Last night, Friday, Feb 15th, I went to a open-mike thang at a banquet hall on the corner of Ralph & Putnam Avenues In Bed-Stuy. I was invited to attend by one of the performers, Dan Jose.

I met Dan & his mother, Nubia, last year at a Bajerobics shoot in BCAT's main studio.

Nubia was dancing on the Bajerobics show. She came to the open-mike last night.

Dan called me early last week to invite me to last night's open-mike. I'm glad I went.
It was a fun crowd.

I thought that it would be kinda boring. I've been to open-mikes before. Sad affairs. Sad.

This was different. This was a party. The theme was Valentines Day. Patrons were asked to wear white & red.


The young, talented  performers brought their crews with them. Their crews included boyfriends, girlfriends, moms, dads & grandmothers. For a change, I wasn't the oldest person in the joint. The performers sang & rapped in solo acts, duos and small groups. The crowd cheered, clapped and generally was positive toward every performer. Not one performer elicited a negative response from the crowd.
Dan was part of a duet. He rapped while a girl named Shaniquea sang (she is sixteen). They were great. Stylistically, Dan reminded me of Kanye West. Shaniquea was very good. They performed two songs. The first song featured Dan the last featured Shaniquea.

All of the performers were good. This open mike is run by a young man named Taz. He, his partner and the people that work with them put on a nice, friendly, jumpin' party. I especially liked the woman serving refreshments.
Between performances the DJ spins and the crowd dances. Even I was out on the floor. Man, those young folks can dance! I learned some new moves last night.


Dan Jose's partner is a cat named B-Fresh.

This dude is a natural born hype artist with charm. He's a guy who as soon as you meet him he is your best friend. If he is willing to work hard I see big things in this young man's future.

As for Dan Jose's future...with his model looks and his performance style if he is willing to put in the work and spend the time paying his dues he'll probably make a dent in the entertainment industry. I wish them the best.
I'm going to have Dan Jose & B-Fresh on my show, The Hambone Show, this March. Dan is tall, quiet, easy-going. B-Fresh is hyperactive, can't sit still and has the gift-of-gab. Their personality & physical contrasts will make for interesting TV.


For any BCAT producer seeking new talent this open-mike is the place to be. For that matter, any person seeking new talent needs to check out this open mike.
Or, if you just want to have fun on a Friday night & not spend too much cash make it to the corner of Ralph & Putnam. The next open-mike will be held Friday February 29. So be there or be square.

Powell

  
As I’ve stated previously I became a certified producer in November of 1998. My very first show aired on Christmas Day, 1998. I’ve had a show on the air every week since May 1999. A lot of shows. A lot of time. A lot of work. A lot of fun.

  But what led up to November 1998? Why did I want to have a public access TV show?

   It all began at a place in Carrol Gardens Brooklyn called Sparky’s. Sparky’s was a beer bar. It sold no hard liquor. Just wine & beer. But mostly beer. Sparky’s was one block up Court Street from my apartment building. Sparky’s was run by an Irishman named Jerry.


   I met Jerry before I ever stepped into Sparky’s. I met him at a kid’s party that took place at a friend’s apartment. Jerry brought his kids to the party. I brought my son. Talking to him I found out that he ran the bar that I had walked past for over a year but never set foot into. He told me that it was a beer bar and that if I like beer I had to stop by. I like beer.

   Soon after that party I was a regular at Sparky’s. I’d stop in after work on most days and have a cold one or two before heading home. On weekends I’d hang there with my friend Peter sampling the amazing array of beer that Jerry offered at Sparky’s. On many occasions Peter’s brother Raymond would join us. 
Peter & Raymond are from Birmingham, England, land of ale.

   I like Belgium style wheat beers like Hoegaarden & Brooklyn Weisse and British ales like Bodington’s & New Castle. Peter likes lager. His favorite drink being a Harp with a bit of Rose’s Lime, very tasty indeed. Raymond tended more toward porters & stouts. These are richer, sweeter beers like Chimay & Sierra Nevada.

   Sparky’s could accommodate all of our tastes & then some. We would spend many hours at Sparky’s sampling the ever changing selection and holding marathon conversations.

