With the dawn of a new year it seems appropriate to take stock of the past and plan for the future. 2011 was an exciting year in many ways and 2012 brings challenging new opportunities.

Over the past 20 years I have produced a variety of documentaries. I am extremely grateful to my employer, the University of Alabama Center for Public TV & Radio for the opportunity to do so, and I have often commented about how fortunate I felt to work in my dream job. The funding for new documentaries has dwindled over the last couple of years, but some of my past documentaries continued to reach new audiences in 2011.

As 2011 began, “Songs Inside the Box” was presented at the Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland, Australia. It was awarded First Place Documentary by the Prometheus Film Festival in August and was screened in Paris, France in October. Selected scenes from the documentary were part of a special exhibit on cigar box guitars at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, California for several months in 2011.

I was honored to present “Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour” to an enthusiastic audience in Huntsville, Alabama in June 2011. I wish I could have been there when it was screened in Paris, France in October and Rome, Italy in November but I received good feedback from both events.

I was also honored to serve as a juror for the High School Film category for the 2011 On Location Memphis Film Festival and the 2011 Mississippi High School Film Competition. The latter event, held in Tupelo, offered me the wonderful opportunity to meet with the students in the competition. Some of them said they planned to attend the University of Alabama because of the excellent communications programs offered here. Being a part of those programs is a source of great pride for me. I taught “Intro to Media Production” classes in both the Spring and Fall semesters of 2011.

2011 also brought opportunities to collaborate with my colleagues at Alabama Public Television (APT) and Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB). The UA Center for Public Television & Radio joined with APT to produce “Alabama Stars in Education” in May and I have been working with MPB as director of “Sucarnochee Revue,” a music series which airs on both Alabama and Mississippi public TV stations each week.

I also had the privilege of collaborating with my colleagues at Alabama Public Radio for part of 2011 as the editor of weekly commentaries by Kathryn Tucker Windham.

Midway through 2011, I began working with the development of new content for the University of Alabama’s TV stations WVUA and WUOA. I am producing short documentaries for the stations and I look forward to what the future holds in 2012.

Max Shores.

Jacky Jack White and Britt Gully

“Sucarnochee Revue,” a weekly TV series featuring music from the Black Belt region of Alabama and Mississippi now airs Thursday nights at 10:30 on Alabama Public Television. Recorded before live audiences in Mississippi and Alabama, the series began airing on Mississippi Public Broadcasting some time ago. It is produced by Mississippi Public Broadcasting with crew members from both Mississippi and Alabama, and I have had the honor of directing the programs.

The series name comes from the Sucarnochee Creek which winds through the east Mississippi and west Alabama area known for its rich, black soil. The Black Belt, or Black Prairie as it is also called, was the birthplace of country music legend Jimmie Rogers and blues music legend Howlin’ Wolf. Programs in the series feature music by current favorites from the area and beyond.

Jacky Jack White, a singer/songwriter from Livingston, Alabama is the force behind the series. White began putting together stage shows at the University of West Alabama in Livingston several years ago. The recorded shows grew into a popular radio series which airs on stations across the US and around the world. Stage shows in Meridian, Mississippi were added along the way and TV was just the natural next step. Mississippi Public Broadcasting began recording the shows in the fall of 2010 and the series hit the MPB airwaves a few months later. Now it has come to Alabama Public Television as well.

Regular performers on the series include:

• Britt Gully
• Mississippi Chris Sharp and the Jangalang Band
• Track 45
• J. Burton Fuller
• Jessica Strenth
• The Sucarnochee Stage Hands, a couple of University of West Alabama students who began working on the stage shows behind the scenes but were drafted to perform because they are very talented singers.

For more about Jacky Jack White and the Sucarnochee Revue on radio and TV, read this article from Legends magazine.

Max Shores.

“Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour,” a documentary from the University of Alabama Center for Public Television and Radio, will be shown in Rome, Italy as a part of the 7th annual Mojo Station Blues Festival. The three day festival features performances by blues musicians and films on blues related subjects.

