Since Ablevision is scripted, shot and hosted by people with disabilities, each episode is itself a work of art! Most episodes include feature stories that focus on individuals such as Nick, a skilled musician who happens to have a disability. Many episodes also focus on excellent organizations such as The Asperger’s Association of New England and The Special Olympics who support and challenge people to maximize their ability. In order to keep up with our busy production schedule and provide the level of media training and assistance that our crew needs, Ablevision members contribute to one of three crews:
The Creative Crew develops original video and story ideas. Recently the crew scripted and shot its first fictional piece, a two-part murder mystery! Currently this crew is working on a promotional piece about Ablevision to run on Malden Access Television.
The Production Crew uses our portable camera equipment to film on-site features and interviews. Past stories have included pet therapy, healthy living, music reviews, living with blindness and “Going Green.” We teach the production crew how to edit our videos using Apple’s Final Cut Pro.
The Studio Crew utilizes the cutting-edge media equipment at Malden Access Television to shoot the openings and closings of each story and conduct high-end interviews. This crew shot a feature story that focused on the Council for Exceptional Children’s national award ceremony and they visited the set of “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” to conduct an interview with actor and comedian Kevin James.
Last year Ablevision had 60 crew members - quadruple the number it had when it began just five years ago. We’ve won a number of national awards including the 2008 and 2009 National Hometown Video Award for Best Access-Able Program for episodes 14 and 16 and the 2007 Rika Welsh Community Impact Award by the Alliance for Community Media. We’re focused on expanding our national audience by building relationships with more public access affiliates (If Ablevision isn’t airing in your community please let us know!)
