Ben Becs (foreground) works with Andrew Day on a project at the Village of McFarland's WMCF media center.

Our Producer of the Month for August is an employee of the Village of McFarland, who is working on a number of projects. Ben Becs has been with WMCF in McFarland for eight years in different roles starting as a volunteer in late 2015 and progressing to media producer earlier this year.

Becs says he became interested in video production during high school. “I was taking a video production class. We began to learn about live production in mainly sports and my teacher began to talk about a time he did cable wrapping for a camera at a Badger football game! I was so jealous that he had the opportunity to do that! I immediately wanted to do something similar in that moment! Eventually he brought up that McFarland Cable was looking for a volunteer to film their local football game. I needed to be there! I immediately went up to someone from the channel who went to school with me, and before I knew it, I was behind a camera that night filming a wide shot for McFarland’s High School football game. I was on cloud 9! I still think about the dopamine from that day, and I find serious motivation from it.”

Becs said that catching special moments is what most appeals to him in his current role. “The thrill of documenting moments in time! If it’s through live sports, it’s when you get that insane catch on camera, or when your camera is in the right place, and it gave some context on a really close moment! Times like that truly feel incredible!”

Becs also says whether you are just starting or have been in media production for a long time, don’t worry about making mistakes…as long as you learn from them. “Be open to making mistakes, but at the same time give it everything you have to make sure you don’t make them. If you don’t get a shot right or make a mistake editing, it’s okay. Learn from it but do your best to not repeat it! Also, I’d say that you need to be patient. Your skillset will take time to grow; it’s not an overnight thing!”

- James Wyngaard

Carol Ruffin hosts Carol’s Kitchen from the Watertown TV studios.

When the conversation about new programming came up in a Watertown Cable Commission meeting several years ago, Carol Ruffin already had the idea brewing in her head for Carol’s Kitchen. Who doesn’t love music, food, and a good story? Carol wanted to combine these elements into a monthly show for the residents of Watertown. Each episode of Carol’s Kitchen treats viewers to new recipes, original storytelling, and performances by musicians from the Watertown area.

In the beginning, Carol had to rise to meet some challenges. Most notably, there was no kitchen in the studios at Watertown TV. Carol considered using the kitchen at her church, but instead decided to create the show in her home since she had an open concept kitchen. This worked in the beginning, but to decrease production time she started to record episodes at the Watertown TV studios. While there is still no kitchen, Carol creatively uses a toaster oven, microwave, tabletop grill, and a hot plate to whip up delicious delights on air for her musical guests (and the Watertown TV staff) to enjoy in the closing of the show. Over the years she has collected set pieces, a large sign, and even a piano (later a Clavinova) for the studio to lend her show the comfortable feel of being invited into Carol’s home for an afternoon visit.

It is no surprise that Carol chose to incorporate song, stories, and cooking into a show. These things have always been a part of her world. A Watertown native, she participated in band, orchestra, chorus, and forensics (specifically in storytelling) in high school. Later, she attended college and grad school and earned a Master of Fine Arts in interpretive speech and vocal performance. In addition, Carol loves cooking and learned to cook at an early age, even cooking for her family for an entire summer while her mother recovered from a military service-related injury. In those days, Carol recalls, “I experimented a lot and it didn’t always turn out!” However, she quickly learned the basic concepts behind cooking and baking.

Today, Carol teaches at Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown. It is not unusual for Carol to invite music students from her classes to guest star on the show—often before or after their recitals. This provides a wonderful opportunity for them to refine their performance skills. Carol is also the music director at Fellowship Baptist Church in Watertown and the president for the Euterpe Music Club, a 125-year-old music and fine arts club in Watertown. You can see she is in a great position to recruit musical guests!

“For me, all in all, producing the show has been a real positive experience. I have encountered much encouragement and cooperation from the staff at Watertown TV, and it feels like it really is a team effort. I am very thankful for the crew who puts it all together each month” says Carol.

Carol’s Kitchen is available on Watertown TV Channel 984 and on the City of Watertown YouTube channel.