My Adventure Launching ttt

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I was sitting at my desk at Grampian Television in Aberdeen, Scotland, when the telephone rang. It was James Coltart, Deputy Chairman of the Thompson Organization. I had met him about six months previously when I had arrived in London and left my resume with his office. He told me that the Thompson Org. was getting involved in setting up TV stations in developing countries and that they wanted a Canadian style look to the operations. They didn’t want a CBC model but one that was similar to the independent commercial stations in Canada. He felt that my background in Canadian TV (Hamilton – Producer/ Director, Edmonton – Commercial Production Manager, Calgary – Production Manager, Winnipeg – Executive Producer) would meet the requirements for their operations.

Coltart asked if I would be willing to go to Kenya and set up a TV station there. At that time the Mau Mau’s were very active and were cutting off the heads of white folks. I said thanks but no thanks. But I gave him the name of a Brit who worked with me in Calgary and who was now back in England. As it turned out he contacted this person who eventually went to Kenya and did a great job.

Two weeks later Coltart called me again. This time he asked if I would like to go to Trinidad and set up the station there. I knew that Trinidad was somewhere in the Caribbean but that’s about all the knowledge I had of the place. I told him I would call him back in a day or two. Off I went to a travel agency and picked up whatever literature I could find on Trinidad. The agency also had a 16mm film on Trinidad that I was able to borrow. The film was all about Carnival. Bingo! Coltart had his man.

Five weeks later I was sitting in Coltart’s office getting last minute information and instructions before flying off that afternoon to Trinidad. The station’s financial structure was: Thompson owned 40%; Rediffusion owned 40%, CBS New York had 10% and the Trinidad Government had 10%. Thompson was to be responsible for the production/programming end of things while Rediffusion would look after the engineering requirement. I was to be the overall Advisor/Consultant in the operation and was to also train staff. The General Manager was Ron Goodsman who, up to that point, was Redifussion’s Engineer of radio operations in Trinidad. He had no TV background at all but was able to convince the powers-that-be that he could do the job.

