Our Town: Port Allegany

The Our Town Port Allegany project held a planning meeting recently at the S. W. Smith Memorial Public Library.  Pictured: Producer/Director Carley Greiner,  Senior Producer/Director Whitney Chirdon, and Sam Komlenic, Corporate Support talking with PASD Superintendent Gary Buchsen and high school student Marcus Murphy who will be helping with the Our Town project.  

The Our Town Project is a one-hour video scrapbook of the people, places and happenings of the Port Allegany area as seen through the eyes of its residents.  Community members will collect video footage and still photos to showcase their "Port Allegany stories" and then talk about each of their topics with a WPSU producer in a casual on-camera interview.  These 20-25 stories will combine to create the "Our Town:  Port Allegany" program which will be broadcast on September 10 on WPSU-TV. 

On Wednesday, June 17, production of the program will begin with a community meeting to be held at the Port Allegany High School Library at 6:30 p.m.  At the public meeting, WPSU will ask you to pick one topic for a story to be featured in the show.  You will be provided a blank tape and some tips to get started.  It will be up to you to collect the visuals (video and /or still photos) you need to tell the story.  

Saturday, July 18 is scheduled as production day.  The producer will return to talk about your story. In a casual, on-camera interview, the producer will talk to you about the footage you have gathered.  Your interview will help tie the story together with narration and add the personality that makes this show special.  There is no need to worry - they will help you look and sound like a pro!  The next step is to take the video tapes/photos and interview back to the TV station and edit it all together. 

To learn more, recent episodes of "Our Town", helpful hints on creating your story, updates on the project and contact information can be found at wpsu.org/ourtown.  Pam Fischer Photo