Teens on the Coast have their own late night talk show on Coast Cable 11 thanks to some imaginative students in Elphinstone Secondary School's TV Production class.
The senior class has produced their own form of late night TV that has hosts Amanda Krystalovich and Jonathan Williams interview people in the community who have interesting jobs or pastimes that would relate to their teen audience.
In the first taping of the show that will air tonight (Friday, April 8), Saturday and Sunday at 11:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. on channel 11, hosts interviewed local tattoo artist Piotr Barker and piercer Flo Bevan.
Camera crews silenced the set as the first live taping of Coffee Nights Almost Live was filmed in Elphi's TV Production classroom April 5.
Tables and chairs were set up for the audience and Starbucks coffee was provided free of charge while production people listened through headsets and gave the five-second countdown for the house band to start playing their theme song.
They cut to a shot of host Amanda who sits behind a desk on the set that features a large comfy couch, Coffee Nights Almost Live symbol (a coffee cup, of course) and a large winding roll of film across the backdrop displaying different scenes with the cast and crew.
The set looks professional and the lighting is perfect.
Amanda introduces her guests and an on-location shot soon rolls on the display screen.
The students visited Barker's and Bevan's stores before the live taping to give the audience a firsthand look at piercing and tattooing.
Back to the live interview and Amanda asks questions such as "How long does it take for a general tattoo?" and, "Is there an age limit for getting a tattoo?"
Barker's reply is more serious than expected and although he notes no one under the age of 18 can be tattooed without parental consent, he stresses the need to make sure you are ready for a tattoo before getting one.
"I would even wait a month after you're sure you want it just to see," said Barker.
Time for a commercial, and they're back with Bevan in the hot seat.
"What's the most popular piercing?" Amanda asks Bevan.
"Ears are the most common - well, ears and belly buttons. But it goes in stages. Some days I do all tongues," said Bevan as Amanda cringes a little.
They roll an on-location shot at Bevan's store where she is performing an upper ear piercing for the camera.
She explains the need to keep the piercing clean and give it time to heal.
"Sometimes people come in and want four or five piercings done at once. But I'll tell them to wait and get them done over a couple of months because it's a lot for your body to heal from," said Bevan.
Student-made commercials run and Jonathan takes a seat on the couch to go over Coastal events in the coming month and fashion trends for teens.
Soon the house band welcomes singer/songwriter Erin Robertson to the stage. As quickly as it all started the 40-minute taping is complete and the students and teachers are cheering and patting each other on the back.
It is an accomplishment worth celebrating. This is the first time the production class has tackled late night programming, although they are familiar with covering local events and creating public service announcements for the non-profit cable station that dedicates much of its time to working with the production students at Elphinstone.
Teacher Linda Durksen said all the staff involved are very proud of the program the students have created. They expect to film a new late night show each month while they are testing the program's popularity.
Students plan to have different guests each program and cover topics of interest to teens. They encourage their peers to watch the show this weekend and send in their comments and suggestions to etv@coastcable.com.