Before I prepared to leave, Coltart dropped a bombshell into my lap. He had received word the previous day that the person who had been hired to be the Program Manager had changed his mind and had taken a job as General Manager of the Chamber of Commerce. That person was Ken Gordon. I now had to add the Program Manager’s duties to my job description.
At that point a “rotund” gentleman in spectacles wandered into the office. I was introduced to Lord Thompson. The conversation went like this:
Thompson: So, you’re the fella that’s going to set up my station in Trinidad.
Me: Yes, sir.
Thompson: You know what kind of station I want, don’t you?
Me: You want a Canadian style operation. I imagine you would like it to be similar to your stations in Kingston and Peterborough, Ontario.
Thompson: Oh, you know about them?
Me: Yes. You want a cameraman who will push the camera with one hand and operate the mike boom with other.
Thompson: Yes! But haven’t you forgotten something.
Me: No. We’ll also stick a broom up his rear end so he can sweep the floor at the same time.
Thompson: That’s it! That’s it! That’s exactly what I want. Have a good trip and good luck!
With those words ringing in my ears, I flew off to Trinidad by a BOAC Britannia airplane with a stopover in Bermuda for refueling. I arrived in Trinidad late in the evening and checked into the Queen’s Park Hotel. In the morning, feeling fully refreshed, I went down to the lobby. I was approached by a slightly built man who said “Are you Barry Gordon?” (He must’ve recognized me by my pale complexion.) I nodded. He said “I’m Ron Goodsman. I don’t know who you are or what you’re doing here but I didn’t send for you.”
And so the adventure begins.
At my meeting with James Coltart in London he advised me that construction of the station was underway and that equipment had been ordered. Indeed, some of the equipment had been delivered already. Then he dropped the bombshell. The station had to be operating in time for Trinidad’s Independence…..two weeks hence!
Ron Goodsman drove me to the site of the station on Maraval Road. As I looked around a horrifying thought struck me. Could that concrete slab on the ground be the “construction” that Coltart was talking about? My work was more than cut out for me if we were to keep our commitment of televising the Flag Raising Ceremony at midnight on the eve of independence followed by the Opening of Parliament the next morning. The engineer on location, courtesy of Redifussion, was Bill Corkhill. Bill, a Scotsman, was extremely energetic and knowledgeable. We arranged to have a room quickly erected on the slab which would house telecine and a desk for an announcer to sit at. Mervyn Telfer was the announcer who made the first on-air appearance for TTT.
Because there was a tremendous amount of engineering work to be done in an extremely short period of time we called upon CBS to lend a hand. They sent in 2 engineers from New York and a film editor from Los Angeles. CBS also arranged for a mobile crew to cover our opening events. The mobile crew was the cream-of-the-crop.They would follow President Kennedy around and cover his travels from aircraft carriers to foreign visits. The 2 engineers who came to Trinidad from CBS turned out to be the Director of Engineering for CBS, Joe Stern, and the Assistant Director of Engineering, Ron McKelvey. Along with Bill Corkhill, these two gentlemen put in 14 hour days doing all the wiring and getting the engineering requirements in place. Bob Parris joined in later.
The transmitter was being set up by Canadian General Electric and a crew headed by Bruce Reid was already at work. As I recall at the time of TTT’s initial broadcast there were only about 80 TV sets in the country. Besides those owned by private residences the government had arranged to set up TV sets in various parks throughout the country.
Ron Goodsman and I had our first major clash when he told me he was ordering a negative film processing machine. I told him that TV stations in the early years had negative machines but were now switching to reversal processors. Film processing time was less and, operationally, there was less chance for error by an operator who might forget to switch polarity when a negative film was being run. But Ron steadfastly claimed that negative was the only way to go and that those who had switched really didn’t know how to operate efficiently. He ended up buying the negative processor only to change to a reversal processor some two years later at a cost of $25,000. We went through a similar exercise regarding a lighting grid. He was adamant that lighting would be fixed and never touched again. I tried to impress upon him that lighting was constantly being altered based upon the event that was being televised. His inexperience was very trying on me. But after initially setting up fixed lighting it wasn’t too long afterwards that lights were made adjustable and Charles Magloire became the unofficial lighting expert.
The Flag Raising Ceremony and the Opening of Parliament went off without a hitch. The CBS crew was extremely efficient. After the Flag Raising Ceremony at midnight they worked the rest of the night tearing down and re-setting the equipment for the Opening of Parliament. Joe Stern and Ron McKelvey stayed in Trinidad for about a month. I shudder to think about what might have happened if they hadn’t been around.
