to his bird dog. . . . Two, swing over
to the photograph of the cotton picker.
. . . One, tell the banjo player either to
find a spittoon or get off the set. . . .
Two, lock down your camera on a shot
of the steel guitar and get a microphone
for the guy who just walked in rolling
the tractor tire. .. . One, give me a wide
cover shot of the entire south end of
the studio. I think I've just lost control
of the show. . . ."
Of course, my seat-of-the-pants di-
recting was constantly being aided by
on-camera advice from the performers
themselves. "Son, turn that big Kodak
there around on Orval and his git box
so as he can light into a little 'Wild-
wood Flower'. . . . And if you folks
out there got any dedications or re-
quests, you just call up our directors
to let us know."
Despite Channel 8's popularity with
area country-music fans, the station
had difficulty in attracting community
support and interest. A major reason
for this was that the studio and offices
had been built out in the woods far
from town. The place was so remote
that our visitors were mostly hunters or
wandering Boy Scout troops asking for
directions back to civilization. An old
logging road was our only physical
link with the outside world. And since
the station's power came from a rural
electric cooperative, Channel 8 was
knocked off the air each time too many
electric milking machines were plugged
in along the line.
Because of the station's struggles
to survive economically, we rarely pro-
duced a program—regardless of length
or complexity—with more technical per-
sonnel on duty than two cameramen,
an engineer and one hapless soul who
functioned as director/switcher/audio
man/projectionist/telephone operator.
A television control room—with its
monitors, meters, communications cir-
cuits and electronic gadgetry—is al-
ways a hectic place to work, even when
the operation is fully staffed. But Chan-
TV GUIDE NOVEMBER 20. 1971
nel 8's two-man control room not only
sharpened a director's reflexes, it
tugged at his sanity.
Besides the usual director's respon-
sibilities of making decisions and issu-
ing instructions, I was also required to
select video sources with my right hand
while flipping audio switches and con-
trolling sound levels with my left hand.
At the same time I had to scurry back
and forth juggling slides and loading
film projectors. Jogging was a neces-
sary exercise in the Channel 8 control
room long before it became a popular
national pastime.
Needless to say, Channel 8's pro-
gramming continuously teetered on the
verge of complete chaos. And when
it tottered too far, disaster might ensue
in the form of a rollicking series of
audio/visual goofs or in an extended
telecast of the director's favorite station
identification or "technical difficulty"
slide.
During moments of directorial catas-
trophe I had a bad habit of getting
my cameras (all two of them) confused.
I would yell for Camera One to get a
shot but would push the button for
Camera Two instead. I soon learned
that this recurrent camera miscom-
mand of "Ready One, Take Two . . ."
was certain to treat viewers to un-
scheduled glimpses of elbows, ear-
lobes, and fuzzily kinetic camera work.
The various station managers who
took the helm at Channel 8 were al-
ways encouraging directors and en-
gineers alike to exercise their imagi-
nation and ingenuity. This is a positive
way of saying that there were never
any production budgets and seldom
any equipment working properly. For
example, the Channel 8 concept of
set designing was to figure out today
how to rearrange the same background
flats, curtains and set pieces we had
used yesterday and the day before. One
particularly unkempt plastic potted
plant—affectionately dubbed "Matilda"
—was shown so many times on dif- —>
41

USC Film School Raising Hollywood Profile: Fox’s Jim Gianopulos Newest To Join Board

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Wednesday February 13, 2013 @ 2:50pm PST
Tags: Bryan Singer, Jim Gianopulos, Sumner Redstone, USC School Of Cinematic Arts
  
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The USC School Of Cinematic Arts keeps making a big push to gain more support among current Hollywood moguls and filmmakers who aren’t has-beens. Smart business: the names will translate into more money and clout for the school and its BA, MA, MFA and PhD programs. USC has to compete just even locally with American Film Institute’s AFI Conservatory and UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television not to mention other rival schools nationally like New York University Tisch School of the Arts and internationally like Beijing Film Academy. So no surprise that Twentieth Century Fox Film Chairman Jim Gianopulos this week joined the USC film school’s Board Of Councilors. Last week, Bryan Singer donated $5 million and became the first alumnus to have one of the film school’s 6 programs of study named in his honor. Also last week, Paramount’s Brad Grey and CBS Inc’s Les Moonves joined George Lucas (alumnus) and Steven Spielberg (who applied twice and was turned down each time) at the gala reception opening of the Sumner M. Redstone Production Building for the school.

Gianopulos also joins Lucas and Spielberg – who’ve each donated buildings – on the USC film school board which takes a leadership roll in the school’s overall planning and development as well as supports its fundraising efforts. Board of Councilors Chair Frank Price, who used to preside over Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures (twice), said in a statement: “Throughout his career Jim has always been dedicated to finding and supporting the next visionary filmmaker or technology and that fits right in with our goal as a Board. By working in support of the students at SCA we are ensuring that our industry has a bright future.” Gianopulos for his part explained: “I have long admired the commitment to being at the forefront of the cinematic arts that [Dean] Elizabeth Daley and USC have exemplified over the years.”

Related: Bryan Singer Donates $5M To USC Film School; Sumner Redstone Facility Christened

USC was funded in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1929 and offers comprehensive programs in directing, producing, writing, critical studies, animation and digital arts, production, and interactive media. On Tuesday night, Hollywood bigwigs turned out for the Redstone building dedication which follows the Viacom Chairman’s donation of $10 million to the USC School Of Cinematic Arts kast January. The state-of-the-art production facility houses two soundstages, dubbed Redstone 1 and Redstone 2. Part of SCA’s new Cinematic Arts Complex, it features 2,600 square feet of production space for use by the about 1,000 students from the school’s various divisions who are studying production skills such as staging, lighting, directing, producing and forming/leading a crew. The building also is equipped with industry standard Strand dimming systems and Mole-Richardson lighting; floor lights, grip and electrical hardware; a Production Equipment Center; wooden stage floors; and soundproofing and soundproof utility doors, among many others features. “I’ve always said that content is king. It’s the lord of the realm. It’s the highest value in this industry,” Redstone told the crowd. “I’m hoping that adding my name to the Redstone building will further the art of storytelling and that, within its walls, the Spielbergs and Lucases of tomorrow will continue to make magic.”

Lucas in 2006 donated $175M to expand the film school with a new 137,000-square-foot in what was the largest single donation to USC and any film school. (His previous donations resulted in the naming of two existing buildings. The project also received another $50M in contributions from Warner Bros, Twentieth Century Fox, and The Walt Disney Company. There’s also the Marilyn & Jeffrey Katzenberg Center for Animation, the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, the David L. Wolper Center, and the Louis B. Mayer Film and Television Study Center.