Sesame Street - 35 years + DIY = Sunshine Again

September 16, 2009 12:02 PM

Sunshine Again is a lo-fi/DIY public Access re-imagination of oldschool 1970's children's television, produced by Heather Ferreira, an independent producer whose mission is to "ignore what network television is doing and start a New York-based cable net of my own, specializing in shows that look and feel a lot like shows on Nick@Nite and TV Land used to – except these will be all brand-new shows." [ more info | appreciation and funky video | Youtube Search for more Sunshine Again ]
posted by not_on_display (11 comments total)

In the intro video (first link), the clip of the kid on the riding toy and then the slide (aprox. the 45 second mark) is lifted from stock footage that comes bundled with Windows Movie Maker.

Thing is, this clip is probably the most recent footage in that entire clip. The rest of it appears to date back to the seventies. I'm trying to figure out whether this is a show for children or for adults my age who want to relive their childhoods.
posted by Clay201 at 12:20 PM on September 16, 2009

edit: this clip is probably the most recent footage in the entire intro video.
posted by Clay201 at 12:22 PM on September 16, 2009

Clay201: "The rest of it appears to date back to the seventies"

This is by design. According to the video notes, " The opening sequence to the show, shot on 16mm and 8mm." The grain and texture look like the 70s because it was done on 70s equipment.
posted by boo_radley at 12:24 PM on September 16, 2009

These are very well done, and right in my wheelhouse. But will this early 70s low rez esthetic really appeal to the kids of today?



You know what? Screw the kids of today.
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:39 PM on September 16, 2009 [4 favorites]

This is incredibly awesome. I really hope this catches on and gets distributed elsewhere. Good, old fashioned, funkadelic learning.

And as a Kelley I'm really digging on that kommercial.
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 12:40 PM on September 16, 2009

boo_radley:

It seems pretty likely that the Windows Movie Maker footage was shot on video originally. I'm sure everything else there is film, as you say.

More to the point though, I think the film footage is not shot to look like it's from the 70s but, rather, was actually shot back in the 70s and repurposed for this show. Check out the haircuts and clothes on those kids. In fact, the only thing that makes me hesitate here is the bus, which could be a little more modern. If the film actually was shot recently and the kids were just dressed and coiffed to make them look retro, then I'd say this crosses the line from well executed into the region of the uncanny and the eerie.
posted by Clay201 at 12:44 PM on September 16, 2009

In fact, the only thing that makes me hesitate here is the bus, which could be a little more modern.

The playground equipment at the end of the intro is very modern. But you're right, Clay201, in saying that some of it looks remarkably authentic. Perhaps some of it is authentic period footage and some of it modern and well done?

Actually, the poor quality of some of the compression makes think that it comes from a variety of places, some of it originating as "found" digital footage that's been re-encoded.
posted by Mayor Curley at 1:05 PM on September 16, 2009

In those days we didn't have violence or hatred of any kind.
posted by sswiller at 1:09 PM on September 16, 2009

The playground equipment at the end of the intro is very modern.

Yeah, that's the part that comes from the WMM footage.
posted by Clay201 at 1:10 PM on September 16, 2009

kudos to her. This is a cool idea and I hope it is successful.
posted by milestogo at 7:18 PM on September 16, 2009

So, after I posted this, I wrote to the contact address on Heather Ferreira's production site to let whoever at the other end know that I FPP'd her stuff. (I do not know her, for the record.) She wrote back:

Thank you so much for MetaFiltering the show. We're about to resume taping in New York and will be releasing a 4-disk DVD of Sunshine Again near the end of 2009, so we are very excited. I visited the MetaFilter page and want to add my two cents' worth -- I was unaware Windows Movie Maker provided footage, and if it does, any of our footage being theirs in origin is unintentional. We obtain older film footage by permission from many sources, and have had to pay for it in some cases, and other film footage we use was shot recently but with a deliberate retro look -- we are definitely aiming for the "eerie and uncanny" with those, and we're going to work hard to scare you guys with how authentically old school some upcoming material looks. I have a 16mm camera and a lot of film stock, so a lot of it is going to come down to making subjects and locations look genuinely old.

I'd also like to add that the material you've been watching online is nothing compared to what is about to be released on DVD. It's going to be wonderful.

And finally -- Sunshine Again is not a public access show. I aired two episodes of it on public access to test audience response. It has not aired on public access is almost two years, and will not again. It's strictly direct to DVD, and we have no interest in making it available to any existing network. We plan to start our own, and broadcast it there.

Thank you again so much for your kind comments! This was incredibly exciting to read and I plan to pass it along, with your permission, to our cast and the investor team.

Heather

posted by not_on_display at 8:06 PM on September 16, 2009 [1 favorite]