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Classic Video Thread (pre-2008)


Jess

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YouTube user Sebastian Albaran has uploaded several compilations of 1980s news opens from around the world:

 

Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WMg84wHrjM

 

Part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCqBpdxL3Sw

 

Part 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5sDAlvJ_tY

 

 

Part 4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjSUKN8G1Ow

 

Part 5:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3DMZjrNhKQ

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BTW, can anyone identify the Spanish-language station using the MCTYW theme and the Telenoticas de Accion brand at the 9:22 mark in the clip above? Thanks in advance.

 

WKAQ, Puerto Rico. Speaking of which, I just made a find of a 1991 theme that is not in the NMSA (Puerto Rico stations evidently have full NMSA listings):

 

 

That's a great compilation. Probably wouldn't have seen most of those (a few, like the Seven National News/1983 open, I've seen).

 

***

 

Also, KING 5, 1992. Two straight hours: a full 5pm newscast with commercials, NBC Nightly News and 6:30 Evening Magazine! The Internet Archive hasn't turned up anything new like this in some time: https://archive.org/details/Tobacco_egy27a00

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KCRA 1990-92 open

 

http://earlgrizzell.com/Earl_Grizzell/WELCOME.html

 

It's about 2 minutes into the TV Production REel

 

The 1988-90 open is about 6:55 in.

 

Looks like he did the 1988 and beyond updates to 'Where the news comes first.' Still unclear who did the original orchestral theme around 83/84.

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The U.S. Copyright Office lists Grizzell as composer of "Where the News Comes First" with a registration date of April 6, 1987, and a "date of creation" of 1986.

 

NMSA says the theme debuted in 1986, not 1983/84. I believe that 80sTVThemes.com said the CGI intro debuted in 1984, but I am sure that was an error. There are clips from 1986 with the orchestral theme, but older graphics. And there's a YouTube clip with a different cut, which seems to be from December 1985.

 

As far as I can tell, even though Grizzell's demo reel only shows the 1988 version, he wrote the original package, and it likely debuted sometime in 1985.

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My guess is the original was a VTS Productions package. His bio has him working there from 1986/1987 onward.

 

So maybe they had him work on updates to it.

 

This clip from late 1985 has just the original music as the opener

 

 

Then a few months later in early '86 we get that clip with the more majestic version, but interim graphics. So guessing the original debuted a year or two before 1985 whenever that desk with the blue stripe debuted.

 

Their 1986 set was from a move to a new building, so my bet is that's when the more majestic open was commissioned, and the copyright wasn't filed until '87.

 

Would love to find the reels for all of these! Classic package. Maybe have TVPMM reach out to him.

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Interesting observations. The only kink is that the copyright registration only mentions Grizzell, with nothing about VTS. That implies he wrote that musical signature himself.

 

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with VTS founder Hal Brown, and the actual history of the package is exactly the reverse of your theory. Earl Grizzell did the original package (the one in the "Fantastic Four" clip from Dec. 85), and the revisions were done at VTS after Grizzell joined. Brown remembered going to London multiple times to record the symphonic versions. But since Grizzell was the author/owner of the original musical signature, only his name was on the copyright registration.

 

So it's Grizzell's theme, but he did the revisions to it at VTS.

 

I will probably still contact Grizzell, just for final final confirmation.

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Those symphonic versions of the KCRA theme: I remember hearing it from 1984 to 1988 on KRDO Channel 13, the ABC affiliate in my hometown of Colorado Springs, Colorado. I also recall the WFAA-like news opens, which had aerial footage and photos of KRDO anchors (with their signatures in the lower thirds), and it had that background music. Does anyone have those symphonic versions of "Where the News Comes First"?

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[yt]JPeQFMsQeAk[/yt]

 

There is something I did not know about WAFF Channel 48 (NBC in Huntsville, AL). Go to the 21:05 mark of Part 107 of NewsActive3's openings and promos, and you will find (in fact, a lot of this clip shows it) that Channel 48 had NBC's 70's Trapezoidal N, even in 1981 (on its opening and on its ID). I thought that 48 would have converted its ID to have the Proud N with it.

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Cool - would be great if the cuts could be donated to the TVPMM. Might be more amenable to approach it that way.

 

Interesting observations. The only kink is that the copyright registration only mentions Grizzell, with nothing about VTS. That implies he wrote that musical signature himself.

 

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with VTS founder Hal Brown, and the actual history of the package is exactly the reverse of your theory. Earl Grizzell did the original package (the one in the "Fantastic Four" clip from Dec. 85), and the revisions were done at VTS after Grizzell joined. Brown remembered going to London multiple times to record the symphonic versions. But since Grizzell was the author/owner of the original musical signature, only his name was on the copyright registration.

 

So it's Grizzell's theme, but he did the revisions to it at VTS.

 

I will probably still contact Grizzell, just for final final confirmation.

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The part at :23 of this WBNG 1996 open sounds too familiar to me, like it's in another news theme. Can someone help me identify it? This theme is in the NMSA as WBNG 1996 but we haven't had anything but a talent open for it prior to today. It almost sounds a bit like WRAL 1988 but that's not a perfect match.

 

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