Greg Van Antwerp
Hi! I’m Greg, the staff supervisor here at CTV-21. In this section of the website we are all revealing some of our own personal history in this behind-the-scenes look at your local channel. Here is my story…
I've always had a strong interest in electonics. In high school I enrolled in my local cable company’s community access workshop. For three nights we learned the ins and outs of becoming local producers. The studio and portable equipment was much larger and difficult to lug around than it is today. I was fascinated by the opportunity to be able to take equipment out, and for no charge, create something that could air on TV.
This involvement steered me towards a degree in broadcasting. I felt strongly about the art of capturing the moving image and the equipment requiired to do it. After completing a four-year degree in Broadcasting at Buffalo State College, Connecticut is where I began my search for work. Free-lancing at local production companies, Comcast in Danbury, and here, back when it was called New Milford Cablevision, kept my foot in the door. I did a lot of different things in the field to try and make sense of the changing technology and various production styles. I worked full time restoring old movies and transferring them to videotape and on the weekends worked as a 35mm projectionist at a local theater chain. I got involved in film production in the local area and edited a "rough cut" of an independent horror film “Killer Dead”. I spent 2 months editing this film and felt I was getting frontline experience. I recieved closure (in lieu of money) when the film was finally sold to a Pakistani distributor. “Killer Dead” the story of the dead awakened by aliens was renamed to fit the distributor’s language and marketing barriers. My debut as a fledgling film editor was re-titled, “Non Vegetarian Zombies from Outer Space” (I still have the poster). This was a valuable lesson, however, and I will always be able to look back and draw from the experience.
I had been free-lancing as a production assistant when, in 1991, New Milford Cablevision offered me a full-time job as Local Access Coordinator . I accepted. I am still here today due to the people and technology, they are both unique and interesting, never dull. Through the generous enthusiasm of Charter to maintain Community Access as something real, we are able to invite more and more people from the community to enjoy the opportunity that today is CommuniTyVision 21. We have moderized the equipment and continue to encourage everyone, no matter what experience level, to come and take advantage of what we have to offer.