The Mojo Station radio program was created by Gianluca Diana and Pietropaolo Moroncelli in 2002 to celebrate and promote blues music in Italy. The program led to the creation of the Mojo Station Blues Society, a non profit organization, which established the Mojo Station Blues Festival in 2005. Each year the festival brings live blues music and documentary films to an appreciative audience in Rome.

“Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour” will screen on Friday, November 4th at the Cinema Palazzo. The film film tells the story of a Memphis, Tennessee based musician who draws his inspiration from the hill country style of music from north Mississippi. Johnston is a popular performer at venues around the world but at the time the documentary was shot, he was performing primarily on the sidewalk along Beale Street in Memphis. The documentary has been screened at film festivals across the US and Europe and has won five festival awards. It was produced and directed by Max Shores.

For more information:
The Mojo Station Program Podcast
Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour (info about the film)

Max Shores.

Two documentaries produced by the University of Alabama will be screened in Paris, France during October, 2011. The documentaries, originally made for broadcast in Alabama, have both had an impact well beyond the boundaries of the state.

“Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour” will screen as a part of the Raw Sounds Movie Club on October 17th at Le Fanfaron (6 rue de la Main d’Or). The film, which won the Best Alabama Film Award at the 2007 George Lindsey UNA Film Festival, tells the story of a Memphis, Tennessee musician who was performing frequently in Alabama during the time it was produced. Johnston draws his inspiration from a unique style of blues music that comes from north Mississippi’s hill country and the film serves as an introduction to the musician and the style of music. It has been shown across the US, England, and Germany but this screening will be the French premiere.

“Songs Inside The Box” will screen during the Cigar Box Guitare Mini-Festival on October 22nd at Boullion Belge (6 Rue Planchat). The film chronicles an Alabama cigar box guitar festival which attracts participants from across the US. It recently won the Best Feature Length Documentary Award at the 2011 Prometheus Film Festival and portions of the documentary are currently being shown at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles as a part of an exhibit of cigar box guitars. Through “Songs Inside The Box,” the Alabama festival has led to similar festivals around the world and the film will be shown at the first such festival in Paris. It has previously screened in Australia, England, Germany, and across the US.

Both documentaries were directed by Max Shores at the UA Center for Public Television and Radio. The Center was created in 1955 to produce programming for the newly formed Alabama Public Television network of stations covering the state. For the past 20 years the department has focused primarily on the production of single topic documentaries which have shared aspects of life in Alabama and the southeastern US with audiences around the world. In addition to broadcast distribution, CPT&R documentaries have been screened at international film festivals where they have won awards.

The presentation of these two music documentaries within one week in Paris is a coincidence but the stories told by the two films are related. It was through Richard Johnston’s use of cigar box guitars that director Shores learned of the widespread interest in the instruments and the Alabama festival that brings cigar box guitar makers and musicians together.

Max Shores.

As the Fall 2011 semester begins, the University of Alabama Center for Public Television is seeking applications from students who are interested in working in television production. Both paid and non-paying internship positions are open for application at this time.

For over 50 years, the Center for Public Television has produced programs for broadcast on Alabama Public Television. In addition, the center has recently made a commitment to produce several weekly series for the University’s TV stations, WVUA and WUOA.

Public television projects under production include the weekly series, Bookmark and Discovering Alabama as well as individual documentary topics. Projects for WVUA/WUOA include The Iron Bowl Hour, a new weekly series to premiere on Friday, September 2nd and other concepts under development.

Available position include:

• On-Camera Talent
• Assistant Producer
• Editor

To apply, download the application and submit it to the Center for Public Television.

For more information about student positions, contact Mike Letcher at 205-348-6210, or e-mail mletcher@cpt.ua.edu.

Max Shores.

“Songs Inside The Box,” the cigar box guitar documentary has been selected for screening at the Prometheus Film Festival of York, Pennsylvania. The festival will take place in the York Little Theatre on August 19th and 20th, one week before York will host the annual Pennsylvania Cigar Box Guitar Festival.

