Simplifying Digital Content: Taking Inspiration from our Members
It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly a year since our organizations shut down for the beginning of this pandemic. Due to government restrictions and safety concerns, many of our organizations have had to get inventive and figure out new ways to engage their audiences. Over the past year we have been inspired by our member organizations’ ingenuity and determination to continue sharing their art across rural Pennsylvania. We have also learned just how accessible your art is made by producing and sharing virtual content. People who may not have been able to attend an exhibit, a class or performance for a variety of reasons can now tune in with your organization from their homes. While we are saddened to think of all the in-person events we missed out on last year, we are excited to think about the opportunities that come along with learning about the world of digital content, and we think it will be in demand for years to come.
For some organizations, streaming or recording performances for online viewing seems like a daunting task. For many of our members it’s just not feasible to invest in the technology or man power required to produce high-quality streaming content to rival the video content that can already be found on Netflix, or other similar platforms. Fortunately, you don’t need fancy Audio/Visual equipment or editing whizzes in order to produce great content. Most organizations can get by using basic iphone cameras, or webcams, and some sort of video sharing platform like Youtube or Facebook. The following are just a few examples of innovative ways that our members are sharing content, and proof that you don’t need anything but basic equipment and a little creativity to make something amazing.
Bedford County Players: Macbeth
In October, with the help of Misfit Toys Industries and Embassy Theatre, the Bedford County Players produced an Annotated live stream of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The three hour performance was done all via a web conferencing platform and then streamed to Facebook live. This kind of performance can be simple and inexpensive because actors do not all have to be in the same room, and most web conferencing softwares have the ability to livestream to Facebook and Youtube. Check out the performance here.
Community Arts Center of Cambria County: Exhibit Walk-through
The Community Arts Center of Cambria County recently opened a new exhibit available for in-person viewing called “Heroes and Villains, the Art of Koa Beam.” In conjunction with their in-person exhibit, the center published a video on their Youtube Channel for people at home to see a tour of the exhibit done by the artist. Check it out here.
DuBois Area Council on the Arts: Poetry Project
The DuBois Area Council on the Arts has been hosting a “Poetry Project.” They are sharing videos of local actresses reading out poems to their website. You can see these videos here.
Altoona Community Theatre: Webinar Discussions
The Altoona Community Theatre has also been busy hosting all sorts of online events and posting digital content. The theatre has hosted webinars over zoom, book clubs and even Improv nights. Check out their most recent newsletter to read about a recent webinar about famous acting techniques and their teachers.
Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts
Creating virtual content can be as simple as posting activities on your website, or hosting DIYs. The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts has an entire page on their website devoted to at-home activities for children and families. Check out their resources here.
The Mishler Theatre
The Mishler Theatre posted quite a lot of video content towards the start of the pandemic. They had two weekly series. One was called “Wet Your Willy Wednesdays” that featured the Mishler bartender walking through how to make various drinks. You can watch an example of this here. The other regular series that they had was called “Techie Tuesday” in which the audience would get a sneak peak at what goes on behind the scenes. This example features a walk through of how a lighting design is created.
Johnstown Symphony Orchestra
The Johnstown Symphony Orchestra has hosted a plethora of online events, including a series of fundraisers called “Lifting Spirits.” This series allowed viewers to purchase tickets that come with a bottle of wine. The event then included opportunities to learn about the wine and discuss. See the Facebook event for the most recent session here.
What can we learn?
We hope that you can all learn from each other and from these examples that creating virtual content does not have to be intimidating. Organizations of all sizes and resource constraints have been able to keep their audiences engaged by being creative and producing great content. The methods of production can be as simple as recording a short video on an iphone and posting on social media, to putting together zoom performances and live streaming online. The events can be free with suggested donations or require purchased tickets. Content can even be used to drum up excitement for reopening in-person. The possibilities are endless and we are excited to see what you all have in store!