The Standby Program
Encyclopedia
The Standby Program is a non-profit, video post-production service organization in New York City
. Since 1983, Standby has provided editorial services to independent film and video producers on a wide range of projects, including documentaries, video art, installations, sound mixes, film-to- tape transfers and video preservation.
, started the program at Matrix, a large video studio on Eleventh Avenue and West 52nd Street. Feist began working there as a tape operator and suggested to the owners that they offer online editing to artists on the weekends and late at night at reduced rates on a standby basis (hence the name). Matrix had three large video studios with blue screen, three online video suites, a tape library and production office space. (Today it is home to Comedy Central
's The Daily Show
.)
Roshuk's 185 Corporation became the non-profit umbrella for Standby. The program became a model in the 1980s for the way artists could interface with corporations for effective use of technical and financial resources. Artists' using Standby paid upfront, which benefited two-fold. Such an arrangement ensured Matrix that they would be paid on time and that all the projects edited were vetted as bonafide, independent productions.
Juan Downey's
Information Witheld was the first artist project to be edited at Standby. Downey began a long relationship with Feist and edited all his tapes from The Thinking Eye project there, as well as one of the first interactive art videos, BachDisk. In less than a year, demand for the program began to outpace its resources. It attracted interest from other artists, including Dara Birnbaum
, Nam June Paik
, Mary Lucier
, Gary Hill
, Gretchen Bender, Edin Velez, and Jem Cohen
, among others.
Standby rapidly grew, adding new editors, tape operators, and administrators. Matrix donated the second floor of the tape library to house all the artists' master tapes. Standby started to receive funding as a media arts center from the New York State Council for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts
, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
, the Andy Warhol Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation
. By the end of the 1980s, the staff of the Standby program included Tom Crawford, Joe DePierro, Rick Feist, Nora Fisch, Eleanor Goldsmith, Lisa Guido, Steve Guiliano, and Kathy High. The Raindance Foundation
served as its umbrella organization.
With the closing of Matrix in 1990, Standby relocated to a number of other post-production facilities, primarily working out of Editel NY, until that facility closed in 1995. Maria Venuto became executive director that same year, and integrated the operation of Media Alliance's Online Program, a similar post-production service that also started in 1983 with Standby's help. Under the leadership of Executive Director Maria Venuto, Standby's services have expanded to include a magnetic media preservation program.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Since 1983, Standby has provided editorial services to independent film and video producers on a wide range of projects, including documentaries, video art, installations, sound mixes, film-to- tape transfers and video preservation.
History
Alex Roshuk and Rick Feist, film students at Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, started the program at Matrix, a large video studio on Eleventh Avenue and West 52nd Street. Feist began working there as a tape operator and suggested to the owners that they offer online editing to artists on the weekends and late at night at reduced rates on a standby basis (hence the name). Matrix had three large video studios with blue screen, three online video suites, a tape library and production office space. (Today it is home to Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
.)
Roshuk's 185 Corporation became the non-profit umbrella for Standby. The program became a model in the 1980s for the way artists could interface with corporations for effective use of technical and financial resources. Artists' using Standby paid upfront, which benefited two-fold. Such an arrangement ensured Matrix that they would be paid on time and that all the projects edited were vetted as bonafide, independent productions.
Juan Downey's
Juan Downey
- Biography :Juan Downey was born in Santiago, Chile. His father David Downey V. was a distinguished architect in Chile and following in his father’s footsteps Juan Downey studied and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in architecture at the Pontificia Universidad Católica of Chile...
Information Witheld was the first artist project to be edited at Standby. Downey began a long relationship with Feist and edited all his tapes from The Thinking Eye project there, as well as one of the first interactive art videos, BachDisk. In less than a year, demand for the program began to outpace its resources. It attracted interest from other artists, including Dara Birnbaum
Dara Birnbaum
Dara Birnbaum, born in 1946 in New York ,USA, where she continues to live and work, uses video to reconstruct television imagery using as material such archetypal formats as quizzes, soap operas, and sports programmes. Her techniques involve the repetition of images and interruption of flow with...
, Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist....
, Mary Lucier
Mary Lucier
Mary Lucier is an American artist who has worked in many mediums including sculpture, photography, and performance. Concentrating primarily on video and installation since 1973, she has produced numerous multiple- and single-channel pieces...
, Gary Hill
Gary Hill
Gary Hill is an American artist who lives and works in Seattle, Washington.One of the pioneers of video art, Gary Hill has exhibited his video and video installations worldwide . He is represented by Donald Young Gallery of Chicago.An anthology on the work of Gary Hill by Robert C...
, Gretchen Bender, Edin Velez, and Jem Cohen
Jem Cohen
Jem Alan Cohen is an award-winning New York City-based filmmaker known for his observational portraits of urban landscapes, blending of media formats and collaborations with music artists. He is the recipient of the Independent Spirit Award and many first place awards for feature filmmaking...
, among others.
Standby rapidly grew, adding new editors, tape operators, and administrators. Matrix donated the second floor of the tape library to house all the artists' master tapes. Standby started to receive funding as a media arts center from the New York State Council for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs is dedicated to supporting and strengthening New York City's vibrant cultural life. Among their primary missions is to ensure adequate public funding for non-profit cultural organizations, both large and small, throughout the five boroughs.-External...
, the Andy Warhol Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation
MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Based in Chicago but supporting non-profit organizations that work in 60 countries, MacArthur has awarded more than US$4 billion since its inception in 1978...
. By the end of the 1980s, the staff of the Standby program included Tom Crawford, Joe DePierro, Rick Feist, Nora Fisch, Eleanor Goldsmith, Lisa Guido, Steve Guiliano, and Kathy High. The Raindance Foundation
Raindance Foundation
Raindance Foundation was begun in 1969 by Frank Gillette, Michael Shamberg, Ira Schneider and Paul Ryan among others. Raindance was a self-described "countercultural think-tank" that embraced video as an alternative form of cultural communication....
served as its umbrella organization.
With the closing of Matrix in 1990, Standby relocated to a number of other post-production facilities, primarily working out of Editel NY, until that facility closed in 1995. Maria Venuto became executive director that same year, and integrated the operation of Media Alliance's Online Program, a similar post-production service that also started in 1983 with Standby's help. Under the leadership of Executive Director Maria Venuto, Standby's services have expanded to include a magnetic media preservation program.