Lights, Camera, Bellingham
Behind the scenes of public access TV
STORY BY KATIE HEATH | PHOTOS BY TOMMY CALDERON
(above) Douglass Ogg poses for this photo illustration in Whatcom Falls Park, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015. He produces videos, directs and stars in the films he makes. When it comes to making his videos he is the Jack of all trades.
The video opens with melodic, haunting music. It fades to black and the title, “Proof of Jesus” displays across the screen. Then it cuts to a man in a cowboy hat sitting in front of a camera, and he begins to speak. “Hello. I’m Pat Rogerson. And I’m here to present the first actual photographic proof, actually video of Jesus.”
The man in the cowboy hat is Bellingham resident Douglas Ogg, 54, and the video is one of the many he submitted to Access Bellingham, Bellingham’s public access channel. “Proof of Jesus” is a satirical look at one man’s encounter with Jesus. Other videos from Ogg include “Imagination,” a film about the creative process and “The Shopper,” which takes place in an empty Target parking lot.
Ogg, an instructor at Whatcom Community College, is one of the few people who have submitted videos to Access Bellingham, a program on BTV10, the city’s public access channel that brings six hours of community-created content to television every Sunday.
It’s a place where people can create their own video, their own art and it’s shown,” says Brian Heinrich, the deputy administrator to the city, who is involved in Access Bellingham’s implementation.
In July, the City Council approved the one-year pilot project, and in late September videos were able to be submitted.
Ogg saw public access as a way to showcase the short films he had been making.
“I think it enriches the community when people look around and say gosh these are our neighbors that are producing these things,” he says.
Ogg has been interested in movies long before he began making them. Growing up, his family would take trips to famous movie locations around their home in the Bay Area. They Traveled to Bodega Bay to see where Alfred Hitchcock filmed “The Birds,” to San Francisco to see where he filmed “Vertigo,” and even a section of highway where “Psycho” was shot. Ogg would then grab the family’s Super 8 video camera and make his own movies.
It wasn’t until recent years, when the cost of filming began to drop, that Ogg found his way back to the camera. Suddenly, he could use royalty free music to score his films. Suddenly, he could edit them on his own computer. Suddenly, he was able to see his visions come alive.
While Ogg’s submissions have filled some time, Heinrich admits that the push to get more of the community submissions has not been easy.
“Right now we only have about 20 videos, which doesn’t fill the entire six hours like we had hoped,” he says. Other videos include a tour of Bellingham and its many “quirks,” and one simply titled “Rodney Raccoon Goes Green.”
While the project is only set for one year, They will evaluate it and the city council will decide the future of Access Bellingham, Heinrich says
Ogg isn’t phased by the slow start of Access Bellingham. He continues to produce, write and act in his own short films, rarely needing a second hand to help him. If “Proof of Jesus” is any indication, Access Bellingham will see many more Douglas Ogg originals.