Tuesday, March 28, 2006

411 Show - Hurricane Katrina Part 1 (9 min)


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File may take a few minutes to load on Windows Media/Quicktime.

This show features Ashley, 15 years old as host and Chris, 16 as guest. This set of shows was shot 3 weeks after Hurricane Katrina. The news channels had 24 hour coverage for a few weeks in September 2005. However as usual, the news and interviews focused on the adult perspective.

Many teens and children were surprised and shocked from the images seen after the hurricane, many showing children and pets in distress. We sought to discuss the effects of this disaster at a level youth could understand and relate to.

Chris, who performs with the Network for Young Artists of San Antonio as a singer, performed at a shelter set up for Katrina evacuees at the former Kelly Air Force Base, now renamed Kelly USA. You will see one of his performances in a future posting.

We taped two shows on this topic, and will present them in separate postings of 10 minutes each.

Ashley was recruited by us after scouting for talent at local talent shows in San Antonio called “Our Part of Town”. She is also a singer with the Network for Young Artists in San Antonio and performs at various events.

Produced by 411 Productions for The 411 Show.

Sunday, March 26, 2006

411 Show - Kelsey 10 yrs old Singer


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Watch dynamic Kelsey, 10 years old, sing "We got the Beat" for the 411 Show.

Kelsey is a performer with the Network for Young Artists in San Antonio, which is a non-profit organization that teaches youth musical performance.

Produced by 411 Productions

Vean esta jovensita Kelsey, de 10 anos de edad, cantar la cancion "We got the Beat".  Kelsy canta con una organizacion llamada "Network for Young Artists", en San Antonio que ensena a jovenes cantar y bailar.  

Friday, March 24, 2006

The Problem with Public Access Television-Part 2

It has been almost 3 months since we posted on the issue of losing our public access channel in San Antonio, Texas. As of the last week of March 2006, the Public Access Channel is still off the air. After numerous meetings and phone calls with the City of San Antonio, public access producers, and media watchdog groups in Washington DC, we still have no public access channel to air our shows on.

The Public Access Producers were advised that the channel would be back up and running as soon as possible. That was at the end of December 2005. As soon as possible has turned out to be over 3 months as of now.

We have been left in the position of no longer having a studio to record at, staff to assist with editing, editing equipment and for that matter cameras to shoot video. We formerly had all that available per the contract the city had with Time Warner Cable prior to December 31st, 2005. The rug has been pulled out from under us.

We now also have to hustle to create/build a studio to shoot shows, raise money to buy camera equipment and editing software, and still having to wait for the City to get their act together to air shows, which so far has been at a snail's pace. It is just not at their top of the to do list. They state they are still waiting for the broadcasting equipment to come in. It has been a very disappointing 3 months.

Meanwhile we are in the process of setting up a small studio, and will need to purchase the camera and lighting equipment to resume shooting. We will continue to post the shows to the internet while we await the public access channel broadcasting to resume.

We all wish to continue the work that we do. We all feel that we are doing something worthwhile to change the options available to youth from the media they watch and listen to. If you would like to help, we welcome any donations from the public of money or equipment or advice for video production. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to assist. And remember, this is all probably coming to a city near you.

Patsy Robles,
Executive Producer for 411 Productions

To read an article in San Antonio Current from 2004 on The 411 Show, click on this link:
http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=12073486&BRD=2318&PAG=461&dept_id=484045&rfi=8

To view the article on the Public Access issue in the San Antonio Current Magazine, link below:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15796347&BRD=2318&PAG=461&dept_id=484045&rfi=8

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

The 411 Show- Adopting Pets - Part 2- (13 min)

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The 411 Show - File may take time to load on Windows Media/Quicktime. The remaining 13 minutes of the show on adopting Pets. See note on previous post for Part 1.

Featuring Nadia, 15 years old as host and Eric 18 years old. The cat is named Lucky, but also known as “Ms Kitty”.

Produced by 411 Productions

Saturday, March 18, 2006

The 411 Show-Adopting Pets Part 1(9 min)

Watch the video

Files may take some time to load on Windows Moviemaker or Quicktime.

The 411 Show - Featuring Nadia 15 years old and Eric 18 years old. This show filmed in late 2004, was by far our most popular show. We received lots of comments and because it aired several times, many people got to watch it. The cat, whose real name is “Lucky” (because she was lucky we picked her up from the parking lot of a grocery store, where she had taken up residence), has the nickname “Miss Kitty”. Well Miss Kitty was definitely the center of attention on that day of filming, and she took it all in stride.


The show dealt with a serious issue in San Antonio. Where over 50,000 dogs and cats are put to death each year, making San Antonio the number one city that kills unwanted pets. The local newspaper, the Express-News, had run a series on this called “Death by the Pound”, which showed graphic photos of carcasses of dogs thrown in the land fills, which stirred a lot of people into outrage, which was long overdue. Many youth consider themselves animal lovers, and facing the reality of what happens to pets that get picked up by the pound was a wake up call. We hoped to encourage more youth to consider adopting a pet from the pound. Changes have been made at the pound since this episode aired, including the resignation of some staff, however there are still disturbing problems that still linger to this day.

To view the article from the San Antonio Express News in November 2005 click on this link:

http://.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA111404.1A.poundmainbar.543d8efc.html

Produced by 411 Productions