Calling all filmmakers! Looking for your shot at the limelight?
In September, WCVE-TV will debut a new monthly series, “Scan Line,” featuring local independent films, and the station is currently seeking submissions for the program. Students, independents, film and video amateurs or professionals are encouraged to submit videos, films or video art pieces of any length on a VHS tape to the station for consideration.
“Scan Line” will be part of the station’s Friday night independent film presentation. Mason Mills, a video teacher in the sculpture department at Virginia Commonwealth University, will co-produce the program. “We really feel that there [are] so many filmmakers in this area and video artists that are really starving for this kind of exposure, and we have the ability to give this exposure,” he says. Mills is a videographer and editor for “Virginia Currents,” and the special-projects editor for WCVE, Community Idea Station.
“It’s really hard for an independent filmmaker or video artist to get their work shown,” adds Paul Roberts, who joins Mills in producing “Scan Line.” Roberts has produced a piece in the “East of the Blue Ridge” series on WCVE.
Sarah Bartenstein, director of communications for Community Idea Stations, sees the bigger picture in implementing programs featuring local talents. “This is part of an attempt to reach a different audience than what people usually associate with PBS,” she says. It’s not that the station doesn’t appreciate its current audience, she adds. This program, along with “Music Seen,” a program started last fall showcasing local musicians, attempts to tap into a younger audience.
Entries may be sent to Community Idea Stations, c/o Scan Line, 23 Sesame St., Richmond, Va. 23235. Call 560-8162 or 560-8248 for details.
