Subterranean SINema (1997-2008)
Although there is a rather tongue-in-cheek explanation for the end of production on Subterranean SINema available at the website, some of you might want the actual explanation, for some reason or another. So, here you go…
There were a few very valid reasons for putting the last nail into SubSIN’s coffin. The fact that my efforts were being shown to a very limited audience, such as Chittenden County affords, ultimately seemed rather wasteful over time. I was fine with it while I had the enthusiasm for the show, but with that waning side-by-side with my youth, I couldn’t justify putting in so much work for so little comparative reception. I certainly appreciated the fans of the show and mean no disrespect to them. But, it’s just not in me anymore.
As an extension of that, I was also not making any money from the show (DVD aside). This being an issue would definitely be more of a manifestation of middle-age, reminding me that my time is valuable and not to spend it frivolously. I have a number of other lucrative projects in the works — chiefly, books — and my desire to produce something given for free to very few people finally took its toll and died a rightful death. So, in the name of streamlining, I had to jettison the show.
And somewhere in there also lurks the reality that much of the material the show was famous for can now be seen around the world by visiting online sites such as Break.com and YouTube. Back in the late-90s, SubSIN was highly sought after, whether its live transmission, VHS copies, or, later on, the DVD. But, alas, the Internet changed all of that and I, intelligently, must change with the times. If you loved the show, the spirit of Subterranean SINema certainly permeates the online world in ways public access television never could on its own. That’s my indirect way of saying that I love you, VCAM — and you need to put a streaming feed of your programming (not just a few shows) on the Internet. Merely a helpful, if not belabored, suggestion.
It was a very good time. Subterranean SINema, like so many things I do, serves as a roadmap through a period of my life — in this case, my 30s. SubSIN, believe it or not, prompted me to go back to college and get serious about video, and VCAM was instrumental in that regard, giving me exposure to editing, shooting, lighting, and producing an actual show. How can I not be grateful to both public access TV and that little controversial show monikered by a pentagram-trapped skull and crossbones?
I’m fairly secure in the knowledge that, even years down the line, I will still have a fondness for the SubSIN years and all that such entailed. And I hope all of you who partook in it enjoyed the overblown circus of debauchery, too. For me, it’s an evolutionary step into other media endeavors, no less offensive or provocative. No doubt, my faithful readers would expect no less from me, nor I from myself. Good times ahead…
2 comments
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SubSin is dead! Long live SubSin!
Thanks, Casey.
Looks like VCAM blogged it, too…
http://vermontcam.org/blog/200.....s-so-long/