I’m very proud to have the film screening in York because it is the home of Shane Speal, the self-proclaimed King of the Cigar Box Guitar and central figure of “Songs Inside the Box.” Shane will be performing at the festival.

For more information:
PrometheusFilmFestival.org
ShaneSpeal.com
SongsInsideThe Box.com
Pennsylvania Cigar Box Guitar Festival

Max Shores.

Fall semester classes begin August 24th and I’m looking forward to teaching Intro to Media Production (TCF 145) again. The class of 16 is divided into smaller groups of students who produce projects by working together. We will be shooting projects with Sony PD170 cameras and editing on Final Cut Pro software. I’m still working on final plans for the upcoming semester but projects will probably include:

*Preparing a storyboard for a short action sequence and then shooting and editing the sequence
*Writing a script for a short dialogue scene and then shooting and editing the scene
*Writing a script for a 30 second commercial or public service announcement and then producing it
*Writing a treatment for a 3 minute narrative film and then shooting and editing the film

Each student prepares the written assignments (storyboard & scripts), then each group chooses one script to produce.

The class is a combination of lecture and hands-on exercises. Students are graded on writing exercises, group production projects, and two major written tests.

Our textbook is “Video Production Handbook” (Fifth Edition) by Jim Owens and Gerald Millerson. Class will meet Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 3:30 in Reese Phifer Hall Room 130.

I have established a blog for the class at: http://maxshores.com/tcf145.

Max Shores.

Kathryn Tucker Windham died on June 12, 2011 at the age of 93.

For me, and most native Alabamians of my generation, Kathryn Tucker Windham was always there. I read her collections of ghost stories when I was a child. I heard her speak on various occasions and I saw her on TV many times through the years. Her stories made me smile as I listened to her each Friday morning on Alabama Public Radio.

It was comforting to know that she was at home in Selma writing something new to share with the world. But now she’s gone.

Mrs. Windham was widely known for her collections of Southern ghost stories. She was the inspiration for my 1998 documentary titled, “The Ghosts of Selma.” The documentary featured several Selma, Alabama ghost stories and I interviewed people who told me they had seen ghosts at locations around the city. It ended with Mrs. Windham, who many in Selma lovingly called “the ghost lady.”

The closing credits appear over an image of Live Oak Cemetery in Selma where Mrs. Windham liked to go for picnics. Some people thought she was a bit strange. She loved life and approached everything with childlike curiosity and enthusiasm.

Her weekly commentaries on Alabama Public Radio ran for 26 years. Mrs. Windham told stories about growing up in Thomasville, Alabama or shared her observations about things that “made her wonder.” She collected folklore and traditions from around the world and wove them into tales of south Alabama life in the early 20th century.

Those stories were recorded in her dining room by various people through the years. When Brett Tannehill left Alabama Public Radio in late 2010 to become program director at WLRH in Huntsville, I was asked to carry on this tradition. Mrs. Windham was 92.

In early 2011, her health declined and she was unable to record new material, so I searched though the library of past recordings for something to air each week until she was able to record again. I called her every few weeks and she would say, “I need just a little more time to get over this illness. Check back with me in a couple of weeks.”

For the last six months of her life, the public radio programs were all reruns but I didn’t hear complaints. Several people said something like, “I think I’ve heard her tell that story before, but it was good to hear it again.” Mrs. Windham provided a link to life before the advent of air-conditioning and television, when people sat on their front porches and told stories to pass the time. Her stories were amazing and all were true.

She recalled her grandfather talking about being taken prisoner during the Civil War. Her father, a banker, told her that the change she brought back from a class field trip was all the money the family had at the advent of the Great Depression.

Her best friend started driving at eight years of age. Her brother had a pet possum that escaped and was missing for weeks until it was found hanging by its tail from the living room curtain rod. When the boy she really admired showed up to take her to the school prom, he smelled like a skunk.

My favorites were the account of the circus monkey escaping and the story of the Easter pageant that went awry. Her sister ran terrorized from the circus tent when the monkey escaped only to find it waiting for her on their front lawn. After the stage manager and the Jesus character had a fistfight during scene changes, Jesus, dressed in loincloth and fake blood, ran out of the auditorium shouting, “They’re trying to kill me!” The actor who had played Judas, dressed in gym shorts, ended up on the cross in the final scene.