   We three are reasonably well educated blokes. We could talk about many topics segueing from, maybe, a discourse on Edison & Tesla’s (Westinghouse) AC DC battles to a friendly argument on the merits of rugby when applied as a tool of international diplomacy.  In other words, we could spend a lot of time talking about a lot of crap.

   Late on a Friday evening the three of us were in Sparky’s enjoying the watching a public access gab fest on the television hung over the bar.  I can’t remember what the talking heads on the show were talking about. I remember that it was not a very exciting show. None the less, we sat there watching these people talking. Why did we sit there watching these people talking? Because they were  on TV. Put a show on TV and somebody will watch.

   I’ve watched public access TV for a long time. I’ve lived in Manhattan, Queens & Brooklyn and enjoyed watching public access in all of these boroughs.

   That day in Sparky’s we three watched that not so exciting televised conversation. We lamented that too bad all TV talk shows could not feature interesting conversations like the ones we were always engaged in. We figured that if we went on TV and sat around yapping that we’d be more interesting than the show we were currently watching. Yeah, and we would talk about something we are really passionate about. A topic that most television pundits avoid on national TV. We’d talk about the joys of beer.

   Yes, what a great idea. How hard could it be to get a show on public access? We’d do it. We’d put on a show about beer. And perhaps get free beer from Jerry’s if we publicize his establishment.

   Great idea. I contacted BCAT and found out what we had to do to put on a show shot in their studios.  I learned that we had to become certified producers to shoot a show in their studios. We would have to sign up for a multiple weekend course and pass a final test to become certified producers.

   I brought this news back to Peter & Raymond. But they were not as enthusiastic as I was. The more & more I thought about doing our beer show the more excited I became. But Peter & Raymond didn’t seem so excited. Those boys don’t have the desire to make fools out of themselves in public. I couldn’t understand this. I decided to go forward. I would become a certified producer & they would be guests on my show. My show about beer.
I already came up with a name for the show. I’d call it the Hambone Show. Named after a hillbilly cartoon character I had created named Hambone Swiggins.

   This was 1998. My son Adam was only 4 years old. My wife & I have full time jobs. Adam had a full time nanny. In the evenings & on the weekends we spent time with Adam. Evenings on the weekend was Marcia & my time to hangout either together or separately with friends. But evenings and weekend days were devoted to Adam.

   Until I signed up for the weekend classes at BCAT.
I’m a lucky guy. Marcia knew she was marrying an artist. She knew that I had a creative streak in me a mile wide. She’s never tried to change me. She’s never tried to get me to cut back on my creative spark.
Well, now I wanted to create a TV show. With the resources at BCAT I’d be able to do this. She could see that I was getting more and more passionate about this. So, though she let me know that she’d rather I not spend time in those long classes she would not ask me to not take the course. After all it was only temporary.

   I couldn’t wait for the classes to start. I started writing beer centric skits that we would mount on the show. I created a character named Psoriasis Jones, a denizen of Sparky’s, played by me. I created and printed graphics for my show. I prepped Peter & Raymond. I spoke to Jerry about the possibility of shooting in Sparky’s. He said sure. I did all this before I started the courses.

   There are two types of certified producers at BCAT. You can be certified to use the main studio. And you can be certified as a remote producer, meaning you can take out BCAT’s equipment to use on shoots outside of the BCAT facility.

   I took both courses concurrently. Mainstudio on Saturdays & remote on weeknights. It was a little rough, and the administration advised me against doing that, but I didn’t want there to be any lag time between my main studio & remote certifications. I’m glad I took the classes concurrently. Things I learned in one course overlapped into the other course. And I had the same instructor in both classes, Rena Walker.

   The main studio course was not a truly comprehensive video production course. We were not taught editing. This course specifically prepared you to shoot a 28 minute show, “live-to-tape”, in a single three hour session in the main studio. We were taught to “edit” on the fly using the switcher operated by the Technical Director with shot instructions from the Director.

   The remote course taught how to do a one camera shoot and then edit your footage in an analog editing suite. This being 1998 we did not learn anything about non-linear or digital editing.

   I aced these courses. And I became friends with several of my class mates and the instructor. My classmates went on to not only work behind the camera on my shows but to also act in front of the camera.