Bob Archibald was hired to look after the film department. And the first film assignment that came along was to film Trinidad’s first Ambassador to the United Nations as he was departing for New York. Bob assured me he knew how to use the Auricon camera so off he and I went to Piarco. I was to be the interviewer. David de la Rosa arranged for us to do the interview on the steps leading up to the Pan Am plane. Bob seemed to be doing a lot of fidgeting with the camera but I finally got the signal to go ahead from him. When we returned to the station I told him to get the film processed and call me when it was ready for viewing. It wasn’t long before he called.There had been no film in the camera.
The actual arrival of television was a long-awaited, but somewhat dubious event. Trinidadians had long become accustomed to announcements of great happenings to come but only to see these proposals fall by the wayside. But when August 31, 1962 dawned on the country it marked a momentous occasion for the population. Independence! It was actually happening. But another event was also taking place that was initially greeted by skepticism. The Independence ceremonies were to be televised throughout the country. Not many people believed that this would actually occur. But when people began gathering in the Square across from the Red House, where a TV set had been erected, they were amazed to look at scaffolding, television cameras and huge lights being erected near the base of the flag pole. Television had indeed arrived and this single occasion gave Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) a sense of reality and validity.
And now the hard work began to structure a complete TV operation. Neville Welch, a former pilot for Varig Airlines, was hired to head up the Sales Department. Neville was a big gregarious man who loved a good joke and always had a smile on his face. Joyce Marshall was his assistant. Neville’s work was more than cut out for him. Nobody wanted to advertise on television initially because there were so few sets in the country. But it wasn’t long before the set count began to climb dramatically. And that created its own problem. Retailers were clamouring to buy TV time but they had no visual material. Our Commercial Production Dept. consisted of Ann Winston and John Barsotti along with Louis Sorzano as a film cameraman. At first I handled the actual directing of the commercials. But pressure of other responsibilities (training announcers, set construction, training operators and cameramen, sales advice, administration, programming, etc.) became somewhat overwhelming. I put a call out for Charlie Moore in Canada. Charlie and I had worked together in Calgary and I was always impressed by his work ethic and his amazing amount of energy. Charlie arrived and immediately took over Commercial Production as well as some of the operational training. I was now able to concentrate a little more on the on-air look.
In my view our on-air staff ended up being some of the finest and most talented group of people I had ever worked with. Mervyn Telfer was the anchor who was always available to fill in at whatever assignment came along. Clyde Alleyne was a “steady Eddie” who always gave his best. And then there was Hazel Ward. I had never seen anyone prepare themselves so thoroughly for the program they were handling. She always amazed me with her professionalism. Hazel and I had many conversations usually about television in general. I will always remember her telling me that “you should have been a lawyer because you’re so analytical”. Lloyd Rohlehr, the gentle giant, set up a news department that required almost no guidance from above. His news readers eventually included a sterling cast of Bobby Thomas, Trevor McDonald, Ed Fung, Hans Hanoman, Errol Chevalier (I always thought of him as the voice of doom), Jimmy Wong, and Don Proudfoot. In the latter stages of my time at TTT Yussuf Ali joined Lloyd in the newsroom and added immensely to the on-air presentation.
Meanwhile the Sales Dept. was expanding along with the increase in TV sets in the country and the expansion of programming hours. Neville now had Jean Mouttet, Lloyd Rochard, Winfield Aleong and Vernon Legere, to “pound the beat.” The ever-efficient Claudine Pantin was handling the traffic aspect of programming and sales assisted by Marilyn Leong Poi. Michael Clarke, George Tang and Louis Sorzano looked after the filming of news items and commercials. Louis also doubled in Film Editing.
Although Ron Goodsman and I had our differences from the beginning I will always be grateful to him for one specific aspect of TTT. A secretary had been hired for me prior to my arrival in Trinidad. I had worked with four secretaries in previous television operations and knew how important they were to keep things running smoothly in an administrative capacity. So when I was introduced to Ethel Bethelmy I inwardly had reservations about her capability because of her lack of television knowledge. But she absolutely amazed me with her quiet efficiency and the manner with which she absorbed the industry. She took a huge workload off my shoulders.
I have often been asked if I ever had any interference from any government officials. Well, there was an incident that took place that may, or may not, be classed as interference. I had a phone call from a government minister one day (whose name will not be revealed). He asked me to employ a niece of his. I tried to explain to him that television was a very specialized business and that I couldn’t just hire anyone off the street. The conversation went like this:
