Crew Call In Westport

“On their very first day, I will have them do something meaningful,” said David Bibbey, the media producer for Verso Studios at the Westport Library. The Crew Call program is a truly unique opportunity where community members can partake in production and live performance coverage. Being a part of the Crew Call program makes you more than a “volunteer” because of the hands-on learning opportunity and community use of AV equipment.

Recently, four productions from the Crew Call program were honored with Telly Awards! The Telly Awards honor excellence in media across all varieties of screens. Three silver trophies were earned for “Read To Grow:25 years of building literacy from birth,” “The Westport Library Medical Series,” and “The Night a Library got Stoned.” One bronze was earned for “BOOKED for the evening with Billie Jean King.” These programs were in the general-student category.

This program allows anybody, with or without experience, to start getting handson experience with professional equipment. David states, “They’re getting training. They’re being trained on how to use equipment and you’re basically getting people to work these events as they’re learning.” Despite some Crew Call members not having much or any experience prior to partaking in the program, the productions made have still had a large community impact. One of these productions, “Read To Grow:25 years of building literacy from birth,” was about how the mission of libraries is literacy.

Crew Call had the opportunity to work with Read To Grow, which promotes childhood literacy. David Bibbey and Read To Grow agreed to produce a video for them for a lower rate as a part of a Crew Call training exercise. What is very interesting about the production of the Read To Grow video was that most of it was shot on an iPhone! David plans on using the video as an instructional example for future Crew Call members.

The final product that the Crew Call program produced was an award-winning video that highlights the significance of early childhood literacy. “We threw everything at it,” David said about how he and the Crew Call members felt about the video they produced. The video was shown at the gala held by Read To Grow at the Westport Library. The Crew Call program has proven itself as a successful learning opportunity for community members to take part in meaningful projects that allow for hands-on learning.