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NEW BECOMES OLD

And so my first days turned into years.  What was so new became routine.  I was assigned a variety of series and week by week they became automatic.  The guests changed, the subjects changed but my director role stayed the same - the choice of shots was very predictable.  A Christmas Special show or a live call-in show broke the routine.  I was assigned to direct the NJ Legislature in a few sessions and happened to be in the "hot seat" (for 10 hours of hot debate) when a couple of very historic votes were taken - lucky me!  The first state income tax caused by the school legislation that required a statewide, and very controversial, set of common standards.  There was rowdy sparring by the legislators and some near fisticuffs but for the most part the whole process was and continues to be one of windy speeches to empty chambers broadcast to nobody watching but staff and public policy wonks.  Some of my one-time assignments were memorable but most fade now from memory.  But some  of the productions remain because they were very good programming  - albeit, rarely well publicized.  Our viewers were few in comparison to all the Philly UHF stations - matter of fact so few that the ratings services did not log and report reliable data.

I began to film my time not in the studio producing documentary film projects including one about the oyster industry that made some news.  The Seafaring Farmer, which was heralded as a dramatic story that helped move powers that be at the statehouse to fund research that ultimately saved the industry.  Another show which played for decades on major PBS channels was w Christmas Eve - Christmas with the Westminster Choir - performed by nationally known ensemble from the Choir college whose various concerts appeared regularly at Carnegie Hall and other prestiges venues.

I watched staff come and go - some to fame.  Young assistant director Frank Belmont to Monday Night Football.  George Taweel to Disney Channel TV.  George Rothweiler, cameraman who started as a NJN college intern went on to CBS Sports and became the number one handheld guy in the sports broadcasting.  I loved seeing their names in the credits of big time network productions - thinking I played a small part in their success.

One memorable, brief and very interesting assignment was with Paula Miller, the wife of Walter  C. Miller famed "live" director of the Grammys, Tonys and GMA, just to name a few from his long list of credits.  I will only say this - she certainly was marching to a very offbeat drummer.  And I could understand why she wasn't working at the NYC networks like her husband.  In the several months working on contract at NJN she shot thousands of  feet of documentary film stock that never was edited or aired.

Fact was every time I got bored and I thought about moving on to another job in the  NYC or Hollywood market  I got promoted with a very nice salary increase.  The state benefits were the best in the business and I had a wife and three kids…

...so I stayed and played for another year.

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