Me: Is your niece a film editor?
He: Uh, no.
Is your niece an audio operator?
Uh, no.
Is your niece a cameraman?
Uh, no.
Is your niece a technician?
Uh, no
Is your niece a commercial writer?
Uh, no.
Well, Mr. Minister, as you can see there is just no position available for her right now.
Uh, yes, I see. Thank you.
I never heard from that Minister again with regard to employing any of his friends or relatives but we became good friends after that.
As the months flew by and the television on-air programming expanded it became necessary to increase responsibilities to various personnel. To that end I had ensured that all operations personnel should experience the different functions that took place on a day-to-day basis. Everyone had to take their turn at audio, telecine, master control, camera, etc. In that manner they would have more respect for one another and the jobs they had to perform. I was also looking for the cream to rise to the top. And rise it did in the person of Errol Harrylal. This deceptively quiet and unassuming individual began to exhibit a professionalism and creativity that totally stunned me. He absorbed the intricacies of television production at an abnormally rapid rate. It was with complete confidence that I could turn over programs for him to direct and eventually produce. Another person who rose to the top was Ossie Maingot. His calm intelligence and leadership capabilities were very evident in planning sessions.
Another bonus for me was about to emerge that would allow me to stop working seven days a week. Farouk Muhammad arrived. He had received his television training at Ryerson Institute in Toronto. At that time Ryerson was the only school in Canada that offered a television course. Farouk’s desk was placed in my office and I can still recall his first day sitting there. He kept eyeing me in a suspicious manner and I too kept eyeing him in a questioning manner. I don’t know what went through his mind but I can certainly relate what I was thinking about. There were two incidents in Canada that I was aware of where Ryerson grads took jobs at functioning TV stations. Unfortunately they came to work with an attitude of “I know it all” and this caused a good deal of disruption among the regular employees. Suffice to say that in both of these locations the Ryerson grads only lasted two weeks before they were let go. And now I was faced with a Ryerson grad.
But Farouk did not exhibit any of the “qualities” of the Ryerson people I had heard about. He was quiet, polite and enquiring. There was never a sign of pushiness or superiority. He handled all assignments with the efficiency of a television pro well beyond his years. As time went by I increased the pressure on him to see if I could find any weak spots. I’m sure he sometimes must’ve felt that I was picking on him for no good reason. But in the back of my mind, I knew he was my replacement and I wanted him to be the best there was. And he was.
During this period of time Ron Goodsman and I were having our professional problems. I recall one meeting where Ron jumped up from his desk and shouted at me “You’re accusing me of incompetence!” I jumped up and responded “If the shoe fits wear it!”
I knew my days were now numbered as I had heard that he had approached the Board about having me removed. However, I was stopped on the street one day by Sir Patrick Hobson, Chairman of the Board, who told me not to make any plans to leave because the strained situation between Goodsman and myself would resolve itself soon. And shortly thereafter Goodsman was sent back to England.
A new General Manager was appointed and as I was ushered into his office to meet him for the first time I was greeted with “I don’t know a damn thing about television so I’m going to need all the help I can get”. This unbelievable breathe of fresh air was named Sonny Rawlins. I had unbounded respect for him. He was the fairest individual I had ever come across. I admired him tremendously and supported him with all my heart at all times. How could I not.
I had one failure at ttt that I was most proud of. If that sounds like an oxymoron so be it. Scouting For Talent was probably the most successful local commercial show on television. While the talent that appeared on the program deserves a lot of credit for this success I feel it was mainly due to Holly Betaudier the host. I had many sessions with Holly where I tried to correct his grammar and presentation. And then I realized that I was wrong. Holly was a son-of-the-soil and represented the average local person….the clerk in the stores, the cutter in the cane fields, the cutlass-wielding vendor at the coconut carts. Holly was Holly and I was wrong to try to mould him into the likes of a sterile host as seen on North American television. Holly was one of the most caring and warm persons I ever met.
I can honestly say that I was very proud of everyone who worked with me at ttt. They arrived at the front door of the station without an ounce of television knowledge but their eagerness to learn was more than a joy to behold. Because of them the station became a leader in the Caribbean. On more than one occasion representatives from Jamaica and Barbados television stations came to ttt for guidance about production, programming and operations procedures. I knew then that the station was in good local hands and it was time for me to walk out the front doors for the last time after seven of the most rewarding years of my life.
A new era was about to begin!

