TV history comes alive

They’ve got a clip of Kate Langbroek breastfeeding on air, the actual Dexter the robot, a spanner from Charlene, a model of the Big Brother house, plus memories of Seachange, Shirl’s Neighbourhood, and Simon Townsend’s Wonder World.

The Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne today opens its doors to ‘Screen Worlds’, a new permanent, interactive exhibition.

On show is everything from cinema’s early beginnings to the rise of television, games, the internet, new media and the dominance of the digital age.

The television component is the biggest of its kind at ACMI since ‘TV50’ several years ago.

TV Tonight is proud to bring you detailed coverage of the television content, which is open to the public:

EMERGENCE OF TELEVISION
Emergence charts the international evolution of the moving image through an Australian lens. This section moves chronologically through the arrival of each form: film, television, videogames, the Internet and more. It also highlights key moments and dynamics in moving image history. The TV-related sections are as follows:

* The TV Age: 1945-1961: Following World War II, factories turned their attention from military supplies to consumer goods – especially television sets. In Melbourne and Sydney, despite its long delayed arrival, television quickly became a fixture in everyday family life. Hollywood tried to win back audiences with new gimmicks like 3D, but television had redefined the moving image forever.

* Global Village: 1962-1971: On 23 July 1962, millions of viewers gathered in front of television sets in Europe and the US to watch the first live satellite broadcast. That same year, media critic and theorist Marshall McLuhan wrote that the interconnectedness of new technologies had created a ‘global village.’ Satellite broadcasts brought this global village together through shared moments such as the first moon landing in 1969.

* The Electronic Age: 1972 – 1991: Television was redefined by a series of innovations in the 1970s and 1980s, such as colour broadcasts, videocassette recorders and the arrival of videogame consoles. While Hollywood focused on blockbusters, increased public support for the local film industry sparked a boom in Australian cinema.

You can find everything from children’s TV gems, the rise of music TV, light entertainment and sports coverage etc., in this section. It is very rich in historical and educational content.

Some of the OBJECTS/FOOTAGE that illustrate things in this section of the exhibit include:
* Rare RCA Electric Television
* Mechanical Television interactive exhibit showing how early television picutres were created.
* Intelsat III Satelite model – technology which enabled the international broadcast of the Moonlanding (incl. rare footage of the moon walk from NASA and a production model of the Parkes Radio Telescope from The Dish)
* Rare early television footage from the BBC

VOICES: SPOTLIGHTS ON PROMINENT AUSTRALIANS
14 Australian moving image makers from a range of areas feature as what we call ‘Spotlights’ in this exhibition, four of which a television-related.

* Reg Grundy – Television Entrepreneur: The Reg Grundy Organisation was formed in 1959 by one of Australia’s most successful television moguls and entrepreneurs. After establishing himself in radio, Reg Grundy shifted his focus to television and produced many of Australia’s most popular game shows beginning with Wheel of Fortune. In 1973 he branched out into dramas and soap operas, which included Class of ‘74, The Restless Years, Sons and Daughters and the international hits Neighbours and Prisoner.

* Yoram Gross – Animator: Arriving in Australia in 1968, Yoram Gross created many iconic Australian animated films such as Dot and the Kangaroo and Blinky Bill. At the height of his success, his studio employed over 200 production personnel including animators, technicians and artists, using innovative techniques that integrated hand-drawn characters into a live action background.

* Chris Masters – Documentary Journalist: Chris Masters is one of Australia’s finest documentary journalists. Masters joined the flagship ABC current affairs program Four Corners in 1983 and became their longest-serving reporter, producing more than 100 stories over 25 years. He has received a Logie and five Walkley awards including the coveted Gold Walkley.

* Sue Smith and John Alsop – Writers: Sue Smith and John Alsop form an enduring and successful screenwriting team which has penned some of Australia’s favourite television programs. Multi-award winning Smith and Alsop both began independently as writers in the 1970s before collaborating in 1991 on the much-loved and enormously successful ABC mini-series Brides of Christ.

DREAMING IN COLOUR
* This section of the exhibition features Aaron Pederson (City Homicide, Water Rats, Wild Side) talking about performing as an Indigenous person, sometimes under circumstances when his race is part of the storyline, and sometimes when the character’s race is void or not broached.