   I started working on productions before I received my ID card. I scheduled a shoot for my first show immediately. I contacted Peter & Raymond to let them know that we were about to enter the studio to tape the first episode of The Hambone Show.

   But something funny happened on the way to that shoot date. Raymond said that he would not be able to show up. I can’t remember why. The why didn’t matter. I was in a quandary. What to do? Who were Peter & I going to talk about beer with? I asked Jerry if he could do it. He couldn’t get away to spend three hours in the studio with us.

   A couple days before the shoot I got it. I invited two friends to be on the show, Natasha, one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever known & Steve a fellow designer & artist. Instead of a talk about beer we read our lines from cue cards from a script that I wrote in two days. Natasha played the announcer. At the end of the shoot she threw down the credits I had printed and mounted on cards onto the studio floor and stomps on them, then she tells us how stupid we three are  then she leaves the set with us three guys looking perplexed.

   This set the tone of all of my self effacing shows. Beautiful women who realize how dumb the sexist men on the show are and sometimes show their anger toward these Neanderthals by kicking them in their asses.

   This first episode was directed by the producer who later was suspended because of an incident that occurred during one of my shoots.
We, my director & I , realized before we were done with that first shoot that three hours were not enough time to shoot the type of show I obviously wanted to shoot. Multiple takes. Close ups. Reaction shots, etc. I had to edit the footage.

   Since I was also certified remote I was able to book time in a BCAT editing suite. I entered the editing suite a few days after the shoot with my raw SVHS footage. The time allotted me in the suite was not enough time for me to do what I had to do. So, I hired somebody to edit the show for me on their home analog editing gear. $200. But well worth it. I had my first show in the can. It aired Christmas night, December 25th, at 11:30 PM. It was the best Christmas gift I’ve ever given to myself.

The show is horrible. The jokes are lame. The lighting is bad. The acting couldn't be any stiffer. You can tell that we're reading cue cards. I love it!

   My next show I edited in Adobe Premiere on a producer’s Mac at his home studio. I’ve been editing non-linear ever since.

   Doing my show is a lot of work but a lot of fun. I’ve made a lot of sacrifices to do the nonsense I want to do. But I wouldn’t give it up for the world.

Thank you Peter, Raymond, Jerry & most of all, Marcia for contributing to the Genesis of what has become an obsession.

-Powell

Recently a very active BCAT producer was suspended. I'm not privy to the circumstances of the event that precipitated his suspension but from what little I've heard it doesn't look good for him.

In November, 1999 I was suspended. I was not allowed to enter the BCAT facilities, work on shows produced using BCAT equipment nor was I allowed to borrow BCAT equipment. This suspension lasted for 24 hours.

Here is the story.

My weekly BCAT show, The Hambone Show, is a sitcom. The majority of the shows produced at BCAT are talk shows. A host speaking to guests. Sometimes three episodes of this type of show can be produced in a single three hour session in the BCAT main studio.
I'm lucky if I can get half of one episode shot in a three hour session.
For each show I write and rewrite a script, I audition actors, I hold rehearsals, I have meetings with key crew members, I shoot multiple takes out of sequence, then the editing begins. it's a lot of work but I love it. I'd like to be doing this full time.

Because of the way my show is shot I have two directors. I direct the the actors on the floor and another director directs the cameras, lighting and audio in the control room.

On Friday Nov. 6th, 1999 I had a shoot for The Hambone Show. I was on the floor dealing with the actors. Unknown to me a BCAT staff member had had a verbal altercation with my director in the hallway & in the control room. Neither the BCAT staff member involved, my director or the other members of my crew told me about this altercation.
It wasn't until Monday, Nov. 8th when one of the executives at BCAT called me at work did I found out what transpired. The exec said that my director will probably be suspended. He wouldn't say for how long. He also said that he knew that I was not involved in the incident so I had nothing to worry about.

I felt bad for my director, now known as the suspended producer. We were learning non-linear editing & video production together. We'd spend hours in my home office working on each other's projects. We were becoming friends.
I tried calling him to talk about this but he was never around. He was young, single, good looking with a few girlfriends. He had a home in Brooklyn & a home out of town. He could be anywhere.