A historical day for Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago television signed on with its first black and white television transmission. The year was August 31st 1962. The moment the island of Trinidad and Tobago gained its independence from British control. Composer Pat Castagne wrote the lyrics for the national anthem of Trinidad and Tobago. -“Let every creed and race find an equal place, and may God bless our nation”. This theme was heard throughout the day from radio stations 7:30 and 6:10. The newly designed flag comprising of colors red, black and white flew aloft government buildings, including our all new television station ttt (Trinidad and Tobago Television) on #11b Maraval Road Port-of-Spain. This was the day that no one or I would ever forget.

This was indeed the chance many Trinbagonians had, the opportunity of viewing a live television broadcast. Many of them were on their rooftops adjusting their directional horizontal TV antennas to receive the best gamma signal match possible. The kiskadee and picoplat birds fought for perched priority on the shaky antenors; bird droppings discolored and stained the galvanized rooftops, but no one ever complained. It was the price we paid for having TV. Prior to this, we were accustomed to listening to radio transmissions, some of us with eyes closed trying to hallucinate or create a picture in our minds as we attentively listened to popular radio aired programs, such as “second spring.” TV the new medium changed this for us, thus creating an all new media dimensions. (Once Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission had it’s power running). No TV during black outs.

The commercial sale of television sets sold in abundances throughout our new nation. The shiny mahogany cabinets prominently adorned our living rooms. The most popular set was the large 20-inch TV format. With channels 3 and 13 to tune in depending on where one lived, it became the channel of choice or demand. These live broadcast programs with news, politics, sport etc were transmitted until 11:00pm. The ttt television then signed off for the night with a live picture of the newly acclaimed Trinidad and Tobago flag fluttering in the tropical breeze accompanied with the audio transmission playing the tune of the national anthem of Trinidad and Tobago. We then saw the color bars (though in black and white) until the following morning when the broadcasting resumed. – There was no TV hand held remote converters to fiddle with. -Switch on / switch off.

This era of live television quickly became the norm for relaxation in Trinidad and Tobago, for those of us who could have afforded a TV set; it was a joy and envy of the neighborhood. Friends were invited to come over to watch TV. So much so, that bars and nightclubs outfitted their establishments with TV sets mounted high on walls so that participants were entertained as they drank their favorite Carib beer or Fernandez Rum. Trinidad then had its own TV stars to be admired, like Sam Ghany or Melinda Scott and Mervin Telpher. PANORAMA was the favorite nightly show. “Don’t sit too close to the TV set – you will hurt your eyes” the older generation exclaimed. I was intrigued with the frequent commercials advertising showing all of the world’s goodies. Store merchants had TV sets in the show windows and a gathering of people stood outside to watch the TV news and other programs such as “scouting for talent” with TV host (saga boy) Holley “B” We marveled with the fluent “from Head” sport commentary with Raffie Knowles.

But this should not be a new venture for Trinidadians, since some of the concepts for television – John Logie Baird pioneered broadcasting in Trinidad on 22 January 1926 in his small backyard laboratory located in the hills of Santa Cruz. John Baird managed to surpass them all with very little money; a handful of unpaid helpers and equipment pieced together using rather unconventional materials. Although large companies with great financial support were also working on the phenomena of television, Baird managed to surpass them all. For example, Baird’s choice of mechanical scanning as the most effective way of achieving true television required the use of spinning discs – which of financial necessity were made of hatboxes and mounted on coffin lids. His electronic experiments did not survive for any length of time in Trinidad because the neighbors in the Santa Cruz area where he dwelled once saw blue and green lights flashing from his home at night, and coffin lids propped up in his backyard, they thought that the young scientist was practicing obeah, He was then stoned out from his dwelling, and was forced to regain his residency in Scotland.

I was employed as a photographic inspector working with the Electoral office. Louis Sorzano and Michael Clarke worked with me in the same capacity. These two well renowned photographers left the Electoral office to take up positions as cine -journalists with Trinidad and Tobago Television. About nine months later, I began working with ttt as a freelance sin photographer, on a contract basis. We all worked as a team with high spirits and enthusiasm. Farouk Muhammad was our program director. We covered all the horse racing events at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Cricket live from the Oval, Live carnival coverage, Golf club tournaments, news, political assignments, documentaries, car racing coverage in Guyana, we made our own commercials and covered all social events relating to television. The equipment we used was somewhat primitive, to say the least, “hand wound cameras” but with our editing skills combined with other hidden talents we were able to provide our viewers with a high quality end result. No one knew what went on behind the scenes.

