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Arts & Entertainment
NETV productions no easy task
Shows evolve
in many stages,
producer says
By Shannon Uehling
Staff Reporter
The crew rushed in, quickly
evaluated two rooms and chose a
boardroom as the site to film an
interview with the director of the
Sheldon Art Gallery for a NETV
production called “Director’s
Choice.”
Joel Gcyer, a Nebraska Educa
tional Television producer and di
rector, walked in just as Ralph Ham
mack and Jim Lencrtz finished set
ting up the camera, lights and aud io
equipment. Hammack, senior cine
matographer, and Lencrtz, audio
engineer, had transformed the
gloomy art gallery boardroom into
a cheery, warm studio.
Gcyer and Sheldon Director
George Ncubert settled into com
fortable conversation while Lencrtz
and Hammack put the finishing
touches on the impromptu studio.
Hammack adjusted a gel light
that accented the background art
work, then he touched a little powder
to Ncubcrt’s face as Lencrtz hustled
across the room with a roll of elec
trical tape to fix a door rattle.
With a single word, the camera
began rolling, as Gcyer and Ncu
bert continued what seemed to be
just a friendly conversation about
the choices facing an art gallery
director.
Soon after, this scene in the
world of NETV productions ended.
Although filming is a large part
of the production process at N ET V,
what the viewer secs is only one
piece of bringing a program to life.
Decisions about what programs
to film, for example, arc made long
before the cameras roll. NETV is
just beginning its annual program
choosing process for next year.
The production of programs is
broken into four divisions: sports
and special events, science and
outreach specials, cultural affairs
and public affairs.
Members of the four production
units spend lime evaluating pro
gram ideas, Gcyer said. The units
determine which ideas would be
the best, how to cover the subjects,
what formats to use and how much
the productions would cost.
Bill Ganzcl, senior producer of
public affairs, said the ideas for
programs came from many sources,
such as producers, the public, sec
retaries, current events and “any
where that ideas come from.”
The four production units pres
ent the ideas to Gene Bunge, assis
tant manager of programming and
production. Ganzcl said Bunge gave
final approval to the proposals for
the following year and divided the
available funds for each program.
Programming money comes
from several sources, including
Nebraskans for Public Television,
the National Education Associa
tion and the state government.
Once the programs are chosen,
the production teams begin their
work by researching the subject
and talking to people involved.
Then filming starts.
Gcycr’s production, “Director’s
Choice,” is now about 85-pcrcent
filmed, he said.
Usually, the producer reviews
the filmed material and chooses to
re-shoot pieces or shoot other nec
essary aspects, Geycr said. This
editing may begin after the shoot
ing is completed or it may start
during the filming, he said.
Or, in some eases, editing may
begin before filming. Geycr said
that for a documentary about Bob
Dcvancy he was producing, the
editing began with the review of
archival footage.
See NETV on 10
Blending
cultures
succeeds
at the Lied
Mark Baldridge
Senior Reporter
Too often, cultural meetings turn
into clashes.
There can be no winners when one
group of people, through superiority
of technology or numbers, suppresses
and destroys another.
This is the lesson of the history of
Euro-American contact with the na
tive nations of America.
At the Lied Center for Performing
Arts on Sunday, two distinct western
traditions met on the field of music.
The results were dramatic.
“West Meets West,” a two hour
concert and awards ceremony, fea
tured “Ceremonial Images” as its
highlight.
“Images,” commissioned for the
Quasquicentcnnial, was a collabora-.
tion of musical traditions, as much as
musicians:
Scored by Douglas Hill and cen
tered on songs of the Omaha tribe,
“Images” brought the audience leap
ing to its feet in a standing ovation.
The piece combined the tuxedoed
and gowned members of the Omaha
Symphony Orchestra with the Rough
Riders of Omaha in bright, multicol
ored shirts and caps or dresses.
The musical vocabularies were no
less contrasting. The Rough Riders,
seated in a circle, pounded on an
enormous leather-skinned drum.
The orchestra sometimes followed,
sometimes led with music that was
true to 20th century classical forms.
Some of the orchestral percussion
was created by non-traditional means.
(Why do guys in tuxedoes look so
funny playing bamboo instruments?)
But there was little other stylistic
overlap between the performing
groups.
The power of the program came
not from an “imitation” of Native
American music by a Euro-American
orchestra, but from the active col
laboration and cooperation of two
explicit traditions.
Other highlights of the afternoon
See WEST on 11
Jeff Haller/DN
NETV Senior Videographer Ralph Hammack shows the camera’s view of Daphne Deeds,
curator and assistant director of the Sheldon Art Gallery, as she talks to a gallery visitor.
‘Wayne’s World’ fulfills producer’s expectations
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Mike Myers as Wayne.
By John Payne
Senior Reporter
Unless you’ve been in a cave for
the last two weeks, you know that
“Wayne’s World” is the hottest thing
going at movie theaters.
The “Saturday Night Live”-inspircd
comedy raked in more than SI8 mil
lion its opening weekend — twice
that of its nearest competitor and about
$5 million more than the film cost to
make.
Thai’s quite a return on invest
ment, and with no major movies on
the horizon — at least until “Batman
Returns” arrives — “Wayne’s World”
is poised to party on at the box office
indefinitely.
Lome Michaels, executive producer
of Saturday N ight Li ve and “W aync ’ s
World,” took time out from a Friday
night rehearsal of SNL to answer
questions about his movie, his show
and his recent deal with Paramount
Pictures.
QUESTION: Whose idea was it to
take “Wayne’s World” to the big
screen?
MICHAELS: “1 was asked to come
— II
I think Wayne and Garth are very easy to underes
timate in terms of their intelligence. I think the idea
with 'Wayne’s World’ was to try to make a picture
that was both funny and smart, and I think we’ve
succeeded.
Michaels
“Wayne's World" executive producer
to Paramount to make movies, and
the first one I wanted to make was
‘Wayne’s World.’ I asked Mike
(Myers) and Dana (Carvey). And then
Bonnie and Terry Turner, who write
for the show, were hired as writers,
along with Mike. Penelope Sphccris,
who had worked with us on the first
year of‘Saturday NightLivc’ and had
done films that I thought made her
ideally suited, joined us, and we went
and made it last summer.”
Working with comedians like Car
vey and Myers, was there a lot of
improvisation?
“Not so much improvisation, but
we kept writing and rewriting until it
came time to shoot the movie. And
- yy -
we only had 35 days to shoot it be
cause we had to get back here for the
first ‘Saturday Night Live’ with Mi
chael Jordan.”
Wayne and Garth have drawn com
parisons to Bill and Ted, of “Bill
and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.”
There’s been criticism, too. How do
they differ?
“I think Wayne and Garth arc very
easy to underestimate in terms of
their intelligence. I think the idea
with ‘Wayne’s World’ was to try to
make a picture that was both funny
and smart, and I think we’ve suc
ceeded. But to tell you the truth, I’m
See WAYNE on 11
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Dana Carvey as Garth.