PhillyCAM FAQs

 

PhillyCAM is the non-profit designated by the City of Philadelphia to operate its public access television network. On October 23, 2009, PhillyCAM started cablecasting on Comcast 66/966 and Verizon 29/30. This is a landmark achievement in a city that fought for 27 years to finally get its public access television.

Member Info

 

Check our website's Events Listing and our Newsletter which is sent monthly to all members and friends of PhillyCAM.

Not a member? Not a problem.

Sign up for our newsletter

 Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo.

Now that you're a member, you can register for a TV and or Radio Community Media Workshop. The TV Community Media Workshop introduces members to the basic procedures for reserving facility space, getting certified and checking out equipment, updating producer project pages, finding crew members online and submitting programs to air on PhillyCAM or on our radio station WPPM 106.5 FM.

Important! You must attend an orientation if you plan to take workshops, check out equipment and/or use our facilities.

For more information visit - Getting Started at PhillyCAM Intro to Community Media Workshop

 

Programs and Services available to members:

  • Training workshops for groups and individuals.
  • Production services for organizational members.
  • Networking events for members and independent producers.
  • Screenings of independently produced media.
  • Cablecasting of video content created in the Philadelphia area.
  • Volunteer and internship opportunities.

 

 If you plan to:

  • Reserve PhillyCAM space to host a meeting, screening or shoot a production
  • Submit programming to air on the channels
  • Register for workshops and get class notifications
  • Receive the monthly newsletter
  • RSVP for special events, free workshops and orientations
  • Find crew members to collaborate with on projects

Classes

At PhillyCAM we offer a 6-week Intro to Adobe Premiere Pro editing class.  We suggest you do not take the editing class until you have material shot that you are ready to work with. This will allow you to maximize the skills learned in Adobe Premiere Pro by applying them to a direct project. 

For more information visit Workshops

We offer a Test-Out option for Basic Field Production. You can make an appointment to review the field equipment and class materials and schedule a test out date. The same cost of $75 still applies. Email: education@phillycam.org to discuss this option.

Basic Field Production will certify you in the use of our field equipment which includes: Sony XDCAM camcorder, tripod, mics (lavalier, handheld, and shotgun/boom) and Lighting Kit.

This class is a great place to start to build a foundation of technical skills. Once you complete the 6-week class, you will become certified to check out equipment for your project.

For more information visit Basic Field Production

 

Our Production Planning Workshop is a great place to start. This is a 4-week class that helps members plan and develop their ideas prior to production. This is not a technical class, but students leave with a clearer sense of how to organize their project and the necessary steps to take to make it a reality.

For more information visit Production Planning Workshop 

There is not a set order to taking classes at PhillyCAM. If you are still uncertain or want to discuss the different paths you might take, feel free to contact Laura at education@phillycam.org

PhillyCAM’s class schedule will be posted on our website. A range of trainings will be available from introductory sessions on video field production, studio production, post-production/editing and producing radio programming. Trainings will focus on developing programs for PhillyCAM and equipment certification.

For more information visit Workshops

General Info

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You can watch PhillyCAM programming live online. Missed a program? Check On-Demand

If you have a ROKU, you can find PhillyCAM on the PEG.TV channel. We are also available on Apple TV. 

Programs on ROKU and Apple TV are the local, original, all-ages shows that are available on PhillyCAM’s website.

Community Bulletin Board

PhillyCAM operates an electronic Community Bulletin Board, which is shown on the channels when no other video programming is scheduled. Organizational Member Events are listed as space allows and are generally shown for one week to a month, prior to the posted event. PhillyCAM gives priority to Philadelphia - related notices, but there is no guarantee that every notice submitted will be shown. Notices sponsored by political campaigns or candidates are not permitted.

All other programming restrictions apply to the Community Bulletin Board such as our non-commercial policy. Event announcements or organizational info can be submitted as arranged with Community Engagement Director according to specs provided by Programming Director.

The text needs to be large enough to read on TV and avoid using the color red. Including a picture in the layout attracts attention. 

 

 

You can send a simple signed note stating that PhillyCAM has permission to cablecast your work and show it on our website. Please include a list of the photos and song titles and your contact info on the note. Music should be in mp3 format. Photos for slideshow can be 1280x720 jpeg format.

If you want to include the title of the photo and your name over the air at the same time as the photograph appears, it should be included as title-safe text at the bottom and/or top of the image. 

Alternately, you can provide an opening title slide introducing the theme with you as the photographer. Save the slideshow as JPEGs and rename each image file with your name and number consecutively in the order that you want the images to play.

