Automation House
Lighting Director, Set Design, Video Tech (1977-78)
In 1977 Manhattan Cable TV designated 3 video facilities in NYC as "Local Injection Points" (LIP's) that produced local origination programming. Soon after I arrived in the city, I was lucky enough to be taken on as Lighting Director / Set Designer and occasional Production Director on the fulltime staff. (There weren't many paying jobs available in the upstart medium at that time.)
This is where I first met and worked with Bill Porter, who became my earliest collaborator when I formed The Communication Studio.
In the early 60's pre-eminent labor negotiator Theodore Kheel established Automation House in order to for "people to adjust in a rapidly changing world of automation and helping the individual to have a sense of participation in the society in which she or he lives."
Kheel's forward-thinking insight was to take advantage of emerging technologies (affordable video) and bandwidth (cable TV channels) in order to do some social good.
As a low-end video production facility, Automation House was perfectly positioned to be the point of implementation for anyone who was looking to develop new channels. We got to work on a bunch of 'em, as well as cutting-edge productions in the area of arts and politics.
BTW: MTV first appeared right around this time.
For many of us who were committed to local programming, one of the challenges at this time was to "Do well by doing good".
I forged long-term relationships with colleagues who saw the exciting opportunities that were opening up with the birth of new media.
In 1982 Automation House alumnus Bill Porter and I helped implement the Vision of Interactivity "before we called it The Web" as The Communication Studio.