For months, election coverage had dominated the airwaves, but on this day, on this set, there was no mention of Barack Obama, no discussion of John McCain, no conversation about George Bush.
On this set — less than 15 hours after Obama had ridden his promise of change to the highest office in the land — musicians and local TV folks were the main attractions, and the words that mattered most were "stand by" and "focus."
It was showtime at Pittsfield Community Television, and it was time to get to work.
NORM!
And Bernie, Shawn, David, Ryan, Matt and Jody.
And me, from now on known as "Timmy" or "Camera 1."
I was joining the seven full-time employees at PCTV for a day, working as a cameraman for the "Acoustic Voices" show on Access Pittsfield, one of three channels in the PCTV family. Access Pittsfield is Channel 16, the Time Warner Cable dial spot that allows Joe Public to be a TV personality for a day.
The folks at PCTV were teaching me how to use a TV camera, and my assignment was to operate one of the three cameras devoted to taping local country/folk luminary Bobby Sweet and the B-Sweet Band for a show promoting the Giving Thanks benefit concert Nov. 22 at the First United Methodist Church on Fenn Street.
A worthy cause indeed. It was another
A sign on a filing cabinet in the office used by Executive Director Bernie Avalle and administrative assistant Jody Kordana says "Be nice or leave — Thank you."
It's one of the first signals that this place bucks the norm, that it is cozy, warm and friendly — the anti-corporation, if you will.
"We all let our personalities hang out. We're all human," Kordana said. "I've worked on the corporate end, and I've never experienced day-to-day office camaraderie like this. I have wonderful co-workers. I really feel like we're part of the community, offering an important service to people. The operations are done on a personal level, right in this office."
A nonprofit entity funded through a franchise agreement with the city of Pittsfield. A local staff. A board of directors at the community level. A PCTV all-time high of 17,643 hours of programming across three channels from September 2007 to September 2008. All in an effort to offer local shows to viewers in Pittsfield, Dalton and Richmond.
No commercials for dog food or sports drinks or the best medicine for high cholesterol. No bowing to the Nielsen gods. Instead, PCTV is held accountable to Federal Communications Commission rules governing public television.
Is this the last bastion of wholesomeness on TV?
"I feel good about it," Avalle said, "because it complements what our country is supposed to be about: to have freedom of speech by producing programming. We're here to assist people. We're reserving time on channels and providing access. There's no selfish goal. The only mandate we have is to be here so that they can come and use us."
An 8 1/2-by-11 piece of paper — white, with black type in italics — bears that out in the office of Shawn Serre, the coordinator of Pittsfield Educational Television, Channel 17. The remaining channel is CityLink, Channel 18, for government access.
"The whole concept is a somewhat radical, democratic vision — giving ordinary citizens access to the most persuasive communications medium that exists," reads the sign, quoting Ralph Engelman, professor of journalism at Long Island University's Brooklyn campus.
"We're not here for ratings or to impress people," Serre said. "We're here for the public."
Ah, the public — the people. Television for real people. Training for real people. Equipment for real people.
That's the real reality television, created in rooms covering every aspect of programming at PCTV.
Edit Suite 2 allows cut-and-paste electronic editing, digital non-linear editing, according to Avalle. It is here that PCTV folks can add multiple audio tracks, voice-overs and work with high-definition.
Edit Suite 1 is where the public can edit using Apple's Final Cut Pro software.
In the equipment storage room, one of the items you'll find is a Sony 3CCD Progressive Scan mini-DV camera VX2000.
At this point, my head is spinning with camera models and editing programs and a suite for this and a suite for that. There also are the more familiar items: headphones, regular microphones, wireless mikes, tripods and lighting kits.
"Tell us what you need; we got it," Avalle said.
Membership is required for direct use of PCTV's facilities and equipment via Access Pittsfield. An individual membership is $15 a year, and organizational memberships also are available, Avalle said. There is no charge for a member of the public to appear as a guest on a show on the channel; however, the person "making" the show has to be a member.
The more membership money that PCTV has, the more employees, equipment and better facilities that it can have, Avalle said.
After my tour of the editing suites, I arrive in the studio, the place where "Acoustic Voices" will be shot, the place where I will learn to be a cameraman. My mentors have their work cut out for them; I even avoid taking charge of the video camera at family functions.
I look around and see two American flags, energy-efficient lighting and three cameras. On this day, I'll be Camera 1.
Norm Schaffer, Access Pittsfield's coordinator, mans the control room. ("In this room, talking to yourself is a prerequisite," Avalle says.) Schaffer will give orders to the three cameramen shooting Bobby Sweet's band.
