Sound Devices Helps Students Learn TV Production

The Production Farm, a Wisconsin-based educational studio centered around youth in foster care, uses PIX 220 video recorder to assist in local television project.

GREEN BAY, WI, August 17, 2016 — When Wyatt and Carolyn Kuether made the decision to move back to their native Wisconsin after ten successful years in New York City’s television, film, and stage world, it raised some eyebrows. For the Kuethers, it was a decision to shift their focus and give back to those who need it most. Building on the industry experience they learned over the past decade, they formed The Production Farm, an educational studio dedicated to empowering youth, particularly those in foster care, through the art of independent filmmaking.

The Production Farm gives its at-risk students the chance to explore video production, a field to which not many are exposed, as well as a safe creative outlet in which to do it. The school’s unique curriculum blends lessons in filmmaking with exposure to the fundamentals of farm life, from gardening and animal care to community outreach. The Kuethers firmly believe these essential life skills help teens in the foster care system better grow into “innovative, healthy, responsible adults.”

“As an actor in New York City, I always knew Sound Devices as the rock stars of the audio recording world,” says Wyatt Kuether. “When we were in need of some video production tools, I knew that its Video Devices brand was worth exploring, especially since they are also based here in Wisconsin. The PIX 220 portable audio/video recorder was the perfect match.”

For The Production Farm’s first project, The Urban Production Farm, 15 students were selected to produce a 15-episode television program on how to create a rooftop garden. The series will appear online as well as be broadcast on various local public-access television channels.

“The students are collaborating and working together to create this series,” says Wyatt Kuether. “Each student is learning all of the different aspects of television production, as well as the whole gardening process, from designing to planting. We firmly believe that knowing something about every department and getting hands-on experience in every area makes somebody a well-rounded professional. Each of the 15 students are taking turns directing an episode of the television show, doing all of the editing and creating the score, etc. We want them to know that they created this thing entirely from their minds and hands.”

In order to shoot the series, the students learned to use a Canon EOS Rebel T3i DSLR camera with the camera-mounted PIX 220 recorder. “The students love the PIX 220,” adds Wyatt Kuether. “The monitor is amazing. The students thought it was cool, and having everything on the monitor is excellent. There are so many things the PIX 220 can do, and the students really took interest in finding out all of its capabilities and functions. Recording through the PIX 220, we have one giant file that can be set up quickly. If footage gets lost on one of the other cameras, we have a consistent shot that’s already there. The PIX 220 is such a cool piece of technology, and it’s been amazing to use. We also picked up the PIX Caddy, which has been extremely convenient and fast. We cannot thank Sound Devices enough for their support.”

While the PIX 220 is still supported by Sound Devices and used in many production applications worldwide, it is no longer available for purchase. Video Devices PIX 240i camera-mounted video/audio recorder as well as its new PIX-E Series recording monitors are the latest and greatest solutions that fulfill this need.

For more information on The Production Farm or how to donate and get more involved, visit theproductionfarm.org.