BCAT TV Network Community Producer Profile: Rich Greco

Rich Greco, producer "AMOSTV"

In November, the Alliance for Community Media-North East Region announced the winners of its annual Video Festival. The yearly competition draws thousands of submissions from community producers creating video productions in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York.

Two BCAT TV Network Community Producers, Rich Greco and Ralph Favilla, received awards for their programs: Greco’s AMOSTV received first place in the Arts & Theater (Including Comedy & Drama) category and Favilla’s The Sound of Brooklyn received first place in the Music & Performance category.  Each program has appeared as part of the Brooklyn Free Speech TV line-up on the BCAT TV Network.

Rich Greco & friends have received other accolades in addition to their most recent ACM-NE Video Festival win including: 2010 Screening in the Loft Gallery, Narrowsburg; BlipFest 2009, screening of First Place Short; Digit Film Festival 2008 and 2007, Honorable Mention; MTVU Film Festival 2007, Finalist.

To watch archived episodes of AMOSTV, visit the website: http://atmidnightonsaturday.com/
It airs the first  Saturday of every month at midnight on BRIC’s BCAT TV Network: Time Warner channel 56, Cablevision channel 69., RCN 84 and in all five boroughs on Verizon 44. Live streaming at bricartsmedia.org/bcattvnetwork (launch channel 3).

How would you describe your show to someone who’s never seen AMOSTV?

I don’t think there is anyone who’s never seen the show. It’s on Brooklyn cable access. We have the eyes and ears of the world, a world that knows a pretty decent non-linear comedy variety show when they see it.

It’s a non-linear comedy variety show;  a mix of sketch comedy, music videos, spoofs, pranks, and stunts.

Why do you make AMOSTV? (Or, what makes you get out of bed, say to yourself, “I’m going to make a comedy television show, darn it” and then actually follow through with the idea?)

With AMOSTV, I have complete creative control. I also have the freedom to have fun and make jokes without actually having to stand in front of a bunch of people.

And for people who don’t know AMOSTV—what’s with the beaver?

One of the recurring characters is a six foot beaver sporting a pink bandanna, named Dream. Dream is a provocateur who preys on mild-mannered and impressionable, sleep-deprived twenty-somethings. He represents their subliminal urges of defiance, to get specific.

Tell me a little bit about the production process of creating a comedy program—seems like you’ve got some friends helping you out… do they get paid or do they get to keep the beaver suit when they’re done?

Christian Capello-Colon, Ryan Hellman are other major players with help from Tim McCormack, Michael Douglas Polsky, Stephen Brown, John Tarsitano and Anthony Macca.  It’s really anyone I know who has a good idea and/or some free time.

Whenever anyone from the show has some free time, we get together and bounce ideas around. Sometimes I’ll board out a concept, but mostly we have an idea of where we want to start and where we want to finish, and we fill in the middle as we shoot.

The beaver costume is my property because I’m the one who has to wash it. It gets pretty hot in there. None of us makes any money from the show, which i think makes the whole thing more genuine. The beaver costume was $60, so actually this show costs us money.

How long have you been submitting programs to the BCAT TV Network? How long have you been creating video productions?

My buddies and I have been filming together since 2000. It started as a series of short films, roughly fifteen minutes in length that we would screen locally around Brooklyn in basements, backyards and at house parties.

Our goal was always to get on cable access and get everyone in Brooklyn together to watch. For the first few years the show was on, we would get all our friends together under one roof and watch new episodes. Those growing parties were a contributing factor to the eviction of our two friends who lived under that roof. No hard feelings though.

This April will be our sixth anniversary as a show on BCAT TV Network. Every year for the anniversary episode the original cast members dress up in their AMOS uniform: black button down shirt, fluorescent tie, and swim trunks.

What do you like most about public access television?

Public access television is great because for the most part it’s unpredictable. It provides a level playing field where anyone with a little time and some passion can have their very own half hour of television.

Potpourri:  Tell us something  interesting about you or AMOSTV ….

AMOSTV is short for AT MIDNIGHT ON SATURDAY TELEVISION, which is the time slot for when the show airs.

Or:

Most of the music from the show is originally scored by my band,  HI HAT + LO REZ.

Advertisement