The Right Angle

Contestants scribbled on paper or tapped on their laptops with only 15 minutes to finish a grueling writing assignment. They’d come to Fess Parker’s Doubletree in the last week of June to attend the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, and as a bonus got to compete in the reality TV style challenge called the Ultimate Write-Off. Viewers can share in the fun by tuning in to Part 1 of the Ultimate Write-Off TV special on cable channel 17.

The competition was the brainchild of Cheri Steinkellner, Montecito resident and former head writer for Cheers, and Marcia Meier, SBWC Executive Director, welcomed the addition to the many activities offered. On the first day the Reagan Room filled with anxious participants. Steinkellner invented unique writing tasks for each of the six days, which included writing poetry for a chosen prop, creating a musical number for a work never before put to music, and coming up with dialogue with a partner in the style of famous writers such as David Mamet and Tennessee Williams. One day the assignment centered around food in honor of celebrity guest judge Fannie Flagg.

Different judges tallied up scores at the end of every day’s event. At the awards banquet at the close of the Conference four winners were announced. Some who competed found the race for top honors nerve-racking. But no matter who won, all the contestants enjoyed themselves and got to pump their writing muscles.

The 36-year-old Santa Barbara Writers Conference is the nation’s preeminent conference for writers interested in improving their craft, primarily through workshops that focus on the reading and critiquing of each writer’s work.

The Ultimate Write-Off was videotaped and edited by Lisa Angle of Ninety Degrees Media, who is also on staff at The Santa Barbara Channels that runs cable channels 17 and 21. Second camera operator on the program was Victoria Minnich, whose short documentary World’s Easiest Catch premiered at last year’s Ocean Film Festival

Here’s s five-minute sneak preview of the two-part Ultimate Write-Off:

Find more videos like this on The Santa Barbara Writers Conference

For further air dates and times check the channel 17 schedule. Part 2 of the Ultimate Write-Off will premiere on channel 17 sometime in October.

Have you seen the largest animal to ever live on the earth? I have. Right out in the Santa Barbara Channel, about an hour from my house, is one of the best places in the world to view blue whales. Estimates calculate the pre-whaling population of these mammoth creatures at 275.000, and today the population is gauged at only 5,000. Just 2,000 of those travel in the Northern Hemisphere, where they can get up to 90 feet long and weigh as many tons. Interestingly enough, in the Southern Hemisphere they get even bigger, reaching over 100 feet long, and as is true in baleen whales, the females are larger than the males. So technically the largest animal to ever live on earth would be a female, Southern Hemisphere blue whale, and I haven’t seen one of those—but I have seen a blue whale, and WOW!

Imagine sitting on the bow of a 60 foot boat with its engines off. At least ten spouts can be seen all around you in the distance. Then, without warning, a blue whale surfaces right next to you. So close even the lady who works in the galley yells. This happened to me right off Santa Cruz Island on the Rachel G in 2002. I’ve seen many other blues since then, and smelled them too—they have horrible breath when they’re feeding on little, shrimp-like krill. Just like the tourists who come to Santa Barbara County for the great restaurants and wines, the blues come here for the five-star kill in the Channel, and they can eat a couple ton of it a day.

Anyway, the reason I get to see so many blues, and whales in general, is that I’m part of the Channel Islands Naturalist Corps. This group of volunteers is managed jointly by the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and the Channel Islands National Park. We talk to passengers on whale watch boats in Ventura and SB, and lead hikes on the Channel Islands. I’ve lead hikes on Santa Cruz Island and usually do whale interpretation on the Condor Express at least once a month. In the summertime when blues and humpbacks flock to the Channel, I use the Sanctuary’s camera to take photo ID pictures.

The photos go to Cascadia Research where they are cataloged under the supervision of John Calambokidis. He identifies individual whales by the unique patterns around their dorsal fins or the underside of their flukes, and he figures out where their journeys take them and which other whales they hang out with.

On August 16, 2008 I happened to be on the Condor Express, camera in hand, when we came upon Calambokidis in his skiff tagging blues.

When asked how a researcher in what amounts to a dingy tags an eighty-something foot blue whale, Calambokidis answered, “Carefully.” He pulled up along side the Condor and gave a Q&A and demo of the long poles they use. The large orange suction cup tags fell off not long after being affixed.

Megan McKenna, from the Scripps Whale Acoustic Lab, will use the data collected to see if blue whales in the shipping lanes can hear ships coming and if the whales try to move out of the way of approaching ships. In wake of four blues washing up dead on Southern California shores last year, It’s an important study.

