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Cable TV will show Serling Videos Vestal -- The videos vary widely in tone, from a comedy about a deer terrorizing a small community in upstate New York to a serious examination of a young woman questioning her faith. They vary widely in technique too, from computer animation to stop motion to live action. What they have in common is creativity, originality and the fact they were made by young people ages 6 to19 from across New York state. All the videos have been prize-winners in the Rod Serling Video Festival, started in 1995 as a contest to encourage the video creativity of budding Steven Spielbergs. Beginning this Wednesday, the 200,000 subscribers of Time Warner Cable, Binghamton Division, will be able to see the prize-winning videos in four, half-hour programs to be broadcast by the cable service on public access Channel Six. They will be shown at 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays for the next four weeks. The Binghamton Division is also sending the four shows to Time Warner divisions in Albany, Ithaca and downstate areas, asking them to broadcast the shows on their public access stations. This is only fitting since the winning videos come from across the state, said Lawrence Kassan, director of special projects for the Binghamton City School District and festival director. In its eight-year history, the Rod Serling Video Festival has grown from a strictly Broome County event to one that draws between 150 and 200 entries each year from as far away as New York City and Buffalo. One reason for the growth is Kassan's persistence in pushing the festival. He's recruited private sponsors to pay the costs and traveled across the state to promote the contest at schools. He's enthusiastic about Time Warner's decision to broadcast the four shows because, he said, it will allow even more people to see the quality of the students' work. "It's not necessarily state-of-the-art technology that makes a prize-winner," he said. "It's a good idea, a good script and a good story board." Last week, Kassan went to Time Warner's studio in Vestal to tape voice-overs for the four shows and an introduction, along with Todd Martin, director of government and public affairs for Time Warner Cable, Binghamton Division. "Larry is obviously passionate about this," Martin said. Martin said he's excited, too, because young people are the video generation. The programs will showcase the creativity of young people in a medium they are increasingly using to express their thoughts and feelings, he said. The videos, which run a maximum of five minutes, include: * A story of a rampaging deer, using elements of Rambo, Bambi and Psycho. * A study of a young person going through a crisis of faith. * A fast-paced send-up of the TV show Baywatch. * A story of a robot who experiences that "run down" feeling. * A humorous homage to the silent-film era. * And a drama exploring issues of love and loss surrounding a drinking-and-driving accident. "For want of a better word, it's the best of the best," Kassan said. Time Warner is presenting the four shows as part of a new program, Community Corner, that will feature organizations and activities in the Southern Tier. Martin said it's important for private companies to support the arts because organizations are facing cutbacks in public funding. "One of our priorities is supporting education," he said, "so this is kind of a natural fit." |