Ludlow area, operating channels 8 and 10 on the local cable TV system and is online at www.lpctv.org. Training is open to all community members who wish to put a show on TV and the web. In terms of content, Cody says that “the sky is the limit. The subject matter and topics are all up to the producers. We are just here for guidance and technical support.” More information is available on LPCTV’s website or by calling 228-8808.

At the Ludlow Town Meeting this year, voters approved the Town's proposed bond for the renovation of the Armory property. The main building will be multi-use for school, recreation, and community purposes. The adjacent garage ("tank barn") will be renovated for use by LPCTV and Black River Good Neighbor Services.

LPCTV will now get to work, carefully planning its future home. We have already been working with an architect, Claudio Veliz of Chester, on our floor plans and are actively pursuing grants.

We would formally like to thank the voters of Ludlow for their support of the renovation project. In return of that support, we will all be able to create a space for the whole community to enjoy.

We aim to make LPCTV's new studio facility a true asset for the Ludlow area. If you have any input or would like to get invovled with this planning process, please get in touch. We'd like to hear from you.

Do you have something to say? Come on in and share your voice on TV! Whether you want to speak up about Town Meeting Day, or VT Yankee, the lack of snow, or anything at all, get it out there. Simply write up a script, send it to us and we will load it into our prompter. Then, show up, sit down and read it as it scrolls through the prompter. Simple. Effective. Showtime!