We actually saw two tags on the whales. The smaller yellow ones were put on earlier that month by Dr. Bruce Mate of Tagging of Pacific Predators. These are meant to stay on for several months and communicate with sattlelites, so hopefully we’ll be able to track these whales on the Internet soon.

Notable passengers on the Condor that day included Hayden Panettiere and Jeff Pantukoff of Save the Whales Again/The Whaleman Foundation, and Bernardo and Diane Alps of American Cetacean Society LA Chapter.

The highlight of the June ’08 SBWC for me was Wednesday night’s award presentation to Sue Grafton. First I liked that it wasn’t just Sue standing up and giving us a talk. The format of having the guest speaker sit with somebody and chat seemed to engage the audience. I hope they use this “in conversation with” format more in the future.

Second I liked what Sue said at the end of the program about how a writer isn’t a real writer until they realize not everything they write is good. It’s true. Being a writer is like being an Alcoholic. An alcoholic can’t start on the road to recovery until they admit to having a drinking problem. But once they begin getting help and work on staying sober, they get healthier and healthier. Once a writer admits they need help and attends a workshop, writers conference, or the SBWC Café, their writing will get better and better.

Like working the 12 steps, getting your writing critiqued regularly can lead to serenity. It’s hard being a writer. We have our own 12 steps to learn.

1. Write, write, write
2. Hook your reader
3. Show don’t tell
4. Keep it simple
5. Kill your darlings
6. Build the story up with tension and unanswered questions
7. No reader-feeder
8. Use appropriate grammar and spelling
9. Get critiqued
10. Read work by other writers
11. Give your readers a satisfying ending
12. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite

They work, if you work them! We may not be recovering, but we are rewriting.

Sue didn’t allow her presentation to be recorded, so here’s a clip of the tribute to her at the SBWC talent show that also took place that night.

Find more videos like this on The Santa Barbara Writers Conference
P.S.: My suggestion: U is for Underground.

You produce it. They get people to watch it.

Back in the ‘80s we didn’t have YouTube so we turned to the BoobTube for entertainment. In 1984 Senator Barry Goldwater sponsored a law causing Cable TV to pop up all over the US. In exchange a small portion of the revenues went back to the communities to establish their own television stations for Public, Education, and Government (PEG) Access.

While channel surfing you may have come across City Council meetings on Channel 18, SB’s Government Access station. Interesting, if you’re into politics. But I’m not.

I tend to watch more Public Access on Channel 17 and Education Access Channel 21. Well, they’re both on while I’m at work. I’m a part-timer at The Santa Barbara Channels, the nonprofit that runs 17 and 21.

Since I’ve worked there, I’ve seen Channel 21 grow into a great resource for local arts and culture. The staff shoots David Starkey’s Creative Community, a variety of performances at the Marjorie Luke Theatre, and a diverse array of community forums ranging from poetry readings to media seminars. At the moment they’re airing a concert called Rock the Reagan given exclusively for the crew of the USS Ronald

Reagan, and their friends and family, while the ship was in port in SB. Of course they still air some fascinating lectures recorded at UCSB by the university’s team, and programs from the County Schools Office. A precious few outside arts and education pieces by SB producers have been shown on Channel 21, such as Much Ado About W that aired after its premier at SBIFF in 2007.

But SB indie producers have a huge venue for showcasing their work on Channel 17. Yes, I know, if you’ve ever surfed onto it, you’ve probably seen some stinky stuff. I know I have, but I’m not naming names. Keep in mind it’s a place where people can learn, people like me who can hone their directing skills on shows like Secrets of Self Improvement. Some programs gear themselves to the IV crowd that makes up drinking games to play while they watch. On the flip side, they’ve got cute kids shows like the award-winning Talk to Mirely, and programs that spotlight local bands and musicians like Musical Café and Indie Music Show.

Despite the jokes you’ve heard about Public Access TV, or the portrayals you’ve seen on South Park or The Simpsons, good reasons for airing your material on it remain. Channel 17 goes to 67, 000 Cox customers between Carpinteria and Gaviota, and it does actually get watched. Actress Carol Metcalf, who stared in the popular Channel 17 special Disco Academy, says she’s always having people she doesn’t know come up and tell her how they love her character Donna Disco.

