Live from Arviat!
Film society launches Channel 19 cable TV programming
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, December 4, 2013
ARVIAT
Channel 19 went live, on air, in Arviat this past week. The cable TV channel, broadcast in Inuktitut, is the work of the Arviat Film Society (AFS).
Jamie Okatsiak performs during Channel 19's official launch in Arviat on Nov. 28. - photo courtesy Arviat Film Society - |
The AFS is a mentorship-styled organization, with adult members teaching their more youthful counterparts the skills necessary to film, edit and produce programming.
AFS member Gord Billard said Channel 19 got off to a fantastic start.
He said he contacted people in the community following the broadcast to see how it was received.
"There were several people in town who had bad cable reception and said the sound was terrible and stuff," said Billard.
"But, the people who did have good reception said it was absolutely fabulous.
"One person told me he was really surprised at just how good the sound was during the musical performances we had.
"That was one area I thought we'd lose some quality, but, apparently, the sound went out crisp and clear."
Billard said he felt good the following morning when John Arnalukjuak High School principal Cody Prusky pulled him aside to let him know he was impressed with the initial broadcast.
He said the evening was made to feel even sweeter, due to the tension of venturing into the unknown with Channel 19's launch.
"We were concerned in the two or three days leading up to the big night because we had some problems verifying the quality of the broadcast on TVs in people's homes.
"But, we confirmed the day before that we were going to be seen on live TV and, as it turned out, everything worked perfectly.
"Now we're in the process of making playlists we can put on the media player to start broadcasting some of the AFS stories, as well as some of Isuma's stories.
"We might, for example, do an eight-hour playlist, which would then do two loops to complete a full day's worth of programming."
Providing enough fresh viewing material so Channel 19 isn't repeating too much is the next challenge the AFS must overcome.
Billard said the group will be relying a fair bit on the material sent by Isuma in the early stages.
He said a bunch of material salvaged from Rankin Inlet is also in the process of being converted to a digital format.
"These are old tapes from around the 1980s, I believe, on a format called U-matic tapes, which are a bit bigger than VHS tapes.
"We bought a U-matic converter that Eric Anoee Jr. found in Winnipeg this past summer, and he and a student have been working for months at converting the tapes.
"A lot of the footage is from people filming stuff that was going on at the school and in the community back then.
"We already have a number of resources to draw upon for programming, but, what we proved our first night is that we have the capability of live broadcast, and that's really exciting."
