WMCF’s Ben Becs talks about the thrill of capturing those special moments on video

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

Bujar Sadiku encourages anyone with an interest in TV to produce a show

Bujar Sadiku covers an outdoor concert in Janesville, Music at the Marv, for JATV.

Our Producer of the Month is a staff producer from JATV in Janesville – Bujar Sadiku.

Sadiku has been with Janesville JATV for several years. He enjoys the opportunity to work on a variety of community-oriented programs including city meetings and staff training videos for the City of Janesville and the Hedberg Public Library, as well as shows for community organizations like the Janesville Performing Arts Center, the Janesville Art League and JM4C (Janesville Mobilizing 4 Change). 

Sadiku says the tech world has always interested him: “I have always been interested in technology and computers.  I started out doing freelance work in graphic and web design and as a computer repair technician, which I enjoyed.  When I moved to Wisconsin, I went to MATC in Milwaukee for Web Design and added a second major of Visual Communications/Computer Graphics.  The opening at JATV was a great opportunity for me to use all these skills.  I started as ‘Production Assistant’ and then was promoted to ‘Media Producer.’”

Sadiku encourages anyone interested in television to get involved in their local channel. “Yes, I would like to encourage others to produce shows because it is fun and informative.  It is definitely not boring!  I am always meeting new people and learning new things.  There is also a lot of variety in this job--from setting up and testing equipment, to recording and editing, to the creativity of putting it all together into the final product.  Every step of the process is different and rewarding.”