We worked with strict deadlines ahead of us, often enough, we had to retrieve wet film coming out from the processor, and we ran to the editing room and begin editing in order to meet those stringent deadlines. But as we always said the show must go on, and it did. We sat back and watch the news unfolds on a TV set in the staff lounge. This I believe was a tribute to job satisfaction in every regard.

I was indeed deeply saddened to receive the news that ttt Trinidad and Tobago Television is now a historical sight in the heart of Trinidad. Its doors are shut tight and no signals are transmitted. 43 years of faithful and devoted service gone unnoticed. What a shame… I often ponder over my employee badge ttt, and reminisce or evoke the good days we had. In my opinion, – It was a major change in electronic technology and that was “The true spirit of Trinidad and Tobago.”

ttt – The Eyes of the Nation

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As Trinidad and Tobago transitioned from its colonial past to independence it also embarked on a new era in broadcasting – that of television. Trinidad and Tobago Television, (ttt) as it became known signed on every evening since its inception in August 1962, with the very familiar words – “Trinidad and Tobago Television (ttt) the Eyes the Nation”

It was with deep regret and sadness when I received the news that ttt signed off the air for good on 14 January 2005. Although I had moved on some 32 years earlier ttt held a special place in my heart in all respects. It was regarded as the “old stomping ground” a “university lab” of sorts for those of us who “leaped frog” into careers in television and communication abroad. Personally, I was able to use the knowledge, training and experience in careers after leaving ttt, first in Canada and New York and eventually as an international civil servant at the United Nations.

I recall very vividly that before becoming an employee at ttt, I was given an assignment by Neville Welch, the sales manager of the Station to canvas Port of Spain and capture images of people in the down town area standing outside of the showcase windows looking at cricket live on television. The sales manager was so impressed with my still photographs that he immediately called the Chief Engineer, Jack Evelyn who overwhelmingly endorsed the quality and content of the coverage. Unknown to me at the time, this was a contributing factor to my getting a job at ttt.

Many of those who listened to coverage of cricket and other favourite sports commentary on radio for years wanted to see the action live with commentary by Raffie Knowles even though they themselves did not own a television set. As the masses slowly adjusted to the new phenomenon of television, the city officials, encouraged by businessmen, soon mounted television sets in public parks such as Woodford Square in Port of Spain and Harris Promenade in San Fernando. Actually this was a marketing ploy to entice the viewers to purchase television sets.

In my actual interview for the a job at ttt, with the General Manager, Ronald Goodsman, he explained that my post description was going to be “operations assistant” dealing with photography. With this title, I spent a training period in the film library where I joined Louis Sorzano, George Tang, Bob Archibald, Tony Malucchi and Christine Pantin. We were all responsible, in one way or the other, for assembling the daily transmission reels by timing the programmes, inserting commercial breaks, and adding cues at the appropriate segments. Daily newsreels were also compiled from locally filmed news stories as well as foreign news films provided by International Television News (ITN) London and other sources. In our daily assignments we also collaborated with colleagues in the Commercial Production Unit. Ann Winston, one of the pioneers who came from Radio Trinidad, was our main contact in that Unit. She networked with the Advertising Agencies as they supplied commercial spots and material to be aired during the breaks in programming. Many will remember that Bonanza and Gun Smoke were among the most popular shows in those early days.

As a matter of fact in those pioneering days at ttt we very truly functioned as a team in all respects. The General Manager and Programme Director, as a matter of fact, demanded professional excellence and inspired the staff to achieve perfection. Above and beyond the familiar faces of Melina Scott, Denise Gomes, Hazel Ward, Clyde Alleyne, Bobby Thomas and Mervin Telfer who either anchored or hosted a variety of programmes, there was an even bigger creative team behind the scenes. The engineering team included Jack Elvin, Graham Shaw, Deighton Paris, Jim Richards and Claude Daniel, while the technical team included Errol Harrilal, Victor Daniel, Shaffick Mohammed, Hugh Pierre, Tony Lutchman, Miley Duke with Ossie Maingot, Suraj Basdeo and Urias Mark in the props. The creative graphics to announce either stations breaks or upcoming events to promote local programming or to inform the audience of ongoing technical difficulties were designed by Compton Welch.

