November 15, 2000
Lights, camera, action
Production company forms around public access television
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Lights, camera, action!
Anyone aspiring to bring a slice of Hollywood to Traverse City is invited to join a new production group forming around public access television. The inaugural meeting of the as yet unnamed production company was held Thursday evening at the tctv2 studios. The meeting drew seven interested participants, not counting a handful of calls from people who couldn't attend that first meeting.
For organizer Dale Cobb, a certified tctv2 producer for two years, this interest shows that the community is ready for some quality, locally produced entertainment -Traverse City style.
"We have a lot of talent in this community," Cobb said. "We want to use this production company to showcase our area and our people. We want to put together a group of people with a multitude of talents who can work together on productions."
Cobb envisions the production company creating more than just shows covering political events or special interest projects, which are currently the backbone of tctv2 programming. Instead, this group will produce anything from comedies to musicals to documentaries, perhaps even a Traverse City mystery series. The group also talked about producing an ongoing variety show or a program featuring area bands.
Cobb is working with an area Screenwriter's Group to drum up some scripts for future shows. He is actively searching for ideas and hopes to get a finished script for the group to tackle as their first project, a way to get the group up and running.
"A lady called me today with a comedy script about bathrooms, which could be done into a small 15-minute skit," Cobb said. "Or there's someone in the screenwriter's group who writes musicals, we could do one of those."
After choosing a script, the company will pull together a variety of talents and interests to create the show. Once this first program is aired and word gets out about the company, Cobb believes the possibilities will be infinite.
"We want to do something like the playhouse, where we have people to do lighting, scripts, production, acting, music," he noted. "We will start with a pilot and see if the interest is there."
The interest is high among the inaugural members of the production company. Dick Nottage of Kingsley has wanted to see a wider variety of public access programming since he became a certified producer two years ago.
"I think there is probably an unlimited source of interesting topics within a 50-mile radius and a ton of interesting people," Nottage said. "I'm not sure whether something along these lines has been tried in the past in public access, I think it has in larger cities. I hope this will take off."
Nottage brings to the group his strengths on the technical end, running the cameras and editing. The meeting Thursday evening also drew a musician, writers, a set designer and builder and even a community businessman with a story idea to pitch.
Jody Gore finds this synergy of a variety of talents and interests just what she is looking for. A certified tctv2 producer for two years, Gore loves the creativity of making television shows, especially writing and running the camera. However, she has found doing it all herself - the standard set-up in public access television - limits the works produced.
"As a producer, there's a catch 22: You get to produce your own stuff and have a nice handle on what to put in from the concept to the end of the film," Gore said. "But you are also the only one doing it. It doesn't add to the diversity of the film."
Cobb, too, finds being a one-man-show frustrating and a limiting factor on a show's finished quality. When he worked as part of a team on a recent production, he found the collaboration and varied input a huge asset. This experience spurred him to create a production company.
"I found it is very creative to work with other people," he noted. "It gives support and a chance to learn; you can talk over a scene and how to best set it up."
For more information on this new television production company, contact Dale Cobb at 922-5997.