Member Profile: Neil O'Callaghan Written by Diane Machado

Common perceptions of public access television programming range from the educational to the downright “wacky.” Most people attribute the wacky appeal of public access programming to be an outcome of First Amendment freedom of expression that public access stations have trumpeted over the years. However, looking at the some of the wildest programs like Neil O'Callaghan's series titled Short Cuts, there is a undeniable presence of creativity, and enthusiasm in spite of the low-budget nature of the program. After all, producing a program for a public access station relies solely on “free” time after spending the day working to pay the bills.

For Neil, producing Short Cuts at SCAT offers a much-needed creative outlet after the 40-hour workweek. He describes it as a way to keep the imagination and creativity flowing. Having a new program every two weeks assures that the crazy crew of Short Cuts have a means for self-expression without putting themselves in danger of being locked up in an institution. Although Short Cuts debuted in Somerville last February, its original onset began nine years ago in Beverly, MA under the direction of a co-worker of Neil's. The executive producer needed a sidekick and approached Neil to join in the production of Short Cuts in 1998 at the Stoneham Public Access Station. Before that, Neil had never worked in video production and admits that he was “a rookie of the utmost proportions.”

However, while working as a sidekick, he learned the fundamentals of producing a program, from directing a crew and cast and functioning as part of the cast, to writing the scripts. The combination of all these experiences could not have been a better formula to turn him from a `rookie' to an executive producer. Although most of the production occurred in the studio of the Stoneham Public Access Station, Neil enjoyed plenty of post-production time, editing the footage to fine-tune the segments for cable casting. Even after his move to Somerville a year ago, Neil's dedication to producing Short Cuts continued. After all, it would have been difficult to leave public access with one of the nation's oldest public access stations at his disposal. SCAT appealed to the Short Cuts crew immediately as a viable resource to continue the production of their program as well as an opportunity to reach an entirely new audience.

Short Cuts shoots in SCAT's studio every other Saturday and submits a new segment bi-weekly. Neil relies heavily on studio production to execute his program and depends on three individuals: Jay Hale, Rick Collins and John Leary to fulfill any necessary roles. Any additional volunteers becomes a bonus. So far, Neil's attempt to seek additional cast and crew consist of posting a crew sign-up sheet outside of the studio. Often times Short Cuts offers candy and donuts as an incentive to volunteer. Neil estimates that 95% of Short Cuts viewers, after having seen the show at least once, want to get involved. However, the commitment of several hours every other Saturday keeps Neil and his crew scrounging for new talent. Repeatedly, one of the regular crew members mayl be responsible for the roles of seven characters or more. On one occasion, one of SCAT's resident plastic plants joined the all-star team, debuting as `stupid green plant'. In addition to the commitment, volunteers need to bring a healthy dose of insanity to keep up with the improvisation and the ad-lib that accompanies his skeletal scripts.

In the end, Neil's hope is that the developed characters will be the draw to his show. Modeled around people that the cast has had contact with – be it former roommates or personal relationships – the characters are a common thread seen throughout the series. Short Cuts plans to develop a regular audience based not only on the characters and creativity, but also through their `shameless self-promotion'. The crew has spent a considerable amount of energy off the set, maintaining a Short Cuts website detailing their history and profiles of the cast and crew at http://welcome.to/shortcuts. Also, a mass of black and white stickers advertising the program and its website have been printed and posted around Somerville. Recently, Neil produced a short promo for SCAT's Loop Tape, thereby broadening the exposure of Short Cuts even farther.

Somerville Community Access Television
90 Union Square, Somerville, MA 02143
Phone: 617-628-8826 | Fax: 617-628-1811
Email: info@access-scat.org
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