SB Indie Producers who’ve shown their work on Channel 17 include Penny Little, whose program People to People tackles peace and social change, and Larry Nimmer has aired many videos on the station. I haven’t seen Mark Dispenza’s production yet, but I have seen him at the station checking out a camera, microphones, and a light kit, so maybe soon. That’s another plus to Public Access, studio and field equipment available for community use.

Thankfully, our PEG TV stations have moved past the 1980’s. I’d hate to dress in legwarmers, spandex, and puffy hair to go to work. We’ll be making some progressive changes to our website soon. Can’t say any more because I’m sworn to secrecy, but we are joining the age of online video. Channel 21 even has its own YouTube page.

I’d watch the show even if I didn’t have to. I work for The Santa Barbara Channels, the nonprofit that runs Channel 21, SB’s culture, arts and education TV channel on Cox. Mainly I do marketing for them, but occasionally I find myself behind a camera. So there I am giving a count down and cuing host David Starkey at the beginning of most episodes of The Creative Community.

As David says, The Creative Community is a video archive of SB’s writers, poets, artists, musicians, actors, filmmakers, and other creative people in our community. The first episode I worked on featured Bill and Cheri Steinkellner who wrote for Cheers, one of my favorite sitcoms. I was hooked and have worked on every in studio episode since. Other notable guests have included Nobel Laureate Walter Kohn, who garnered one of only two of the shows hour-long episodes. The other sixty-minute show went to Andrew Davis, director of Hollywood films such as Holes—another favorite of mine. Author Erica Jong was the only non-local guest we’ve had, because she happened to be in town speaking at the Writers Conference. Other Writers Conference stars who’ve appeared on the show include Perie Longo, Barnaby Conrad, and Ernie Witham.

Being a writer, poet, playwright, and musician himself, David has his finger on the pulse of SB’s creative community, which makes him the perfect host. I’ve peered at David through the viewfinder of a camera for two and half years now, and seen him mature as an interviewer and relax as an on-air personality. He claims to be recognized wherever he goes.

A few shows were shot on location in places like SBMA for the migrant workers photo exhibit (I edited that episode), and a special at the home studio of painter, and Creative Community set and lighting designer, Ray Cirerol. Most recently, David took a group of poets out to Anacapa Island to do readings for the show.

With a wealth of talented guests, a now seasoned host, and over a hundred episodes in the can, it’s no wonder the show has won a few awards, both national and regional. First place national awards from the Alliance For Community Media went to interviews with Mike deGruy (2006) and Mary Rose Betten (2007), and a first place Western Access Video Excellence Award went to an episode with Annie Crawley.

Sample clips from The Creative Community are available on YouTube, or you can tune into Channel 21 Mondays or Thursdays at 4 pm, Tuesdays or Wednesdays at 10 pm, Saturdays at 6 pm, or Sundays at 11 pm, and see for yourself. You don’t have to watch it, but I sure recommend it.

In my opinion, the best bet for Fiesta fun is the dancing and music at the Courthouse Sunken Gardens. It’s not just a one night only event, you can go Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday. You can put your blankets down in the morning and they won’t be thrown aside when you come back—unlike the parade scene. The atmosphere is more family orientated so the crowd isn’t as wild. But it’s still downtown, not tucked away like El Mercado Del Norte.

How’d you spend your Fiesta?

The SB Film Weekly is sponsored by the County Film Commission and comes out every Thursday. The Local Spotlight tells about producers and their projects, as well as area locations good for filming. If you have news you think would be appropriate for this section, just let me know. We also list mixers, film festivals, seminars, music and theatre events, exhibits, and resources.

Why should you check out the SB Film Weekly? You could find a film festival you didn’t know about that your film would be perfect for. You could find a screening and exhibit opening to attend this weekend. You could find out when somebody like Larry Jordan is coming to town to teach a valuable workshop. Maybe I’ve forgotten something, so see for yourself at http://www.filmsantabarbara.com/filmweekly

If you get on the email list by sending your contact info to Martine (martine@filmsantabarbara.com) at the Film Commission, you will get a link to the weekly version (http://www.filmsantabarbara.com/filmweekly/this_week.htm) sent to your inbox every Thursday. This version contains just the new stuff. Items previously mentioned get moved to the long version and stay there for about a month.

I’m the editor, which means I pour through emails and websites to find material. Then I distill it down so it’s as concise as possible and takes you less time to wade through. Oh, yeah, I also format the HTML and stuff for it as well. 

Hopefully, you will see it in your inbox next Thursday.