Riding The Video Range

In June 1949, Hopalong Cassidy. Then Roy Rogers, the Lone Ranger, Zorro, Davy Crockett, the Cisco Kid, Matt Dillon, Bat Masterson, the Cartwrights, Hec Ramsey, Paladin ("Have Gun Will Travel")-no television genre has generated as many enduring characters as the Western. Gunsmoke, Death Valley Days, Bonanza, Maverick, and Wagon Train are just a few of the small-screen oaters that became instant classics. Recent years have seen a resurgence, with shows such as Lonesome Dove and The Young Riders updating and redefining the genre for a modern audience. Though the characters were different, Western shows' format often fell into one of several broad categories: marshals, sheriffs and other lawmen, wagon trains, cattle drives and ranchers, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns, and even spoofs. Arranged by categories, over 150 television Westerns are analyzed here, focusing on the characters, stories and why the shows succeeded or failed. How Native Americans have been portrayed is examined, as are such phenomena as single parent families (in shows such as The Big Valley, The Rifleman and Bonanza ), women, Asians and blacks.

This book presents cutting-edge research on innovative human systems integration and human–machine interaction, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence and automation, as well as computational modeling and simulation. It covers a wide range of applications in the areas of design, construction and operation of products, systems and services, and discusses the human factors in a wide range of settings. Gathering the proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Human Systems Integration (IHSI 2020), held on February 19–21, 2020, in Modena, Italy, the book’s goal is to advance the theory and applications of artificial cognitive systems and improve human-artificial systems collaboration. Special emphasis is placed on automotive design, autonomous vehicles and the applications of artificial intelligence. The book offers a timely survey and source of inspiration for human factors engineers, automotive engineers, IT developers and UX designers who are working to shape the future of automated intelligent systems.

Bonanza aired on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973, playing to 480,000,000 viewers in over 97 countries. It was the second longest running western series, surpassed only by Gunsmoke, and continues to provide wholesome entertainment to old and new fans via syndication. This book provides an in-depth chronicle of the series and its stars. A history of the show from its inception to the current made-for-television movies is provided, and an episode guide includes a synopsis of each show and lists such details as the main characters of each episode and the actors who portrayed them, the dates they stayed with the show, date and time of original broadcast, writer, director, producer, executive producer, and supporting cast. Also provided are character sketches for each of the major recurring characters, career biographies of Lorne Green, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon, brief biographical sketches of the supporting cast, a discography of recordings of the Bonanza theme and recordings of the four major stars, and information on Bonanza television movies.

From The Lady Eve, to The Big Valley, Barbara Stanwyck played parts that showcased her multidimensional talents but also illustrated the limits imposed on women in film and television. Catherine Russell’s A to Z consideration of the iconic actress analyzes twenty-six facets of Stanwyck and the America of her times. Russell examines Stanwyck’s work onscreen against the backdrop of costuming and other aspects of filmmaking. But she also views the actress’s off-screen performance within the Hollywood networks that made her an industry favorite and longtime cornerstone of the entertainment community. Russell’s montage approach coalesces into an engrossing portrait of a singular artist whose intelligence and savvy placed her center-stage in the production of her films and in the debates around women, femininity, and motherhood that roiled mid-century America. Original and rich, The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck is an essential and entertaining reexamination of an enduring Hollywood star.

The distinguishing feature of many low-budget films and TV shows is often the poor sound quality. Now, filmmakers shooting DV on a limited budget can learn from Tomlinson Holman, a film sound production pioneer, how to make their films sound like fully professional productions. Holman offers suggestions that you can apply to your own project from preproduction through postproduction and provides tips and solutions on production, editing, and mixing. Holman, sound engineer on such films as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, is famous for his pioneering work in film sound production and for developing THX. Now, he brings his expertise to the relatively new field of sound for digital video productions. Once considered an amateur format, digital video is becoming the format of choice for some feature films and for many lower budget productions; this book will enable you to use this medium to create the most professional and effective sound possible.

This is the first full-length biography of this mid-twentieth century multi-faceted star, one that also charts the broad sweep of changes in women’s lives during the twentieth century, and to have popular music, movies, and television shows as its backdrops. The glitter of country music, the glamour of Hollywood, and the grit of the early television industry are all covered. It is the first book to draw from never-before-seen sources (especially business records and fan mail) at the newly-opened Roy Rogers-Dale Evans collections at the Autry Museum of the American West. One of the central tensions of Dale’s life revolved around chasing the elusive work/family balance, making her story instantly relateable to women today. In addition to fame, Dale longed for a happy, stable, family life. Her roles as wife and mother became the foundation for her public persona: the smart, smiling, cheerful cowgirl. Unusual for its time were Dale Evans’s attempts to control the trajectory of her career at a time when men dominated decision-making in the entertainment fields.

This is a comprehensive encyclopedia to the more than 100 radio programs portraying the American West, in fact and fiction, heard by generations of listeners from the Great Depression through the Cold War era. The book includes both the popular and lesser known series, as well as would-be offerings that never made it past the audition stage. Each entry describes the series, the extent to which it was based on actual facts, the audience it was written for, and its broadcast history. The descriptions also examine how the programs reflected society's changing social and cultural attitudes towards racial and ethnic minorities and the role of women. The availability of surviving audio copies and original scripts is noted. An extensive bibliography and several appendices provide additional sources of information about Western programming during the Golden Age of Radio.

This work demonstrates that not everything that Disney touched turned to gold. In its first 100 years, the company had major successes that transformed filmmaking and culture, but it also had its share of unfinished projects, unmet expectations, and box-office misses. Some works failed but nevertheless led to other more stunning and lucrative ones; others shed light on periods when the Disney Company was struggling to establish or re-establish its brand. In addition, many Disney properties, popular in their time but lost to modern audiences, emerge as forgotten gems. By exploring the studio's missteps, this book provides a more complex portrayal of the history of the company than one would gain from a simple recounting of its many hits. With essays by writers from across the globe, it also asserts that what endures or is forgotten varies from person to person, place to place, or generation to generation. What one dismisses, someone else recalls with deep fondness as a magical Disney memory.