First episode of new Community Espresso series to be filmed
Monday
With one over-the-top successful endeavor now launched and gathering momentum by the week, Poppy Jasper Film Festival founder and local film/video expert, William Leaman, is brimming with enthusiasm for his next project: A new television show called “Cinema Espresso” to be taped at the downtown Morgan Hill coffee shop Coffee Kaffe Vin, utilizing local talent as the hosts and support cast of the show.
Following nearly four months of pre-taping practice, scripting, and technical planning, the first pilot of the planned series will be taped Monday, Sept. 12, beginning at 6:30pm. The public is invited to look over the director’s shoulder as the taping takes place to see how an actual television program is put together.
Leaman’s plans call for the program to be initially distributed to the country’s more than 350 community access stations which operate channels similar to the local Morgan Hill Access TV (MHAT) channel. Collectively, these community channels connect to over 13 million subscribing households based on subscriber data compiled by the Alliance for Community Media in Washington, D.C., a membership organization that promotes community television concerns.
For this new project, Leaman has recruited about a dozen local crewmembers, including community television talent Kelly Palmer and Walter von Tagen, community theater director/actor Steve Spencer, and experienced TV director John Liegl.
“Although prior experience for the on-screen talent can certainly be a factor, it’s not an absolute necessity as we’re fully prepared to help groom and develop local talent,” said Leaman. He also envisions the series utilizing a number of walk-on roles played by community folk who might have an interest in participating.
“These things take time, patience, and persistence,” said Leaman, looking back at his own experience in pushing the Poppy Jasper Film Festival idea for over two years before the festival actually took place this past November.
“At many points along the way with the film festival project, there were times when I wondered if maybe this half-baked idea festival should ever go back into the oven. But thanks to the talented and hard working great team that had been assembled, the pieces began to come together through weekly meetings, planning, and grinding-it-out hard work.”
Recognizing the value of a team approach, Leaman has worked hard at developing a stable core group to assist in this new enterprise, including writers, a director, technical staff, and project assistants.
“If things go the way I think they can, we’ll have another vibrant project to light up our downtown, just like the film festival,” Leaman said.
He is currently shooting initial takes of the program in a downtown location that shows off some of the charm and character of the downtown.
“By making use of the unique features of what’s already there, we’re optimizing the opportunities and minimizing the work effort,” he said.
As has been shown in other successful television shows, it’s not unusual for a real downtown location to be used as part of the set, which can then lead to that location becoming almost its own tourist attraction. For example, the long-running TV show “Cheers” that premiered in 1982 featuring a real downtown Boston bar, now a popular tourist attraction.
The Poppy Jasper Film Festival, which burst on the Morgan Hill scene last November, has given the community – and especially the downtown – a glimmer of what’s possible when local folks get together, share their ideas, and pool their talents.
