“Reel Threads” segment with Suzzanne and Brett Cromwell, reviewing quirky films on DVD and in independent theatres.

Suzzanne and Brett Cromwell talk about their organization, the Lowell Film Collaborative.

Guest interviewer Jen Myers gets Bernie Lynch to talk about Lowell’s Boards and Commissions.

Joy joins Corey to talk about a new program from the Coalition for a Better Acre, the Merrimack Valley Time Exchange.

Richard Howe (of RichardHowe.com) joined our host Corey Sciuto in the studio!

Dick talks about his new book of historic photos, Legendary Locals of Lowell.

Today we had our LTC Studio session for our second episodes of Threads. We have a couple more segments to do in the field, and then editing, of course (though it’s not nearly as much work as doing a pilot!) but we should be posting brand new segments along with them assembled into a full episode within a week or so!

This month’s host is Corey Sciuto, and we had Dick Howe in the comfy guest seat talking about his new book, Legendary Locals of Lowell, which is officially coming out this Monday, March 11! You can check out the book’s Facebook page for updates, book signings, and where you can buy it!

Our second studio guest was Joy Mosenfelder, coordinator for the Coalition for a Better Acre’s new program, Merrimack Valley Time Exchange. It was great to meet Joy, and her enthusiasm for this new pilot program is infectious. The idea is to create a “time bank” where people in the community can help one another by exchanging services. This is a taking the neighbor-helping-neighbor idea a little further – instead of trying to find a single person to exchange time and services with, you give an hour, you can request an hour from the bank, and it doesn’t have to be the person you helped directly. Your hours are “banked” in the exchange! Cool concept, and I look forward to seeing it progress (and maybe giving an hour or two and getting some in return!).

We also have some other segments to wrap up, which I’m going to remain mysterious about for the time being. (Interest peaked? Like our Facebook page and watch for updates!)

Next month will be nerve-wracking for me as I will be running the board and directing. Something I’ve done in the past, but this time, in the studio with more responsbility! I got some practice time in today under the watchful tutelage of our real director, Jess, who is a very patient person. (She’ll kill me for saying that!) But cross training is really important to us, so that we can be flexible when we need to be, like when our talented director goes on vacation during our next scheduled shoot!! I will gladly give the job back to her when she returns. 🙂

If you want to help out on our show and learn the ropes (and if I can do it, you can!) or have ideas for segments (that we can produce, or you can!), we would love to have your thoughts and ideas…contact us at producers [at] lowellthreads.com (replace spaces and [at] with @).

–Lynne

From the pilot episode. In this segment, host Kamal Jain and guests Ann Marie Page and Corey Sciuto discuss the topic of economic development, a key component of Lowell’s Draft Master Plan.

As I’m sitting here, waiting for segments of our first episode of Threads to save out to web-ready clips (there’s no magic – just waiting for the computer to churn out giant files), I wanted to take the time to explain the concept behind the show a little further, and also what we think will be our methodology going forward.

You might have already noticed on Facebook, or here, that you can watch the full episode, hosted by LTC, and on our Full Episodes page. But we will also be breaking our shows up into more web-friendly segments. The whole idea behind the show is to have a variety of topics and guests, interspersed with, we hope, segments we produce out in the woolly wilds of Lowell itself. We kept it simple for our first show, but we have lots of plans and ideas. Including producing quick little shorts exclusively for the web, because even I have a decent smartphone and some editing software at home.

To that end, if you have always been curious about how a show is produced, we want to ask you to join us! Maybe you have an idea for a ten minute segment from the field, or you want to learn how to operate a camera. Or learn how to edit. You can join our crew, or get a crew of your own! We are very interested in “outside produced” material for airing on Threads. As long as it’s hyperlocal, in or around Lowell, and interesting, we invite you to get your feet wet managing a smaller video segment instead of an entire show. LTC has a great array of classes to get you up to speed from camera to editing to graphic design. In fact, everything about this show, from its technical details to its editing, was made possible by the great staff at LTC and the classes we’ve taken here!

So we hope you check back, and keep up with us on Facebook by Liking our page!

–Lynne

Host Kamal Jain and guests Ann Marie Page and Corey Sciuto talk about neighborhoods and Lowell’s Draft Master Plan in this segment of our pilot episode.

From episode #1. Host Kamal Jain and guests Ann Marie Page and Corey Sciuto discuss the topic of environment and sustainability, a key component of Lowell Draft Master Plan.