October’s Producer of the Month currently is playing a dual role. Max Alexander is a Communication Assistant for the City of Watertown and the Station Manager of WDEE for the Village of Deerfield, a small community in eastern Dane County.

Alexander has been with Watertown for many years, starting as a volunteer under Director Jill Nadeau and later working with Directors Karen Huisman, Lisa Famularo, and now Shea Harrod. He was hired on the recommendation of Jim Mead, the Director of UW-Whitewater’s educational access channel, UWW-TV, under whom Alexander studied while taking courses in the Electronic Media Department.

Alexander is pleased that several productions he worked on won awards at the 2023 Best of the Midwest Media Fest, which is sponsored by Wisconsin Community Media. “Carol's Kitchen received an Achievement Award (silver), and I served as an editor and camera assistant on that one. I served in the same roles on Kraig Biefeld Retirement Ceremony, which also won an Achievement Award (silver). The City of Watertown Holiday PSA was a Merit Award (bronze) winner, but my only role there was acting as The Grinch.” Alexander explained that one of the productions receiving a Merit Award was one that he produced, edited, and shot himself. “The Defense Mechanism 2.0 PSA was a production of my very own.”

Alexander’s advice on videomaking is follow your dreams and don’t let anyone get in your way: “My advice on how to make better videos is to not let anyone stand in the way of your dream videos; ask peers for review; if you need graphics, make sure they are alive and lively (animating, stylized, etc.). Find background music that matches the mood you are looking for. Take a look at videos [you’ve previously done] and look for opportunities for improvement and what was good already. Make sure you can watch your own video and enjoy it and think about the greatest movies and shows of all time from camera shots to opening sequences, and try to imitate them, but aim to be original.”

Enjoy this brief feature about the Deerfield Farmer’s Market that Max Alexander produced last year.