Vidwest Studios began their year-long outreach campaign on Monday, Oct. 6 at the Columbia City Council meeting.
After the city of Columbia announced their 2026 budget may stop funding community media, Vidwest Studios and their supporters decided to advocate for themselves.
Vidwest Studios is a community media center and a non-profit organization that provides affordable access to equipment, studio space and training. Similar to a library, they are a public accommodation company.
Matthew Schacht, Vidwest’s founder and general manager, spoke at the City Council meeting where he presented a slideshow about all Vidwest Studios has done for Columbia.
He went on to ask attendees of the meeting to rise if they were here for Vidwest Studios. About 30 of the 50 attendees rose in support.
Since Vidwest Studios is a non-profit, the funding they currently receive from the city helps them pay for rent, insurance and contractors. Without it, they face the possibility of shutting down.
Schacht believes Vidwest Studios is an asset to the Columbia community and benefits the community’s artistic needs.
“There are some people who are looking for community, so they’re looking for a place to meet up in person and do things,” Schacht said. “We have professionals who are working and earning their living as freelancers and they find that our services are very affordable and support their work so they can make a livelihood.”
One of the reasons Schacht and his team called for an advocacy campaign is to inform more people about what Vidwest Studios is and who it affects.
“I don’t think the City Council knows how many people are involved with Vidwest,” Schacht said. “I don’t think any of them have ever even been to the studio. So our goal is to show them the groundswell of support for it and then introduce ourselves, and then let them know this is the beginning of a year’s campaign.”
Vidwest Studios’ membership has increased to 240 people as of September 2025. Individual members pay an annual fee of $75 and students, seniors and military members pay $35 per year.
However, Vidwest benefits not only members, but also the greater Columbia community. Projects created by members can involve many others, especially when dealing with filming or shooting projects.
Schacht explains how one person’s membership could represent a dozen or more people that are getting involved with Vidwest Studios.
“Let’s say you’re a photographer and you want to do a shoot with your whole sorority, you can bring in 20 girls in here and all of those people are getting to benefit from the space and that’s from one membership,” Schacht said.
One member, Chloe Jackson, is a film production major and is involved in a University of Missouri filmmaking club, Shot Reverse Shot. This club frequently uses equipment from Vidwest Studios for their projects.
“Without Vidwest we wouldn’t be able to have our club at all,” Jackson said. “We wouldn’t be able to film anything or find any type of equipment because filmmaking equipment is really expensive, and it’s really hard for poor students or even just poor community members to get access to those resources without a place like Vidwest.”
Jackson was also in attendance at the City Council meeting. She is proud to advocate for Vidwest Studios because without it, she believes there will be lack of diversity in the film community, as people will lose access to the types of equipment Vidwest offers.
Similarly, Schacht is prepared to advocate the best he can for Vidwest Studios. However, he understands that sometimes the City Council leaders have to make difficult decisions.
While this is only the beginning of the campaign, Schacht urges people to get involved by going to City Council meetings, visiting the Vidwest Studios website or utilizing the equipment at Vidwest Studios.
“We live in exciting times and if you feel like you were meant to be a creator, follow that impulse and we’re here to help you if that’s your goal,” Schacht said.