TV-RELATED OBJECTS THAT FEATURE IN SCREEN WORLDS
* Big Brother – a model of the Big Brother house, and stills of contestants incl. Sara-Marie
* Dot and the Kangaroo and Blinky Bill – Yoram Gross’ original animation table
* Four Corners – various memorabilia from Chris Masters
* Harvie Krumpet, SBS TV- Adam Elliott’s Oscar and Harvie Krumpet model
* Home and Away – Kate Richie’s 2008 Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality and her knitted doll from her childhood the show
* In Melbourne Tonight – the original censors horn used for Graham Kennedy
* Neighbours – Charlene’s spanner as well as cards, books, and other memorabilia
* Perfect Match – Dexter the Robot in Reg Grundy exhibit
* Play School – The Rocket Clock from Play School, plus Humpty, Jemima and more
* World Series Cricket – stump-cam technology (a set of stumps with a working camera and monitor to show visitors how this works)

INTERACTIVE LOCATIONS MAP
Touch this giant interactive map to transport yourself to iconic film and TV locations. Explore over 50 places made famous on screen. Some notable TV locations are: The Great Dividing Range (The Man From Snowy River), Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park (Skippy), Sea Change (Barwon Heads), Pin Oak Court (Neighbours), St Kilda (The Secret Life of Us), Lilydale, Box Hill and Ringwood (Matlock Police), Broome (The Circuit), Casino (4 Corners Box Ridge Report), Sylvania Waters (Sylvania Waters), Blue Mountains (Dot and the Kangaroo) and Palm Beach (Home and Away).

OTHER EXHIBITION SECTIONS
* Community Voices: stories from multicultural Australia, including the incredible contribution of SBS Television. This section is explored through compiled moving image material and text panels within.
* Micro Cinemas: 5 ‘pods’ which feature historical material in 5 areas. Two of these are TV-related. One is looking at the history of and content by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, and the other is looking at Great Australian Television Advertisements.
* Locations: We also have sections called The Bush, The Suburbs and The City, which feature everything from the neighbours suburb to the city scenes seen in our TV crime shows.

NOTABLE / HISTORICAL TV CLIPS THAT FEATURE IN SCREEN WORLDS
* ABC TV News – 1983 America’s Cup win, Prime Minister Bob Hawke’s quote; “any boss who sacks…”, Apollo 11 Moonwalk, Berlin Wall Comes Down, first colour news with Michael Charlton, 1970 AFL Grand Final Alex ‘Jezza’ Jesaulenko mark, 1982 AFL Grand Final streaker in Carlton Scarf,
* Countdown – Skyhooks footage, 1st colour ep of Countdown
* In Melbourne Tonight (Graham Kennedy years) -Graeme Kennedy and Bert Newton clip – “Do you feel secure?” “I feel secure from feet up.”; Graham Kennedy Macrobertson chocolate ad; Graham Kennedy, The Wheel, Mrs Goodwin wins a chainsaw
* Logies – Bert Newton’s insult to Muhammad Ali
* Melbourne Cup coverage – Makybe Diva wins 3rd Melbourne Cup
* Neighbours – opening titles, clips from over the years incl. Kylie/Jason/Craig, memorabilia and other 3D objects
* Nine News – Brian Naylor introducing the news, Eric Pearce intro news
* Nine Sports – Pat Cash wins Wimbledon in 1987, and Richie Benaud commentating
* Olympics Announcement – Sydney announced as winner of Olympics 2000 bid
* SBS News – Stan Grant, Mary Kostakidis and Lee Lin Chin introducing the news
* Seven News- Nicky Winmar pulls up his jumper, Stuart Diver rescued,
* Seven Sport – Cathy Freeeman’s Victory Lap at the 2000 Olympics, Jack Dyer, Lou Richards and Ron Casey commentating.
* Steven Bradbury wins at Olympics
* The 7.30 Report – Aceh Tsunami (report by Tim Palmer), Jakarta Embassy Bomb 2005 (report by Tim Palmer), Kerrie O’Brien
* The Death of Princess Di
* The Graham Kennedy Show – Graham Kennedy crow-call, (“FAAARK’’)
* The Great Outdoors – Ernie Dingo saying “…cause if the crocs don’t get you…”
* The Panel – Kate Langbroek breastfeeds on air
* This is Television – Bruce Gyngel intro
* Young Talent Time – The Minogue sisters duet

Just some of the other TV shows featured via Video Clips throughout:
60 minutes, A Country Practice, Alvin Purple, Australian Story, Big Brother, Blankety Blanks, Blue Heelers, Blue Murder, Bluey, Bordertown, Brides of Christ, Canal Road, East West 101, Dateline 2008, Enough Rope, 4 Corners, Frontline, Gilles Report, Good Game, Hey Hey It’s Saturday, Home and Away, Lateline, Living Black, Media Watch, Mother and Son, Perfect Match, Pick A Box, Pizza, R.A.N. Remote Area Nurse, RAGE, Round the Twist, Seachange, Shirl’s Neighbourhood, Simon Townsend’s Wonder World, Something in the Air, Sounds of Australia, Spicks and Specks, Summer Heights High, Sylvania Waters, The Comedy Company, The Day Tonight, The Fat, The Flying Doctors, The Late Show, The Mavis Bramston Show, The Restless Years, The Saddle Club, The Wiggles, They’re a Weird Mob, This Sporting Life, Underbelly, Water Rats, Whiplash, Wild Side

Check it out at www.acmi.net.au