Over the years, my initial training in still photography, under the guidance of Noel Norton served me well in terms of transitioning to the moving picture format (television) ratio. My first real film assignment was given to me by Barry Gordon who as he nurtured me into the assignment said, “there is nothing to it, Mike. I have confidence that you can handle the job and do it well”. With that pep talk, a Bell and Howell silent news camera with a “wild sound”recorder were placed in my hand for the event. At the time it appeared to be a daunting assignment but I faced the challenge head on. I returned to the Station with a story “in the can”. Of course, those were the days of film, so the footage had to be processed by the lab technician, Julian Best and later edited so the report was not aired until the following day.

A great many, if not all, of us were new to the environment so it was a matter of learning the technology on the job. No task was too small! Even the operators who transferred from radio had to adapt their technical knowledge to the motion picture standards. Although some of the language was familiar to me, I had to make quick adaptations from still to motion picture photography every step of the way. The equipment we had at the time was really not state-of-the-art but the technology and language was so intriguing and challenging that we grew with each assignment.

The Auricon 16 mm sound-on-film (SOF) camera was the “main stay” on major location coverage. The very first time in fact, that we covered cricket on film at the Queens Park Oval, there was really no staff with the expertise at ttt to handle it. The management had the foresight however, to contract a team from ITN-News to provide the major coverage while we under-studied the crew to quickly pick up the fundamentals, which we did with precision.

There were many limitations as far as equipment was concerned. We had the one SOF camera at ttt in the early days, so in order to bridge the gap when the film ran out of the camera we learnt to “rig” a second silent camera with a 400 foot magazine to “bridge the window” as a back-up just in case a major play was made during the reloading of film on the sound camera. This was done using a black changing bag because there were no darkroom facilities on location. We made these changes quickly and efficiently to achieve a smooth transition as the “bridged camera” was silent. As time progressed we acquired the skills and with the change in technology we eventually moved from film to live coverage.

As pioneers in the early days at ttt we were given the opportunity to learn the various operations in different departments. For instance, on one occasion I signed on the station when an operator was absent. I appeared in television commercials, one with even John Agitation, a well-know comedian in the Islands.

In due course, I shifted to the News Section at ttt that produced the Panorama News, which was regarded as the flag-ship newscast programme providing outstanding local perspectives nightly at 7:00 p.m. The team in the News Room at the time included Lloyd Roehler, Yussuff Ali, Horace Harrigan, and Leslie Thornhill. Eventually Panorama expanded its coverage from local stories in Trinidad and Tobago to include other Caribbean countries. Again, it was a challenge to adapt and to improvise on each location because outside news environments are never static. This meaning that there is really no “dress rehearsal” in news coverage.

Over time we learnt the importance of attending “briefings” and “walk through scenarios” whenever possible, in order to secure the best vantage points to set up equipment because in reality the crew is competing with other crews for the best vantage locations.

While covering the Guyana independence for instance, I learnt during the briefing that the lowering and raising flag ceremony was going to take place in total darkness. A crucial piece of equipment, a “sun gun”, was going to be imperative in capturing the images of the changing of flags from colonialism to independence. Other international crews who did not attend the briefing were caught off-guard and I was the only one who had the images recorded. With that experience I was able to transfer this knowledge to the coverage of Barbados independence ceremony and to other news events such as coverage of the visit of HRM Queen Elizabeth, Emperor Haile Selassie (Ethiopia) as well as the many Caribbean Ministers summits, to name a few. ttt coverage of these major media events brought history into the living rooms of citizens and actually provided them with the reality of events live-on-film.

