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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, July 10, 2020 Page 11 ASKS | from page 3 or to joining the Saugus TV staff, she worked three years as studio manager at Somerville Community Access Television. She also worked as an associate producer at Wellesley Cable TV. For more than 13 years, she has been the producer and director of Appel Approach Productions. Clients include Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, ESPN, Boston University Center for Biophotonic Sensors and Systems, Materials Research Society, Cisco Systems Inc., Performedia, Seaport World Trade Center and Hotel, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, MIT Sloan School of Management, Boston Marriott Copley Place, Harvard-MIT Health Sciences Technology, and Boston Children’s Hospital. For her first Co-op assignment, she worked at WHDH (Channel 7) in Boston. Two years later, she worked in a Co-op in the video department at MIT. Highlights of this week’s interview follow. Q: What are you most excited about as we look ahead to moving over to 30 Main St. for Saugus TV? A: I’m most excited about new membership, people coming with new interests – and people coming to check out our new kitchen – because our kitchen is going to be a set, so people can come in and they can make cooking shows. And I think new interests will arise from the capabilities of having cooking shows. People like that. Q: So, have you had cooking shows in the past? A: No, not since I’ve been here. I taped them from other towns who have very nice kitchens, and we’ve modeled it something similar to those. That will be really successful – for cool shots – like looking down at whatever you’re cooking, and then we have shots from the sides and close-ups. It will be very efficient. Q: Please tell me about the kitchen that will enable Saugus TV to produce cooking shows. Was that your idea? And how did the idea evolve? A: This was an idea that developed years ago. We have all been wanting to make a cooking show for a long time, and when we learned that we would be moving into the Historical Society, I suggested that we could use the kitchen as a set, and everyone was definitely excited about the idea. When we started plans for the renovations, we made sure to set up the kitchen with an island so that we could have the cooks face the cameras while preparing meals. Q: What are some of the short-range program changes and additions that people are going to notice during the next couple of weeks or months? A: We’ve started “Movie Mondays” – so Mondays are movies – all day and all night. And we’re doing “Sunday Night Stooges” from 9 to 11. We’re doing “Friday Night Frights” – so Friday, from 9 o’clock on, there is going to be scary movies. And if there is interest, we could do another thing, something like “Western Wednesdays.” I’m open to suggestions, but I’d like to have some more themes going on so people can know when to tune in to what they like. Q: And what are some of the long-range program changes you have in the works? A: Long-term, we’re going to have more capabilities to stream online and be able to go live. Right now we’re not able to go live from Town Hall. We’re still taping all of the Zoom meetings, but we will be able to go live with the meetings once things are up and running better. And also – another thing I want to mention – with the new system: Before, it was very difficult to say what you’re watching, what’s coming up next. And people were always calling, “What movie is up next?” Or “What movie did I watch?” And now it will pop up; you will be able to see it pop up a few times while you are watching the movie. Hopefully, it won’t be too distracting, but people will finally be able to figure out what they are watching and know what will be airing next. Q: Just because it’s timely, I would like to ask you about the Town Meeting on Zoom last week. People were saying we could have had this live, other than just on the Zoom. What were they talking about? A: Yes. We can’t go live yet because we just don’t have the capabilities to get in there [the studio]. We still have to hook it up to Town Hall. Q: So, Zoom is live. But this would be live… A: To TV. Zoom is live to tape and we have to record it to put it on the air. It will be like before, when we were able to tape the meeting inside, but we’ve not been able to do that because of COVID-19. Q: How will the new equipment and the brand-new studio shape the future of programming for Saugus TV? A: The quality is going to be like night and day. We’ve gone from being enclosed in a little box to full screen. We can get a much clearer picture – a much clearer picture that looks like HD [High Definition]. We’re not quite at HD yet, but it’s pretty close, so that’s going to make a huge difference – just the way the channel looks. intriguing – if not the most intriguing – idea that you have heard from the public so far, along the lines of “This is what we would like to do as a program” once you get set up? A: The most intriguing thing that I’ve heard is a movie review show where they would pick movies