I had a shoot scheduled for Nov 12th that he was to direct. I arranged for another director. In the days prior to my Nov 12th shoot I called him twice but did not reach him. He called up my house once but I was not there. This is before I had my first cell phone.
I figured that he must have found out that he was suspended. So, when I arrived at BCAT for my shoot the night of the 12th I was not surprised that he wasn't there.
My cast and crew entered the studio. The crew had finished dressing the set. Most of us were in the green room wit the cast eating fried chicken. I stepped out of the green room and, to my surprise, walking up the hallway with a big smile is my friend the suspended producer.

We both stepped back into the green room. I asked him what the hell he was doing at BCAT. While eying the fried chicken he said that he was there to work on my show. I  asked him to step out of the green room. I didn't want to discuss what I perceived as a private matter in front of other people. In the hall I asked him if he knew that he had been suspended.

He said that he was not told that he'd been suspended. He also said that he was not surprised.

I told him that he couldn't work on my show that evening and that he had to split. He understood and asked if he could have a piece of the fried chicken before he left. I said sure. We both stepped back into the green room. 

At this time the BCAT staffer who had let him enter the studio came into the green room and told me that the BCAT exec was on the phone and would like to speak to me. I took the call at the front desk leaving the suspended producer in the green room with the chicken. The exec told me that the suspended producer could not work on my show. I told him that I already knew this. The exec asked me if I had told the producer of his suspension before the show. I asked the exec if he had notified the producer of his suspension. The exec said that I should have told the producer that he was suspended and could not work on my show. The exec  told me to tell the producer to leave.

The suspended producer left immediately without an incident. He was in the facility for what might have been five minutes. I put this incident out of my mind, I mean, like, I had a shoot to worry about. The show must go on.

On Nov 16th I received a letter from the BCAT exec stating that I was suspended from BCAT for six months because I knowingly "allowed a suspended producer to be part of [my] studio production".

I couldn't believe it. I was being suspended because this exec was not able to inform a producer that he had been suspended and because a BCAT staffer allowed the suspended producer to enter the facility even though this staffer knew of the producer's suspension.

I called up the exec. All of the execs at BCAT had left for the day. I spoke to the security guard who was also on duty the night of the 12th. I spoke to the staffer that had let the suspended producer into the studio. I called all of the crew members who were present at my Nov 12th shoot. Everybody, including the security guard & the BCAT staffer said that they would testify that the suspended producer did not take part in my production and that I did not allow him to enter the studio.

I made all of these calls the same evening that I received my suspension notification letter. After speaking to everybody I wrote a letter protesting my suspension. I emailed the letter to a lawyer who went over it and corrected it for errors & for content. Then I emailed, faxed & regular mailed the letter to all of the BCAT & BRIC executive administration. I was finished with all of this at around three in the morning.

The next day, Nov 17th I received a call at work from the BCAT exec who had suspended me. He said that they, BCAT & BRIC administration, had received my four page letter and that in review they have overturned my suspension.

My friend was suspended for a year for threatening a BCAT staffer with physical violence. I was back in the studio the next month.

The suspended producer disappeared. I did not see or hear from him until last year. He is back now, doing shows, looking young and handsome as ever. Within a year or two the entire BCAT administration was replaced.

And now it's been ten years.
The production of my nutty little show, The Hambone Show, is important to me. It takes a lot of my time and a bit of my money to produce each show. Writing, rehearsing, shooting and editing is real work but, as I said earlier, I love it.

In all the time since 1999 I haven't been suspended or reprimanded.
It's not like I'm some angel. Far from it.
I just feel that I know how far I can go without waking that sleeping giant called The BCAT Administration.

Powell

I had never been to a concert that was bigger than any that could be held in the Apollo or the Beacon theaters in Manhattan.
I've never been to an arena concert.
All my life I've seen footage of screaming fans at these large venue concerts. I knew I would not enjoy being surrounded by people screaming their profound love at some tiny speck of a musician on a tiny stage. When I go to a concert i want to hear the music. I like going to clubs. I like the jazz clubs sprinkled throughout Manhattan & Brooklyn. I've managed to avoid really large concerts my whole life.

Until I got married.

