Cody Mitchell is kind of a one-man show.

After holding down the fort at Boothbay Region Community Television for a few years, first with Jonne Trees, then with Trees and Ryan Leighton, Mitchell has taken over the helm.

Trees left a few months ago, and Leighton began his new position as marketing director for the Maine Arts Commission in Augusta on Jan. 4.

Now Mitchell is running the show. At the tender age of 21 (22 in February) he is the new BRCTV station manager.

Mitchell has been a freelance cinematographer for 10 years — since he was 11. “Instead of hanging out playing video games this is what I did,” he said. Though he didn't attend college, he did take workshops at Maine Media in Rockport. “It was incredible. That's not textbook knowledge. It's hands-on knowledge. The first day there I was handed a $250,000 film camera and told to do something with it.”

At the studio on the second floor of the YMCA building, he's putting that knowledge to good use, working seven days a week, sometimes in excess of 10 hours a day.

With Leighton gone, and the board of directors, except for President Tom Dewey, in transition, Mitchell is still enthusiastically optimistic about the future of the station. “We're rebuilding our board, bringing in some really passionate, committed local people,” he said.

The station is also hoping to attract non-local volunteers, or producers, as Mitchell prefers to call anyone willing to pitch in to help BRCTV not just survive, but thrive. He said its mission is to inspire people and bring national and international knowledge into the community. “This is an open-sourced creative studio,” he said. “Anybody can come in here and create whatever they want to — as long as it's not inappropriate. I want to bring in new producers and new shows.”

One new show that’s in the works is a live morning news show. Mitchell said the station will need volunteers to help create content for the news show, and he wants them to have fun doing it. He's also hoping to attract sponsorships to help with the financial aspects of the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

“I want to get into higher value productions. It's so affordable to have high-end equipment now. With a little bit of work and a little bit of sponsorship we can get the equipment we need, and a team of people to produce quality content.”

Mitchell is also passionate about making the studio an educational venue. “Ever since I started volunteering here around nine years ago I've wanted this space to become an educational institution for people of all ages and whatever genre of art they're into. I want to bring everyone's ideas together. I want to bring in people and teach them about any type of technology they want to learn, with the use of any, or all, of the equipment in the studio.”

He encourages anyone who has an interest in producing to come in and talk to him. “There's a large spectrum of work that's required to produce a show. You have to know how to write. You have to know how to connect with people. You have to know how to produce. One person can't make a show. You need a whole community to make a show.

Mitchell wants as many people as possible to become involved. If you want to learn how to make a video, need help with a new phone or laptop, want to learn the art of editing a video or how to take better pictures with a new camera, Mitchell said just go see him. “This is an open classroom. Not only would I love to help teach people these things, but anyone can come in and be a teacher.

“Whatever you want to do, we're open for business. The door is always open. And what a great place this is to breed professionals in art and media — in a small, humble community like this one. Every corner of this community is a beautiful sight. It's its own composition. This whole place is a painting. That's what’s great about growing up here and being passionate about film making — I don't really have to travel. I live in a beautiful place.”

BRCTV, or Channel 7, once only accessible through Time Warner Cable, is now available, free, to anyone with cable and a Roku or Apple TV. Mitchell has created a BRCTV app to download. Now a network, BRCTV can be viewed by virtually anyone with internet access.

Mitchell is young to be in charge of a television station, but don't let his age fool you. “When I was a kid, instead of hanging out at a playground I was working,” he said. “I was an introvert. I was working on learning about what I wanted to do with my life. I built tree houses with little wooden couches, and I'd hang out in my tree house and read, and dream about what I wanted to do. This is my life. This is what I want to do.”