and review them. And then somebody else said they wanted to do Internet movies – funny ones – and laugh along with the videos. We weren’t capable of doing all of this at our old place, but I think it would be really cool. Q: And, what is your favorWE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: Viewers who have suggestions for new features or shows they would like to see on the Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) access channels on the cable television system in Saugus can contact Saugus TV Program Manager Rachel Brugman at r.brugman@saugustv. org. They can also leave a message at 781-231-2883. Having a much nicer studio now, I think we are going to have new interest in things like the kitchen shows. We have a much nicer studio that is large and capable of some really cool events. And I thank the world and everyone in Saugus that we have something that is state-of-the-art and right in town. And if people don’t take advantage of that, they’re really missing out. Q: Right now, how many people take advantage of the facilities? A: On a regular basis before COVID-19, we only had a dozen active members. We had over a hundred members that would come in on occasion, but people that came in weekly and were involved and interested – we had about a dozen. And that is far too low, in my opinion. And I think that with the new atmosphere – it’s so beautiful in there – people are going to want to be in there. People are going to want to hang out there. And we’re fun. We like having fun, so I think people want to come to some place that’s new, fun and interesting – something new in town. Q: Have you gotten any requests yet? A: Oh yeah. We have a lot of people calling, saying they want to make exercise programs, programs for seniors, quiz shows, so there is a lot of interest; so we’re really looking forward to getting it started. Q: Probably the yoga lady at the library? A: Yes! Yoga! Somebody called about yoga, I don’t know if it was the library. But it will be great. They can set up any set they want … set it up very peaceful and calm. I think it would be a great show. Q: Now, have you had any questions or expressions of interest from the Saugus Public Schools … teachers who are interested in doing things with students? A: Yes – Ken Webb – he’s the television production teacher for the high school, and he’s always involved, teaching kids how to shoot things and stuff like that. I would like to have a program where he can actually get kids into our studio, but I know the school is going to be having something of their own. Q: I know one of the things – a new feature that fits into the plans is a new meeting room with cameras set up and microphones, so that you can actually have meetings there if a location is unavailable. A: Right. Because we have a designated meeting room that is all new – so it will be beautiful to be on camera, and people can have their meetings right there if they want them to be on television. And we can also set something up in the studio if they want to have it look different. We can set stuff up for them and help them out and have it right in the studio if they prefer. Q: I’m sure you have heard a lot of creative ideas. A: Oh, my gosh, so many. Q: What is one of the most ite of the ideas you have heard so far? A: My favorite is my own idea. And I would like to do a painting show where somebody from town comes in and does a paint-along. I used to do this with somebody, but they got tired of it, but I’d like to find a new artist from town who would be willing to show how they paint a painting, relatively quickly, within an hour. Q: You do have a couple of artists locally involved in some events, like the Rumney Marsh art exhibit, which I guess is a couple of years old now. You do have that interest in town. A: I’ve reached out to a couple of people, but I haven’t heard much, but I think there will be renewed interest once the new studio is up and people can see other peoples’ programs. And they may say, “Oh, I would want to do a painting program.” That’s the one I’m most excited about. Q: Has there been any discussion about current events or news in town? Are you set up to do something like that? A: What we’d like is members who are interested in events in town to come in and learn how to use the equipment and then film the events themselves and come in and edit them themselves. And we’ll be there, holding their hand the whole time. We want people to be self-sufficient when they are shooting stuff in town. That would be ideal. It would be fantastic if you could get a lot of members – like someone from the bike club, someone from the reservation club or someone interested in a certain event – making their own programs. Q: Is there any fee for this? A: There’s a fee. It’s on our website; it changes. Students and seniors are cheaper than adults, and there’s a corporate membership. I think it’s changing once we get up and are running. It’s a one-year-$35type fee. It’s very cheap. Q: And right now you have how many total members – a hundred? A: Over a hundred – probaASKS | SEE PAGE 15

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