Selectmen Meetings Receive Camera Upgrade

has been broadcasting meetings from , Room 9, for decades. They’ll continue to provide government access, but starting soon the broadcast will have a serious upgrade.

WCTV ordered a new set of cameras that should be installed at some point this week, providing viewers different angles while helping ease the set up time for local cameramen.

The cameras will be permanently mounted onto the walls in the room and operated remotely from a nearby control panel.

“We wanted to do something for the community, and the first thing that came to mind was improving the equipment we have in Room 9,” said WCTV Executive Director Sandra Curtin. “It’s going to be much easier to set up. (Cameramen) will be able to just walk in, turn everything on, and shoot.”

Curtin said there will be a camera that can shoot the audience, one focused on board members, and another that can focus on guests who are speaking to the board during meetings.

When selectmen are having a back and forth discussion, producers will be able to set up a picture-in-picture shot so they don’t have to move the camera back and forth between subjects.

Town Manager Michael Caira said that WCTV’s presence as Board of Selectmen meetings is critical in helping keep residents involved in what’s going on in Wilmington.

“It’s especially helpful in terms of government transparency,” said Caira. “It allows residents to really get a flavor of the meeting, and that’s certainly important. The improvement with the cameras will really let people better visualize what’s happening in the room.”

Curtin said there will also be a slight improvement of the audio levels on the broadcast thanks to the improved cameras in addition to better picture quality.

“We’re really thrilled,” said Curtin. “The program will look better and participants will feel better about the program because they’ll see how good it looks and sounds. We’ve always been able to bring coverage of meetings, but now we’ll have a better delivery than we have in the past.”