"I'll tell you what to do, and you do it," Schaffer says.
"So I can't just do what I want?" I answer.
The reply was no.
OK. Just follow directions, I say to myself. I can do that.
I think.
I've met the B-Sweet Band — Bobby, from the town of Washington, on guitar and vocals, Pete Adams of Otis on pedal steel guitar, Bruce Mandel of Otis on bass, and Rick Leab of Stephentown, N.Y., on drums — so it won't be long until we begin taping the show.
"Everyone here is great to work with. They do a good job in a relaxed atmosphere," says Sweet, 44, a professional musician whose most recent album, "Days Roll By," came out in June of last year.
The program I'm a part of is a promotional tool for the Giving Thanks concert, a fund-raiser for the Berkshire Community Action Council, which helps low-income families in the Berkshires. (The Nov. 22 concert will begin at 7 p.m.)
With my anxiety building, Ryan Cowdrey, a production technician, gives me a quick primer.
"You use this to zoom and this to focus," he says, pointing to controls that look like handles on a motorcycle.
I'm told that Schaffer will just edit out my bad shots. Thank goodness. The pressure is off somewhat.
Now we're ready.
"Stand by, Camera 1," he says.
Headset? Check.
Microphone on? Check.
Camera on and pointed toward the musicians? Check.
My semi-new bifocals adjusted so that I can actually see? Check.
I zoom in on Sweet, switch my camera to Adams, am directed to move in on his hands, and then am told to get a wider shot of the band. The red light on my camera comes on, meaning my shot is the one being used.
And so it goes. Zoom in, zoom out, focus, listen, talk a little, listen some more.
At break time, Sweet glances my way and offers the following words: "How is it so far? Like watching paint dry, right?"
Nope. Kinda fun, actually.
Still, my work behind the camera was tiring — too much time on my feet. But I'd get an energy boost by exacting my revenge on Schaffer.
Our Eagle photographer, Darren Vanden Berge, was at PCTV to take pictures for today's newspaper and Web site, and I'd have a chance to boss Schaffer around for the shoot in the lobby.
So I followed the gang and resumed my role as newspaper editor.
"Norm, move to the left. Norm, move to the right," I said, smiling.
"I'll get back at you, Timmy," he replied.
He was right, of course. He bossed me around once we got back to the studio. But he also had kind words.
"Nice shot," he said a couple of times, giving me a warm feeling. "Thanks," I said, the word audible to no one but me.
We finished about two hours after we started. Schaffer said anywhere from "a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand" viewers would see my work — rather, our work — after it was edited and put on television. The editing process would take three hours. He predicted that of the hundreds of camera angles that would comprise the seven-song show, 30 or so would be mine.
In other words, they were being selective with my work. Sounded good to me, since I'd be happy to have any of my shots used.
I saw the proof of my involvement during the editing process as my name rolled up on the credits at the end of the show. The program the public sees will run 33 minutes and 33 seconds, but the production itself was a full day's work.
The highlight of Sweet's performance was "On The Wings of Yesterday," a song the musician wrote for an episode of the CBS soap opera "The Young and the Restless."
"That song is really getting a lot of people," Sweet said. "It has become one of my favorites to perform."
The song had an interesting birth. Sweet is an artist for the Heavy Hitters Music Group, a California-based company that provides music to the film, television and advertising industries.
Cindy Badell-Slaughter, president of the company, said the producers of "The Young and the Restless" asked her for a poignant scene in which primary character Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) says goodbye to the house he grew up in.
Badell-Slaughter said she had a pool of "hundreds" of artists, narrowed it to four, and Sweet delivered the best song, within 48 hours of her request.
"I know his voice. I know his style. I had the idea of the song in my head," she said. "I needed it to be male, but not whiny male. I wanted it to be a very strong ballad."
"He exceeded my expectations with this song. It was the perfect song."
Badell-Slaughter said there was a positive response from the public for the song, which got about two minutes of play on television. The full version of "On The Wings of Yesterday" is 4:13.
"There was a lot of, 'What is this song, what is this song?' afterward," she said.
Viewers probably will ask that tonight when they watch Sweet's performance on PCTV. "Yesterday" is the opening piece.
When you watch it, allow yourself to be absorbed in all of the song's glory. When I watch it, I'll enjoy the harmonious melodies, but I'll also think about producers and headsets and red lights and zooms and Camera 1.
Just another moment in time at PCTV.
To reach Tim Farkas: (413) 496-6205; tfarkas@berkshireeagle.com.
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