The human body uses its nervous system to send messages all throughout the body, connecting everything while simultaneously allowing us to take in our surroundings. Video production can often have the same effect, uniquely bringing groups of people together to work toward a common goal.

Adam Ford first realized his love for production with a school neurology assignment in his senior year. He worked with a friend who was a music producer to make a song about neurons. That inspired him to continue to delve into music as a passion, even using programs as simple as iMovie to mix sound.

Years later, as a junior Communications and Accounting major at UMass Amherst, Ford has since produced three full-length albums (left below), with two currently released (right below).

“I still enjoy making music but I like to have a lot of friends involved with it if possible,” said Ford. “That’s kind of resulted in making music videos with a lot of friends. Saturday, I made a music video with some of my friends in a parking lot nearby. It was cool having my college friends there, my hometown friends, and combining everyone to do a fun activity.”

This combination of fun and work is something Ford continues to want to strive toward in his use of media going forward.

Ford first got his start at Acton TV, a local access television station in his hometown. He was initially recommended by a teacher in one of his radio classes to volunteer at Acton TV. He found video production to be his favorite form of media over time whether it was short films or music videos being produced. He would continue to volunteer at Acton TV throughout high school before eventually taking an opportunity at Urban Media Arts.

Urban Media Arts

He could tell from the jump how warm and welcoming the environment was at UMA. The friendly work atmosphere helped Ford open up about his ideas and feel more open with seeking guidance when he saw fit.

“It was very refreshing because I’ve done a couple of interviews with other companies at that point and they were very serious.”

UMA also helped Ford have the opportunity to pursue local access television remotely, a unique offer. He had enjoyed working with social media and video editing beforehand, so the opportunity was a perfect fit.

Local access has always been something that Ford has enjoyed. He loves how local television helps give people opportunities to make things for their portfolio or produce something that they can show their families. It also allows anyone to participate, whether it be helping out with the production or being interviewed.

“The fact that I was able to be at Urban Media Arts and the stuff that I was helping making and helping them make was immediately getting published, immediately being on the pages, that was a breath of fresh air and continued my enjoyment of public access TV that I had for so many years with my hometown one,” said Ford.

One of the accomplishments Ford is most proud of during his time at UMA is his Malden Seal Rededication promotion video. Seeing how many people shared it and enjoyed the video gave him a great sense of pride.

Ford’s rededication promotional video ended up reaching a variety of Malden residents and was shared multiple times.

“Adam, you’ve done so much to beef up our social media and teach us how to use our YouTube page and direct users to the Urban Media Arts page,” said Amanda Hurley, the Educational Access Coordinator at UMA. “You’ve made some wonderful videos and are just a delight to work with.”

Additionally, Ford helped market and collect videos for Malden’s porchfest event. In order to promote the event, Ford fused footage from eventual bands at the event with informational graphics. In order to collect footage from the event, he created an instructions page with an FAQ to make uploading videos easier.

Ford also wanted to ensure Porchfest was presented aesthetically. He wanted to make sure horizontally recorded and vertically recorded videos were assigned appropriately depending on the platform. He came up with ideal ways to design web pages related to Porchfest and analyzed how the promos were performing in general. This was just one example of how Ford was able to use his knowledge of social media to better promote events during his time at UMA.

“The presentation you gave on YouTube and how to use the premiere feature,” said Terlonzo Amos, the Director of Operations at UMA. “The way you conducted the meeting and all that stuff was clear. It helped us that when folks asked questions that you had answers. The calm demeanor that you were sitting there, giving a presentation to a screen full of oldheads, that was good.”

Going forward, Ford hopes to continue with video production. Ford recently assisted on a project that honored a former UMass Amherst graduate who is currently a climate change activist, mainly helping film an in-depth interview and a roundtable discussion between other activists. He also remains passionate about local access television and keeping it afloat.

“I am really hopeful for a lot of volunteers or people interested in cable access to continue their involvement with those productions,” said Ford. “They really rely on the efforts of volunteers to keep them going.”

Whatever Ford’s next project will be, his support and knowledge will definitely come in Large Amounts.