Fix, Don’t Throw Away: An evening with the New York City Fixers Collective

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Got broken electronics, a shoe that needs mending, or maybe a mangled umbrella? Bring it to the NYC Fixers Collective, where they’ll help you fix your object.

The key phrase, of course, is “help you fix.” Rather than just serving as repairmen/repairwomen, the collective’s founders believe in empowering individuals to take ownership of their own objects, including the repair process, and they act more as technical experts and facilitators. This way, says master fixer John Murphy, “you have a relationship with the object beyond what you had originally. You know what’s inside, you know what pieces are in there, and you fix it.”

Once a month, you can bring your broken electronics, household goods, and even clothing, to the Proteus Gowanus gallery space in Brooklyn, where the fixers hold a three-hour fixing session. Payment is by donation; the fixers suggest a minimum of $5. The money covers the cost of supplies, but the fixers also eventually hope to rent their own space and expand the hours of operation.

Watch the video to hear some of the fixers describe why they do what they do, and watch some “fixees” talk about the experience of working with the fixers.

New York Fixers Collective – Medium Cut Version from Julian Dunn on Vimeo.

Syllabus Update: Raw Video & Script, Plus Thursday Guest

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Please be sure to bring all of your raw video material to the class on Thursday, preferably loaded into FinalCut. Also remember to prepare a draft script for your video piece in advance of class, for review during the session.

Guest video editor Sarah Foudy will be on hand to work with us during a two-plus hour video/FinalCut lab section, helping with FCP techniques and in advancing your video assignment. Sarah’s an award-winning producer for CUNY TV’s Spanish-language documentary magazine show Nueva NY, and a freelance documentary producer, as well as an adjunct professor at the school.

Syllabus Update: Prepping Your Pitches & Video Clips

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Folks – a couple of preparatory notes for tomorrow’s live newsroom simulation. And to make things all the more fun, we’ll be joined in the classroom by our very own Dean Shephard tomorrow, who’ll be observing the class throughout much of the afternoon.

1) To save time, make sure to be prepared with details of your best couple of multimedia clips. If I ask you the best soundbite, you’ll know it. If I ask you about the quality of the audio, you’ll be able to describe it. If I ask you whether the subject had a good anecdote, you’ll be able to cite it.

2) To avoid a bottleneck during the simulation, please make sure you know how to transcode your video from your smartphone to FinalCut. This is especially important for those of you with Android or other non-iPhone smartphones. Remember – It is your individual responsibility to know how your phone works. We just can’t provide tech support for the many models you all have.

If you’re not sure how to proceed, here’s one suggestion that may work for Android phones – try the process used for transferring from the school’s Canon 60D camera (link – see Step 3, transcoding using MPEG Streamclip). If you’re still stymied, check your phone manual or online site for how to transfer video material. Or check with your peers who may have had success with such a transfer!

Good luck gathering and preparing your clips. See you at 1pm sharp!