My wife, Marcia, likes large concerts.
Where the biggest concert I'd ever been to was James Brown at the Apollo, Marcia has seen Prince in a Massachusetts indoor arena. She's been to many other large concerts.

Even before we were married I explained to Marcia that I knew that I would not enjoy a large concert. Marcia kept trying to convince me that I would have a good time.

Listen, don't get me wrong, I do attend events with my wife  that I wouldn't normally attend not because I think I might enjoy myself but because Marcia wants me to go. All married couples (all couples) compromise like this. I want her to be happy.

I don't care for Broadway shows, particularly musicals. But I will attend them because Marcia loves them (I fell asleep at The Producers with Nathan Lane & Matthew Broderick. Last week I fell asleep at The Homecoming with Ian McShane, I must admit I did like The Color Purple with Chaka Kahn).

I refused to join her at a super sized concert.

Finally after years of cajoling Marcia talked me into attending a Sade concert at Madison Square Garden's Paramount theater (now the Wamu Theater).

I'm a fan of Sade's. Sade once walked right past me on a London street (she's tiny). I have all of her music on my computer and my iPhone. The concert was being held at the Paramount. A venue smaller than The Garden but bigger than the Apollo or the Beacon.

We had very good seats. The crowd was an older thirties to fifties bunch. Maybe, I thought, this will be okay. Everybody will stay in their seats and actually listen to the music without screaming.

I was wrong. The concert started. Sade is spray painted into a stunning gold lame two piece gown. Her chiseled abs exposed to the golden light engulfing the stage. She was beautiful.
The crowd went wild. A guy right behind me started yelling "I love you Sade, baby" at the top of his lungs. This continued through out her first song.
During the second song and what seemed like even louder admissions of love by the mope sitting to my posterior, I told Marcia that I was going to the bathroom. I did go to the bathroom. But I could have held out for hours. I just had to get away from all that screaming.
After washing my hands I went to the lobby where, saints be praised, I found an open bar. I bought a beer. I yapped with the bartender for a while. After a few minutes I returned to my seat.

After a couple more songs accompanied by more yelling I went back to the bar for more beer a more conversation with my new bartender pal.
I did this a total of three times. Three or four beers. I probably missed about thirty minutes of the concert.
After I returned the third time I could see that Marcia had been crying. Man, I thought, that must have been some sad-ass song that Sade sang if it was strong enough to squeeze tears out of Marcia.

During the drive back home I asked Marcia what had Sade sang that could bring her to tears. She said that she wasn't crying because of some sad song, she had cried because it was so obvious that I was not having a good time when she thought that I would.

I felt like crap.

Marcia has never again asked me to attend a concert bigger than The Apollo or Beacon theaters can hold. We once saw Boy George at the Beacon.

I still will go to the occasional Broadway show. The next one we have tickets for is Cat On A Hot Tin Roof with James Earl Jones & Terrence Howard. I'll bring a pillow.

Powell

Well it is February, 2008. January zoomed by.
I've worked on only one show in the BCAT main studio so far this year. An audition shoot by Lynda Peterson in January. I directed in the control room. Lynda was on the floor with the talent.

I had a great technical director, Gabe Pappas. He is always a pleasure to work with.

The shoot was smooth. Lynda had a plan of how the cameras would be used. Two set-ups, the talent standing in front of a curtain and the talent at a table. Lynda wanted to use two cameras for each set-up. Each of the two cameras had three shots, full (head to toe) medium and close-up.
But we quickly realized that we had to use three cameras on the first standing set-up & four cameras on the sitting set-up.

We got it down to a science.
The only problem was the quirkiness of the talent.
Not all of the folks auditioning showed up. One had to leave early and refused to sign a release. One came 15 minutes before we had to strike. One arrived after we had struck the set.
What a ride.

But all things considered, it was a pleasant three hours spent with pleasant people doing what we like to do. Shoot video in BCAT's main studio.