You can deliver the images through your own transfer service (such as google drive) or on a thumb drive or through your user account in the PhillyCAM media lab. 

equipment use

All PhillyCAM members are required to pass a certification process to use PhillyCAM equipment.  Once certified, a member will need to submit a reservation request to reserve Media Lab time to edit their show or to use PhillyCAM's production equipment. View our Equipment List

 

production crews

Production groups may be self-organized by Members with assistance from PhillyCAM staff.  These groups will provide a structure for Members to work together to produce content for PhillyCAM distribution.

 Members are invited to use the PhillyCAM Facebook page (PhillyCAM Crew Call) for this purpose. Crew “Meet and Greets” can also be arranged at the PhillyCAM facility. 

Programming Facts

Licensing is encouraged. Find out more at: www.creativecommons.org

All appearance, location, music and materials rights and clearances are the responsibility of the producer. (sample forms are available.)  All Members must agree to abide by all PhillyCAM policies regarding program ownership & distribution. 

Contact information cannot be displayed throughout an entire program. Only noncommercial websites, phone and email can be shown occasionally within a program. Commercial contact information can only be displayed as a credit for contribution of goods and services. 

 

Programs may contain credit for individuals, businesses or other organizations that have contributed goods, services or funding used in the program production. Credits may not contain any advertising information. The following guidelines apply to all credits for contributors:

  • Individual credits for such contributions are limited to fifteen seconds.
  • Total credits for all contributions are limited to sixty seconds.
  • Credit must appear at either the beginning or preferably at the end of the program.
  • Credit may be oral, visual or both.
  • Credit may include a logo.
  • Credit may include a name, address, and phone number.
  • Credit may include a phrase describing the business of the contributor and the nature of the contribution.
  • Credit may not contain any qualitative or promotional information. 

 

 

 

 

All programs shown on PhillyCAM must be non-commercial. No call to action to purchase goods or services is permitted. Members may not require compensation from individuals in exchange for appearing on a public access channel. Furthermore, channel time may not be bartered or sold. 

 

 Program Credits for Contribution of Goods & Services

Programs may contain credit for individuals, businesses or other organizations that have contributed goods, services or funding used in the program production. Credits may not contain any advertising information. The following guidelines apply to all credits for contributors:

  • Individual credits for such contributions are limited to fifteen seconds.
  • Total credits for all contributions are limited to sixty seconds.
  • Credit must appear at either the beginning or preferably at the end of the program.
  • Credit may be oral, visual or both.
  • Credit may include a logo.
  • Credit may include a name, address, and phone number.
  • Credit may include a phrase describing the business of the contributor and the nature of the contribution.
  • Credit may not contain any qualitative or promotional information. 

 More Information on Credits

Contact information cannot be displayed throughout an entire program. Only non-commercial websites, phone and email can be shown occasionally within a program. Commercial contact information can only be displayed as credit for the contribution of goods and services.  

PhillyCAM staff schedule each program in a time slot that is appropriate for its content and likely audience. In the interest of ensuring diversity of programming and equitable distribution of channel time, submissions from a single program provider shall not include more than one non-local Series.

A series consists of at least four new programs with a consistent theme and/or format. A series timeslot can be either  half an hour or if necessary, an hour. To meet the requirements of series programming, at least one new episode per month must be submitted. New episodes must be submitted at least a week prior to the cablecast date. Series time slots are renewed periodically.

First priority is given to programs produced by PhillyCAM Members. Second priority is given to Member sponsored programs produced in the Philadelphia area. Third priority is given to non-local programs sponsored by members.

PhillyCAM staff will attempt to accommodate all requests and will not exclude any Philadelphia resident from showing a program on the community channels. Program providers will be notified of their timeslots the first time the program is broadcast on PhillyCAM. PhillyCAM reserves the right to pre-empt all programs for live or special event coverage. 

 

Producers or program sponsors are encouraged to consult PhillyCAM staff for guidance in preparing short promotional spots or utilizing other avenues for publicizing their program such as social networking.

To a limited degree, programs from out of the area can be "sponsored" by Philadelphia residents with the permission of the producer.  A resident who becomes a PhillyCAM member and wishes to sponsor a program can potentially submit it with a letter of permission from the producer.

To submit a video for PhillyCAM’s website “on demand,” it must air on the channel first, be locally produced, suitable for all ages and 100% original content.  

Members may request that PhillyCAM host (VOD) via email request to programming@phillycam.org after a program has aired on TV. 

PhillyCAM accepts all types of non-commercial TV programs produced by members: Talk Shows, Documentaries, News Programs, Animated Short Films, Arts and Culture Events, Educational and Youth Produced Work, etc.

After becoming a member, attending an Intro to Community Media Workshop for TV orientation a member can submit one TV series (scheduled in half hour slots) or any number of individual videos of any genre and various lengths, as the schedule allows. Locally produced programming is PhillyCAM’s first priority but a member can sponsor a program from outside the area with written permission from the producer.

Visit our Submit A Program page for more information