Mrs. Windham lived a remarkable life and shared bits of it with us in ways that kept us tuning in for more. In her final commentary, which aired two days before her death, she urged us all to record our family members telling their stories before they are gone forever.

Max Shores.

Richard Johnston plays a cigar box guitar in a Mississippi Juke Joint

“Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour,” the award-winning documentary by Center for Public Television & Radio producer/director Max Shores, will be shown at the 7th Annual Cigar Box Guitar Festival in Huntsville, Alabama at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 4th. Shores will be in attendance and will answer questions after the screening.

Presentation of this University of Alabama documentary is just a part of the two-day festival which will begin on Friday, June 3rd at 6:00 p.m. with a free performance by cigar box guitar musicians, Hymn for Her. Following the documentary screening on Saturday there will be performances by Pat, John and Uncle Chuck Nickel, Microwave Dave, John Lowe, Seven Hills Stomp, Nadaband and Earl Williams. Bill Jehle’s Cigar Box Guitar Museum will be on display as well as demonstrations of various hand crafted instruments. The admission charge for the Saturday events will be $15.00.

Richard Johnston is a Memphis musician who is inspired by the music of the hill country of north Mississippi. He and John Lowe worked together to create a unique cigar box guitar which allows a musician to play both bass guitar and lead guitar simultaneously. It was through Johnston that Shores learned of the annual CBG event in Huntsville which ultimately became the subject of his documentary, “Songs Inside The Box.”

The 7th Annual Cigar Box Guitar Festival will take place in the Flying Monkey Arts Center located at Lowe Mill. The address is 2211 Seminole Drive Southwest Huntsville, AL 35805.

Here is a schedule of events during the festival:

6/3 – Friday – Hymn for Her, Admission FREE Concerts on the Dock (6pm – 9pm)

6/4 – Saturday – Artist Market 2nd floor, handcrafted instruments and more… (Noon – 4pm)

Demonstrations: How to Build a Cigar Box Guitar with John Nickel (1pm & 3pm)
1st floor studios : Nickel Cigar Box Guitar

Workshops:
12:30 & 2pm – “Build a One- String CBG with Steve Webb
1st floor classroom – $30. materials & tools provided questions or registration: backpocketcrafts@yahoo.com

1:30 & 2:30pm – “Learn to Play a Cigar Box Guitar” with Pat Nickel
1st floor lounge near Nickel’s CBG Studio

Jam Sessions: 1st floor lounge area / 2nd floor connector / on the dock
Special Guest, Max Shores, documentary filmmaker
“Songs Inside the Box” and “Hill Country Troubadour”
2nd floor Film Co-op / Don Tingle studio near theater

Flymo Theater Extravaganza – Saturday – 4th (4pm – 12am)
4pm – “Hill Country Troubadour” film screening, Admission $5
“Live” Cigar Box Guitar Music ’till midnight, Admission $10
6pm – Pat Nickel
7pm – Seven Hills Stomp
8pm – Microwave Dave
9pm – John Lowe
10pm – Earl Williams
11pm – Nadaband

For more information:

Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour
Songs Inside The Box
The Flying Monkey Arts Center
Hymn for Her
Bill Jehle’s Cigar Box Guitar Museum

Source: The University of Alabama Center for Public TV & Radio

Max Shores.

The 2011 Alabama Stars in Education Awards will be broadcast live Wednesday, May 11th at 7:00 p.m. over Alabama Public Television. The gala event honoring inspiring students and teachers will be held in the Wesley Hall of Frazer United Methodist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. It is hosted by the Alabama State Department of Education and Alabama Public Television.

The University of Alabama Center for Public Television and Radio provides production support for the broadcast and prerecorded materials which will appear during the broadcast. I will be editing the interviews with the four finalists for the Teacher of the Year award.

For more information:
http://www.aptv.org/stars

Max Shores.