Special to the Daily News

Doug Mills will be reconnecting with his roots this fall.

The acclaimed videographer whose images have embellished The Heartland Series for 23 years will teach a videography class (VCM 240) each Saturday at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. The 15-week class will beginning Aug. 18, and will be held from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on the SKCTC’s Cumberland campus in the school’s broadcast center located in Falkenstine Hall.

A native of Harlan County, Ky., Mills, 54, grew up in the coal mining community of Kitts on the banks of the Clover Fork of the Cumberland River. His fascination with photography and an artistic flair of recording images of his home, family, friends and of his mountain surroundings sparked an interest in video. So, after a hitch in the U.S. Army and graduation from the University of Kentucky, he leaped head-long into the medium.

Over the ensuing decades, he has developed a body of work which has been enjoyed, savored and viewed by hundreds of thousands of people who each week tune in to Knoxville’s WBIR-TV to watch the latest episode of The Heartland Series — a program which focuses primarily on issues and the lore of Appalachia.

The show’s mission is to perpetuate and preserve the folklore and traditions of the region with diverse programming. In the past this has included features on the Great Smokey Mountains, the Big South Fork, pollution, mining, farming, the reintroduction of elk and wolves into the region as well as numerous dramatic vignettes which reflect on the lives and experiences of those living in the region.

Mills and Heartland front-man Bill Landry have been paired since 1984. With the other members of the production staff they have enjoyed the good fortune to have garnered three regional Emmy Awards, in addition to winning the Iris Award given by the National Association of Television Executives.

Mills’ work in video has also won awards at the prestigious New York Film Festival. Recently, complete sets of The Heartland Series were placed in United States embassies around the world where residents in those cities and countries can have the opportunity to view segments of the series in order to learn more about the rich and vibrant culture of the Appalachian Mountains, specifically the areas of East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Southeast Kentucky.

When approached earlier this year by Dr. Bruce Ayers, president of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, who has long admired Mills’ work, the idea of his teaching a class for the fall 2007 semester took hold.

“We are excited to have Doug Mills return home this fall to present this exciting class where students will have the rare chance to study under a master of the art form,” he said. “I certainly hope that members of our community respond favorably and enroll in what is certain to be a wonderful experience.” Ayers stressed that the class is open to anyone.

Mills noted that the class would meet each week during the fall term and several local field trips have been planned. Assignments will be made each week and students will not only be able to capture video images but digital images as well. The basics of editing will also be taught utilizing the SKCTC broadcast center which came on line 10 years ago and is the home of Southeast TV, a community-access channel that beams into hundreds of households in the Tri-City area of Harlan County.

Mills suggests students who enroll have access to a digital camera and a video camera. The college also has several high-quality video cameras of which students will have access during class time each Saturday.

“I am happy to be able to teach the videography class,” said Mills. “Together, we will work to record images of our surroundings here in the area, and I encourage the students to be enthusiastic about being able to capture scenes and lasting images of their homes, loved ones and of these ageless mountains and the rich and beautiful scenery which makes this place we call our home one of the most beautiful and diverse places on Earth.”

Special enrollment sessions for VCM-240 (Videography) will be held Saturday, August 11 and 18 from 10 a.m. until noon in the lobby of Newman Hall on the Cumberland campus. The class is for three credits and will be offered at a cost of $115 per credit hour. The first session will be on the 18th.

For additional information, contact the Registrar’s Office at Southeast, 606-589-3015, or the office of the Academic Dean 606-589-3027, or the office of Public Relations 606-589-3003.