autumn's blog

A note from the Director

You’re Invited! Season’s End BBQ & Volunteer Recognition

We’re saying farewell to summer and ushering in the busy fall season. The board and staff at Davis Media Access are hitting the pause button to share a little fun with some of our favorite folks before things get too crazy. Volunteers, donors, friends—you are invited! Here are the details: Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, 4-7ish DMA’s Backlot & Facility, 1623 Fifth Street We will provide: burgers and dogs, including veggie options, fixins’, chips, and cold drinks. We’ll have the paper goods and such, too. You provide: Your good company. Drop by at any point in the evening. There will also be cake in recognition of KDRT's birthday and a few others. We look forward to seeing you! If you can, please RSVP. Hope to see you there!

Upcoming Events

DMA General Orientation: Curious about KDRT, DCTV or DJUSD Channel 17? Would you like to learn how Davis Media Access could help you? If you want to get involved, volunteer, or use equipment, you must first attend a general orientation. The next one is scheduled for Wed. Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m. The orientation includes the history of Davis Media Access, a tour of the facilities, and information on the many aspects and opportunities provided by DMA. Free & open to anyone who lives, works, studies or volunteers in Davis.

Davis Teen Animators’ Club has space for a couple more members. The club meets two Fridays a month from 4-5 p.m. at DMA. Members must be between 13-17 years old, live or go to school in Davis, and be interested in hands-on traditional or computer animation projects. Email agsilva@davismedia.org if interested. Read more about the club at the Davis Enterprise

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Fall internships begin

Available to DJUSD students, DMA’s internship provides hands-on experience and exposure to many aspects of community television production. The internship focuses on coverage of DJSUD sporting and performing arts events, as a component of DMA’s partnership with DJUSD Educational Access Television Channel 17.  Interns must be at least 16 years old and able to work 3-6 hours per week, generally between 5-10 p.m. Additionally, they must be self-motivated, good communicators, and able to work well with a diverse group of people. Training is provided, and academic credit is available when possible.

Please see the internship description for more information and to apply. Interested applicants may submit a resume or brief letter describing their skills and any personal goals related to the internship. Please submit to DMA Production Manager Jeff Shaw at info@davismedia.org.

“What’s Going On" Marks 30 years of production

In 1986, Davis Community Television was not yet in existence, but local programming was produced under the auspices of the Davis Community Cable Co-Op. A volunteer producer then and now, Jon Li shares the following:

We did a city council election show live at The Palms, beginning at 8 pm. I was the host. We had six bands play, with each of the four candidates for two seats having their turn to talk between the bands.

That September, I started interviewing the hundreds of interesting people in Davis, beginning with Mayor Dave Rosenberg. I read a 15-minute argument about the new General Plan process, and lawyer Dave refuted each of my points. Maybe my best show was Ken Watt, the evolutionary ecologist: I spent an hour in his office the day before trying to get in a word edgewise; on camera, Ken spoke for 15 minutes, and I asked if he had anything else he wanted to say, and he said no, so I had to think of something: “What do you think about the future of computers?” Ken said, “You know I love computers,” and he filled the air with the future.

What’s Going On” kicks off its 30th year of productoon with Mayor Robb Davis, and then Terry Whittier, former Davis planning commissioner and current planning commissioner from Sunnyvale, a charter city. We are talking about making Davis a charter city.

Thanks, “Artist’s Connection”

The volunteers for “Artist’s Connection” have been producing their show monthly for just about two years, with award-winning San Francisco journalist Kevin Fagan as host. The program features topic-driven interviews of artists with questions that go beyond persona and performance, revealing the reasons behind the choices that artists make, and giving viewers a glimpse through the eyes of the artist. It’s focused heavily on performers in Yolo County.

This month, Producer Sam Hawk told us the show would draw to a close as Fagan (also a musician) pursues writing a book. It’s been a great run, and they leave behind a wealth of informative programming. Hawk says he’ll be transitioning to a radio show soon, and I’ll be listening for that.

Community Events

 Vocal Art Ensemble: Friday, June 10 - Sunday, June 12

The Vocal Art Ensemble digs deep into the salt of the earth, excavating
the cultural foundations that shape the ever-flourishing art of song.
Cultivating choral transplants across countries and generations, VAE
nurtures a musical garden of human experience, through the common
grounds of life, death, faith, serenity, love, and dreams. Collaborating in this program will be ceremonial sound practitioner
Rene Jenkins, who uses ancient indigenous instruments to harvest
timeless soundscapes of magical dimensions.

Davis Music Fest: Friday June 17 - Sunday June 19

Spanning 10 stages with 45 bands, the Davis Music Fest rolls into it's 6th year.  The festival benefits both Davis School Arts Foundation and the DHS Blue & White Foundation. Local favorites West Nile Ramblers, Rita Hosking Band and Gravy Nation will be playing along with many out of town bands.  No matter what you'll find a band you enjoy throughout the event.  

Upcoming

Davis Shorts: Current DMA volunteers and producers are welcome to attend "Davis Shorts" on May 25 at 7pm. Davis Shorts will be a screening of DMA Producers (& friends) short-form completed work, current drafts, or other projects intended to provoke discussion.  Seating is limited- use the registration link to guarantee a seat!

