I'm a media expert too
Incheon Community Media Center
Writer Kim Ji-suk
Photographer Jang Hyeon-seon
Participation in media production by viewers, citizens, and the socially underprivileged has been difficult due to limited training opportunities as well as lack of facilities and equipments. Opening of Incheon Community Media Center designed to facilitate communication of diverse perspectives and opinions of the society is a part of on-going efforts of the city of Incheon to promote improvement in the civic rights of the people in the field of media. Instead of being limited to playing the passive role of audience, people can now get behind the camera and participate in production and broadcasting of various media contents and programs.
Community Media Center is located on the 3rd and 4th floor of the Songdo Multi-purpose Culture Center in Yeonsu-gu. The spacious 2,584㎡-big venue was designed as a multi-purpose cultural space dedicated to media and celebrated its opening on August 13, 2014. The center has already begun to offer various programs to promote greater access to media by the public, and one of such programs is training and education. The center is offering well-designed education program for residents who are interested in learning about the field of media, and it is also in charge of training and developing professional media education instructors. It also offers support and advice on media education for many groups such as civic groups, government agencies, and schools. Most of all, the center is offering its equipments and facilities to be rented for production and broadcasting by people as well as coordinating education and network of media producers and professionals in the community. Another important initiative of the center is aggressively promoting programs dedicated to improving the civic right to media access for people with disabilities.
Director of the center, Choonghwan Lee, said, “I believe it is important to understand and utilize the media well for people to enjoy a better quality of life. We have made the access to media affordable here at the center, and we invite more people to visit us and take full advantage of our services and facility and share the fun experiences they had with others.”
“Everybody can now shoot their own videos using their smart phone, but it is rare to see people who really know what they are doing and put more professionalism into the videos. So I think it is a huge benefit for me to be able to take this media education course for free. I finished the introduction course and plans to follow up with filming and editing courses,” said Eunyoung Suh(Dongchun-dong resident), a graduate student who was taking a media education course at the center.
Suh is one of many people who are taking advantage of the well-structured education program offered by the center to anyone who are interested in the field of media. Regular program consists of two courses: introduction course for video making and filming and advanced course for filming and editing and announcing. There is also a program for using smart media that offers 2 courses: course on basic use of smart phone and course on filming video using smart phone.
In addition, there is a plan for an education program where students get to produce shows like short documentaries for the purpose of actual broadcasting. Also, the center hosts ‘Academy of Culture’, a special lecture series, on the last Thursdays or Fridays of each month by inviting respected and prominent experts in the field of media. All education programs require registration, which can be filed through the center’s official online blog 20 days before the start of class.
Community Media Center is equipped with various facilities and high-tech digital equipments to facilitate easier media production by the public. Media Experience Hall on the 3rd floor that offers settings like TV studio and open radio studio booth to get comfortable and have fun with media is the most popular facility for children. Digital Classroom is fully equipped with computers, projectors, microphone, and audio system needed for training and education on video editing and multi-media and can accommodate up to 100 participants at one time. High-tech editing equipments, servers, and ingest room can be found in the Editing Room. 4th floor is where the Multi-purpose Hall with actual studio and master control room for broadcasting production is located. Designed to seat almost 80 people in the audience, the hall can also host lectures and concerts.
Audio Room is a place where people can produce radio shows and play, record, and mix music.
Also, Production Room for People with Disability is specially designated for people with disability and offers free access to needed equipments such as a separate booth for DVS (descriptive video service) recording, screen magnification monitor, and Braille embosser. Equipment Rental Room is responsible for coordinating the rental process and has a stock of camcorders, sound recording and lighting equipment.
People must sign up for membership to access the center’s services, and the center offers 2 types of membership: Regular and Online. People can sign up for the online membership by visiting the medianuri, a community portal, and can register for all classes and programs offered by the center. Online members can obtain Regular Membership by attending and completing a regular membership course at the center.
Free rental service of the facilities and equipments is limited to Regular members, and individuals who wish to visit the Editing Room must register online 1 week in advance. Equipment rental service is open twice a day from 9:30am to 11:30 and 3:30pm to 5:30pm on weekdays and 10am to 12am on Saturdays. Rental period is 8 days at most and must be reserved 2 days in advance. Other facilities can be reserved from 9am to 10pm during weekdays (closed Mondays) and 10am to 6pm on weekends. Individuals can sign up for the media experience program by visiting the center’s official online blog at least 1 week in advance.
Inquiries : ☎ 722-7900 Official Online Blog http://blog.naver.com/incheoncomc
