Nonprofit moves into office on San Benito Street
Residents gathered at the Community Media Access Partnership
office Feb. 4 to commemorate the opening of a space to serve San
Benito residents, at 829 San Benito St.
Kathy Bisbee, the executive director of CMAP, which services San
Benito and south Santa Clara counties, said the office will be used
as a community media center.
Nonprofit moves into office on San Benito Street
Residents gathered at the Community Media Access Partnership office Feb. 4 to commemorate the opening of a space to serve San Benito residents, at 829 San Benito St.
Kathy Bisbee, the executive director of CMAP, which services San Benito and south Santa Clara counties, said the office will be used as a community media center.
“One of the things to really notice is we are kind of in the middle of a transition,” Bisbee said. “A lot of public access is in the middle of transition. The tools are cheaper than they used to be.”
While CMAP is known for broadcasting government meetings, the nonprofit also offers training, equipment rental and access to television studios for residents to produce their own content.
“Schools, teachers, administrators, parents, businesses and nonprofit organizations in San Benito County were asking us for tech advice, for video production services, for high-definition equipment, for new television programming and for education programs to supplement the loss of funds in local schools and to bridge the digital divide,” Bisbee said.
CMAP is running a program at Rancho San Justo Middle School, where students have completed four video projects.
Though San Benito County residents have had access to training and equipment through CMAP’s Gavilan College office in Gilroy, Bisbee said the presence in Hollister will increase their ability to train residents.
“CMAP has quite a few members using our equipment at Gavilan College, but the drive to Gilroy inhibited the number of folks who could get involved,” Bisbee said. “We are thrilled to be right in the heart of the community now and hope we can better serve members here.”
The new office will allow local shows such as “Arts 101,” a monthly arts calendar show, and “Going Green,” a program by the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce green committee, to be taped in San Benito.
“We are getting a very small office at the Community Foundation, but it will actually give us a home base,” Bisbee said. “Now that we are actually in the community people are really interested in partnering with more programs. It is a place we can invite people in.”
The new services include professional level video production services, youth media education programs, storytelling classes, and media and technology how-to classes for residents, ranging from how to create quality animation, documentary films and promotional videos. Bisbee said the staff has plans to offer classes on using online tools such as Skype, Google Voice and Docs, online video distribution, and social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. They will offer youth and adult media and technology workshops throughout the year.
The staff also has updated the equipment they have available which includes Apple laptops with Final Cut Pro editing software, 500 GB hard drives, and high-definition Sony and Panasonic cameras that can be rented out.
“We got $132,000 for a three-year project in San Benito County,” Bisbee said, of the funding that is helping to expand the presence here. “It gave us an ability to have a program in Hollister and create a new job. It creates stipends for local students to do videos. It’s really hands-on job training for us.”
The money comes from federal stimulus funds, as well as grants from regional foundations such as the Packard Foundation and Zero Divide Foundation.
To use the equipment, Bisbee said residents have to become a CMAP member, with memberships ranging from $50 for an individual membership up to $200 for a business membership, with student and family options available. Once they are members, CMAP staff will train them and certify them on the equipment. The members can even volunteer to film events in the community.
“We have only one person for 24 hours a week to cover all the productions,” Bisbee said. “We rely heavily on CMAP members to volunteer. 90 percent of events are covered by volunteers.”
CMAP has contracts with the cities of San Juan Bautista, Hollister and Gilroy to film and broadcast the city council meetings, but they are also hired to do professional documentary projects. Programs on CMAP’s cable access channels are broadcast to 15,000 Charter cable subscribers.
“We are a mini production house,” Bisbee said. “Most of the staff have been in film festivals. Sometimes we get volunteers who get so good they can help us out on the paid productions.”
Bisbee did note that despite the funding to expand programs in San Benito, CMAP is a nonprofit and saw their funding cut by $45,000 last year. As a nonprofit, she said she and the staff are always looking for ways they can help other nonprofits market themselves with technology.
“We invite the whole community to gives us a call,” Bisbee said. “We will have regular office hours posted from Tuesday through Friday. We will be open a couple hours after work, when we get staff situated.”
Residents can also make an appointment to meet during other hours.
The News to You
CMAP hours:
New hours begin on Feb. 15, at the CMAP Hollister office, 829 San Benito St., Ste. 200
Tuesday 10-5 p.m.
Wednesday 10-6 p.m.
Thursday 11-7 p.m.
Friday 10-6 p.m.
Please call CMAP at 831.205.1320 prior to visiting the office to make a reservation for media and technology equipment, trainings and/or appointments with staff.
Equipment rental:
CMAP’s Media & Technology Equipment Available for free and low-cost 72-hour reservations
Cameras: Panasonic HDC-TM700 (high definition)
Laptops: Apple MacBook Pro, 2.66 mhz, 500G, Final Cut Pro 7.0 and/or Final Cut Express
Tripods: VELBON
Hard Drives: 1 TB LACIE drives
Microphones: Lavalier and handheld mics, Beachtek XLR adapter, headphones.
& Lighting Kits
Upcoming classes:
CMAP Classes (call to register and for upcoming dates visit, www.cmap.tv
Field Camera
Final Cut Pro Editing (beginner through advanced)
Studio Production
Digital Storytelling: Make A Special Family DVD in One Day!
Storytelling as a Marketing Tool for Non-Profits
Lighting
Producing & Directing
Community Documentary Filmmaking
Cloud Computing: Using Google Docs and other online tools to share data privately, work collaboratively on projects, surveys and spreadsheets.
Online Video: Understanding YouTube, Vimeo, and other video interfaces
Social Media for Businesses & Non-Profit Work (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN & More!)
Social Media & Internet Safety for Parents
Claymation for Kids
For more information on how to use the resources of CMAP, visit www.cmap.tv, call 408-846-4983, in Gilroy, or 205-1320, in Hollister.