It is often said that each major assignment has a story within a story that does not make it on the air. While covering Guyana’s independence inauguration I was personally invited by Lord Thompson, who was one of the founders of ttt, to join a group on an informal evening with Errol Barrow, the Prime Minister of Barbados, along with Barry Gordon who was expected to hold discussions with an official from Guyana. At the time Guyana was interested in launching a television station in that country.

We journeyed on an amphibious aircraft to his home which was located in an interior part of Guyana. The trip itself was interesting and scenic as we flew over the Kaiteur Falls (Guyana) which has a drop of some 228 meters. Kaiteur Falls is the highest free-falling waterfall in the world, five times higher than the well-known Niagara Falls in Canada. That, however, was not the only fascinating experience of the day! When we entered the two-story bungalow, there were two very live tiger cubs steering directly at us from the living room. I froze in my steps and waited for the others in the group to react or even dare mention a word. The host on realizing that we appeared to be petrified, tried to break the silence by launching into a litany of excuses to justify why he housed these wild beasts as domestic animals in his home. Among the excuses was the fact that the mother of the cubs was accidentally shot shortly after birthing the cubs. Still frozen in my tracks, I took a deep breath, and after what seems like an eternity, I overheard Errol Barrow say he is going back to sit in the aircraft; without hesitation I joined him. Needless to say we missed the interesting discussions and the rum punch party but felt our lives were too important to take the risk that starred us in the face that night. A hair raising experience not to be relived or caught on camera.

ttt in fulfilling its mandate to provide viewers with local programming, produced several culturally diverse shows such as Best Village, Mastana Bahar hosted by Sham Mohammed, Teen Dance Party and Twelve and Under hosted by Hazel Ward and Scouting for Talent by Holly Betaudier. Needless to say, such programmes encouraged greater admiration for the cultural differences in our society as well as preserved and promoted respect for the traditions and fundamental values in the country as well.

Moreover, one of the most popular weekly programmes was Scouting for Talent hosted by Holly Bataudier. Searches for talented contestants to be auditioned were conducted nationwide, either on location or in the studio at 11 Maraval Road. This show with all its imperfections was a genre way ahead of its time. With the advent of globalization we can now view similar productions such as “American Idol” with the famous Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul replicated internationally with spin offs such as French Idol, Chinese Idol etc. The coveted prize on the American Idol is a one million dollar recording contract while on the Scouting Talent Show the prizes were nowhere in that ball park.

As I mentioned before, I owe my success in the international communications arena to my formative years at ttt. In the onset, we were allowed to wear different hats, and this molded us and provided a broad understanding of the medium. When I migrated, first to Canada I was able to transfer the experience and knowledge in film to such assignments as covering Ontario Parliament at Queen’s Park and later in the New York at Time and Life Films, where I re-edited the famous March of Times news reels which were shown in cinemas around the world long before television became a household word.

As faith would have it, I went on to work at the United Nations where I was responsible for the production of several award-winning films and documentary videos that promoted advocacy for the children of the world.

During my 25-year career with the United Nations, working in film and television, I traveled to over 100 countries crossing cross many times zones and the International Date Line several times, logging thousands of frequent flyer miles with such well known Goodwill Ambassadors (UNICEF) as Sir Peter Ustinov, Liv Ulmman, Audrey Hepburn as well as the famous 007 actor Roger Moore and Harry Belafonte who needs no introduction.

Despite the tight time lines and the daunting circumstances, followed by the rapid changes in technology, we the committed staff at ttt were unaware that one day we will be known as the pioneers in Caribbean Television!

Again, I must reiterate that I was both saddened and nostalgic to learn that Trinidad and Tobago Television (ttt)went off the air in January 2005. Saddened because ttt was the place where I spent my formative years and where I fostered a career and love for the medium and nostalgic because it was the place where I forged lifelong friendships.

It is very tragic therefore to learn that the Eyes of the Nation are now closed!