New Soap to Shoot in Armidale

SSTV - Small Scale TV - is a novel initiative in community entertainment and communications. Operating with loan equipment and on a whisper of a budget SSTV brings together ordinary people with no specialist skills, but with a burning desire to get involved in conceiving, scripting, acting, shooting, editing and producing a TV series. 

SSTV is the brainchild of Northern Tablelands innovator and new business venture developer Hugh O'Connor, who says that SSTV will enable communities everywhere to generate a brilliant range of new TV entertainment material - new shows, new characters, new ideas. 

"SSTV gets everybody who is interested involved - no experience is expected; we jointly decide our theme, our storylines, characters and scripts, we shoot on home cameras - preferably Hi8 video - and we edit, dub and caption with whatever we can borrow or scrounge", Mr O'Connor said. 

"You don't need to be a Speilberg to make a soap - or a James Joyce to write a quality script - or Cary Grant to be a star. 

"You just have to want to be part of the vision, and to be willing to work with the team, in your own role, with application and dedication, and to want to learn to improve on your basic skills in writing, acting, camera craft, video editing, set lighting and whatever else. And you need to want to have fun! 

"SSTV offers exciting possibilities that commercial TV can't offer - we can run with wild project concepts and crazy ideas that the commercials couldn't risk, because our dollar loss exposure is minimal. 

"We can look at projects that have very marginal or niche audience appeal - like SBS is supposed to do; and we have a vast potential market for our programs in cable and satelite TV which are screaming for inexpensive, quality material to put to air. 

"We can't pay for Cecil B deMille casts or Star Wars effects - but that doesn't mean we can't have them! But the only exploding tanks will be if the on-location BBQ has an accident. 

'"No - you don't get paid; participants get shares in the venture and net profits - if any - will be distributed to shareholders, but the real incentive to participate is simply the personal satisfaction at creating a piece of art that is worthwhile, real and of lasting merit. 

"But there is every reason to believe that our writers, actors, camera people and others can use SSTV as a showcase for their talents and a springboard into commercial TV - it certainly is an  opportunity to step towards stardom."

Intending participants are encouraged to fill in the application form below and to attend an initial meeting commencing at 8.00 pm on Tuesday 8 August at the Imperial Hotel, Armidale, where they can register their interest and provide details of their skills, aspirations and of any production resources to which they may have access. 

Corporate and other sponsorships are invited.