Powell

On Sunday, Oct 7, 2007 I had a two session shoot at BCAT.
The morning session was shot in the control room using my camera, tripod & dolly. I forgot to bring my shotgun mic, so we used the in-camera mic. We shot the last scene to an episode of The Hambone Show that I had been shooting for almost a year. It is finally over! Now I can finish editing it.
This scene starred Shaan Davis as Tu-Ply Tu-Por, a rap artist from New Canaan, Connecticut; Kina Gee as Feculenta Pitz Broadway and screen star. Feculenta is the girlfriend of my character, Powell Burns, host of The Hambone Show, America's number one late night talk show. Tu-Ply is Powell's nephew.
It was a fun, hectic shoot. At one point we shot Lynda Peterson throwing a brick into my face. Took ten takes. I sanded Feculenta's ashy feet, she danced on my back, I lotioned her feet, Tu-Ply told Feculenta that her farts are like a cool summer's breeze wafting across an idyllic lake.

Then we had lunch. Fried chicken.

The afternoon session was an improv piece shot in the main studio. We used all four cameras, two actors, me on the floor directing the actors and Brett in the control room directing the cameras. This method works well for me.

As is typical for a Hambone Show shoot the BCAT producers who made up my crew not only contributed their technical skills they also contributed creatively as writers, performers and stylists.

If any of you ever need a director for your own production you can not go wrong using Brett Johnson. His understated strength is matched by his eye for detail. I think we work well together partly because of the contrasts in our personalities. I’m loud and boisterous. He aint loud and boisterous. Brett you always do a great job on my show. Thanks so very much.

Lynda, what can I say? You went beyond what a producer can be expected to do. Your enthusiasm is obvious. I especially appreciated your turn as Ms Chiffff in the Advise Column segment. You didn’t come to BCAT last Sunday thinking that you’d be doing a comedic improv set, but that’s exactly what you did. I asked if you would and you did not hesitate to say yes. You were hilarious. Thank you.

Tatiana, darling, you and your friend (whose name I can’t remember, but I will need for the credits as a contributing writer) wrote what became the basis for the Advise Column segment. You’re funny, and a pleasure to work with. Let’s do it again, okee dokee?

Sam, you left early. Brother, you missed a heck of a fun shoot. Maybe next time.

Mr. Darryl Kemp, your stylishness is reflected in your classy personality. You kept your cool when I was yelling. You made my show look professional. And, as a performer, you were right on the money! The little thing I shot of you for the Advise Column segment was perfect. In just two takes! Please, please, please stay in touch.

Andre, glad you stopped by. It’s always a gas having you bless my video with your effervescent presence. Thanks man.

Al Harris... Big Al! Folks you don’t know how good it was to have Al on my set. We started at BCAT together. He was my hand-held camera man during the hay-day of The Hambone Show. He always knew what kind of shots I needed. Al, I hope this wasn’t a one off. Will you be back?

And lastly, what for me was the biggest (and possibly the best) surprise of the day, Robin Hannibal. Okay, in the morning session you helped when I was sanding the grit off of Feculenta’s feet and with script continuity. All that is fine and appreciated. But... baby, your true talents came alive in the afternoon sessions. Luckily I had brought some accessories for the two actresses in the Advise Column shoot to wear. But I didn’t know what to do with them. Robin, you knew exactly what to do! Your contribution turned two actresses into two distinct and memorable personalities. Thank you soooo much. I will definitely be using you again & I will recommend your services to other folks.

Working on my shoots is always an adventure. You might be asked to do some acting, or write a segment, or work with the script, or dress an actor or shoot in the hallways & control room, or who knows what. I was fortunate to have a crew that was able to adapt to these conditions.
Because of the combined efforts of all of you BCAT Producers I had a great day, a great shoot and a headache free after-shoot experience. Thank you all. I hope we can do it again.

Powell

Hello from Brooklyn!

I am a BCAT producer.

What is a BCAT producer?

I produce & help produce television shows for Brooklyn Community Access Television (BCAT). BCAT is a public access cable network. BCAT has a wide range of programs airing seven days a week.

This blog is dedicated to BCAT, the programs, the producers, the staff, or whatever. This is my blog. This aint no democracy, but I can take a licking. I'll post things the way I see them. You might not agree with my views. Let me know.
I can take it.

Please reply to any thing that i write about.

Well, I'm at work. It's quitting time. I'll send a link to this blog out to BCAT producers & staff later from home.

Ciao.

The BCAT Producer