A Note From the Director

Help Keep Media Local: DMA Needs Your Support

Davis Media Access (DMA) has been described as “part of what makes Davis, Davis.” I believe that reflects how DMA is connected to–and supports—so many different aspects of our community that it’s become part of the fabric. Like any fabric, DMA is woven from many brightly hued and different threads, and we’re stronger together.

DMA is currently doing its annual funding appeal. It’s important that we raise this money each year, as it keeps KDRT 95.7 operational, and it helps support our local election and youth-media efforts. We’re more than halfway through May, and more than halfway to our goal of $25k, but that still leaves us with another $12k to raise over the next couple of weeks.

What is DMA? It’s three big projects (public access TV, educational access TV, and community radio) that together comprise a small staff, a large volunteer base, and a whole lot of learning and doing. DMA operates and staffs a media center and helps community members produce and distribute content across local television, radio, and the Internet. Using the framework and resources established nearly 27 years ago by the City of Davis, we’ve leveraged those to include a radio station, four open-source websites, video and audio streaming and archiving, and support for a tremendous variety of individuals and community organizations.

Upcoming events

March 25: “ LIVE DiRT” (encompasses what was  formerly “Live in the Loam”) is a live music feature of KDRT radio – sometimes happening in local venues, sometimes live in the KDRT or DCTV studios. “LIVE DiRT” has no fixed schedule and “pops up” whenever musical artists can merge their touring schedule with KDRT programming.

This week, “LIVE DiRT: features Lance Canales and the Flood live in the KDRT studio on Friday, March 25 beginning at 2:30 p.m. Lance Canales & The Flood are a roots/blues-influenced Americana trio from Fresno, California, where Canales lived the life that so many songs have been written about since the birth of roots music: hard labor, one-room shacks and taunting ghosts whispering of a better life. DJ Dug Deep hosts.

Other upcoming 'LIVE DiRT' dates: catch KDRT's live broadcast from Armadillo Music during 2nd Fridays and the Art About. 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. on April 14, May 12, and June 9.

April 6: All about the Green Wall - 6:30-7:30 in the DMA studio. Learn how to use our green wall and chroma-key effects. Free, but be sure to register at the above link as space is limited.

April 16: UC Davis celebrates its 102nd Picnic Day this year. For the first time KDRT will be participating so keep your eye out.

April 17: Coffee with Amy Goodman: along with local business/DMA supporter The Wardrobe, DMA is proud to host award-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author Amy Goodman for a rare and intimate visit to Davis.  As of this writing there are only 13 tickets left.  So act now.

April 20: DMA's monthly General Orientation, a first step to getting involved. 6:30-8 p.m.  Free but be sure to register at the above link as space is limited.

Summer camp registration

Davis Media Access offers two kinds of summer camps for kids aged 10-13. In the production camp, participants will learn how to produce a program in DMA's television studio, including storyboarding, operating cameras and sound equipment, and media literacy training. New this summer, campers will be able to take advantage of DMA's brand-new HD Field Cameras. They will also get an introduction to the radio booth KDRT 95.7 FM, DMA's low-power community radio station. The course is team taught by DMA staffer Alex Silva-Sadder, with assistance from high-school or college-aged assistants.

Looking Back, Planning Ahead

The life of an executive director is full of report writing, with perhaps none more important than an annual report, a document that tells the story of an organization, why it exists, and how it makes a difference. For the second year, we've taken what used to be a big written annual report and made a short video instead.

I constantly hear from people involved with one of our projects that they had no idea how many other things happen here at the media center. The video aims to give some insight into the whole organization by looking back on what we did in 2015. You can find it here, and I hope you’ll take a few minutes to check it out. Big thanks to Darrick Servis and Jeff Shaw for their production work, and Eunah Cho for the majority of the still images used.


A Love of Numbers

A note from the Director

I’m musing about this town’s fascination with numbered days. We’ve got our First Thursdays, wherein our good friends at the Davis Odd Fellows host free live music at the Hall on Second Street. Then we’ve got 2nd Fridays, with the Art About downtown.

I’ve learned to love numbers, so here are some others I’d like to highlight:

1: Number of Picnic Day parades the KDRT contingent will march in this year.  Be sure not to miss us April 16 on the route from the UC Davis campus through downtown.

3: Number of Live in the Loam radio programs recorded in the past month with appearances by Bob Woodruff, the Rev. Shawn Amos, and I See Hawks in LA. 

14: Number of local non-profits we helped create short public service announcements during our annual PSA Day.

28: Number of years we’ve been doing local election coverage. DMA is ramping up to cover forums, record “Meet the Candidates,” and produce a live show on election night, June 7.

Get Involved! General Orientation March 23

DMA requires all new participants to attend a free General Orientation. These one-hour sessions happen once per month and include some history and background of DMA and community media, examples of media produced, and a tour of the facilities. Our facilitator will cover specific ways to get involved, depending on your interests, as well as suggested next steps. Anyone is welcome to attend an Orientation, but to use the facility regularly, you must live, work, study or volunteer at an organization in Davis.