PETER SANTINO: CURRENT INDEX1

Posting of Some Very Old TV.
"CLEAN & NEAT"

Almost 30 years ago, in the early 1980's, Manhattan Cable TV provided free public access time for locally produced video programming. It was supposed to be non-commercial, educational...
but tended toward individuals ranting and naturally, soft core porn. I remember Al Goldstein's Midnight Blue and The Robin Byrd Show as being the norm. At the time, It seemed like the right situation as I have always loved TV but never been a big fan of "video". This work was intended only for TV broadcast and was never shown in a gallery or any other fine art setting.
Working with Young Filmmakers on Delancey Street, I was able to get access to a studio, cameras and editor and began producing episodes of "CLEAN & NEAT" in early 1983.
Later that same year I teamed up with my wife Shirley Lee and together we bought a small Sony Betamax camera enabling us to work on location. It really wasn't until Shirley became involved, especially in editing, that these "CLEAN & NEAT" episodes became interesting. Truly a collaboration.

People have suggested over the years that I post some of the episodes online and while I knew there were a few vintage 3/4" U-Matic cassettes out in the barn, they hadn't been properly stored...
Then we saw the film "Hugo" and I was inspired by seeing the early Georges Mélièsfilms.
So, in the interest of history, I shipped off four old tapes to HD Media Services
and was very pleased with the transfer results.
The four episodes of "CLEAN & NEAT" posted on YouTube are from late 1984 and early 1985: