Cline Finalist in Video Competition

It's a pretty good bet that most of us don't recognize the name Philo T. Farnsworth but he touches the life of almost every single one of us almost every single day. And for his accomplishment he had an award named after him. Farnsworth is the inventor of television. And the Philo T. Farnsworth Award is given each year to recognize excellence in community access programming. Former Fostorian David L. Cline was a finalist in the competition for a 1996 Philo in the Non-Profit Organization Promotion category for his video, "Paintball: 1995 Highlights"

Technology and entertainment have been lifelong interests of Dave's. He graduated from Fostoria High School in 1972 and drove a forklift for a year at Fostoria Distribution. The very next year, however, he hit the road in pursuit of both his interests. He was the audio engineer for the 570 Pound Band, a popular Fostoria based band. For four years, in over 100 cities, Dave and the band played a combination of rock and disco featuring tunes by artists such as Frank Zappa, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder and the Beatles. Once they played 29 straight days in four cities in three states. For part of their road stint they were the opening act for Sugarloaf whose big hit was Green Eyed Lady. Four years of travel left the 570 Pound Band a bit on the-road-weary side. So they moved out of motel rooms and into apartments in Kalamazoo, Michigan where Dave resides today. Events like weddings took more of their time as they hit the club circuit less often. From 1978-80 Dave took a more formal approach to technology and enrolled in electronics classes at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

In 1982 he took a job with Allen Test Products repairing circuit boards used in automotive engine analyzers. Today he is still with the company, now known as Automotive Diagnostics as the result of a merger. Dave is an automotive database programmer. He programs the trouble codes that enable car models to talk to the diagnostic analyzers via a system of microprocessors and sensors. Full-time employment didn't diminish Dave's interest in audio work for the band. He bought property in Kalamazoo in 1982. In 1985 he converted a veterinarian's office next to his house into a recording studio. He recorded rhythm and back-up vocal tracks so the band could eliminate the drums and bass and add some vocal variety.

With such a background, it's no surprise that Dave eventually tried his hand at the burgeoning world of video production. He had dabbled in video before. "When I was in high school," said Dave. "l used an old Sony black and white reel-to-reel unit to videotape 'Oklahoma', our senior play. Then once on the road with the band, I found a 16mm Bolex movie camera and shot a few band films". In 1993 Dave signed up for video production classes at Kalamazoo's Community Access Center. The Center's mission "is to provide access via electronic media, so that a diversity of local voices may be heard in the community." Some cable systems, typically in larger markets, as part of their franchise agreements, provide studio equipment and broadcast locally produced programming. This is known as community or public access. Dave was studying with the right teachers. In 1990 Kalamazoo's was named the best community access cable outlet in the United States. Dave was able to enroll in a studio where he imbibed the basics of camera, audio equipment and lighting.

And this finally, brings us to Dave's becoming a finalist in the Philo T. Farnsworth video competition and his "Paintball: 1995 Highlights."

Paintball is a "capture the flag" sport played by 10 man teams on a football field-sized area complete with features like bunkers. The object is to locate the enemy's flag, seize it and return to your own base. Dave became an enthusiast when some of his co-workers took him on a couple paintball outings. The game derives its name from the quarter-sized 68mm capsules that are fired at opposing players from paintball guns. If you get splattered with a direct hit, you're a casualty and the war goes on without you. Paintball guns can cost up to $500 and fire 10 shots per second.

Dave made two videos on behalf of the Michigan Paintball Association. The first was an interview with the president of the MPA. The second was the promotional video he entered in the competition, though the final product turned out differently from Dave's original conception. "At first, I tried to get a whole game on the video, but it was too difficult, said Dave. "All the players were dressed in green and you couldn't tell the opposing teams apart. Fast clips worked better." So now the video had become a highlight film. "Paintball: 1995 Highlights" is only 11 minutes long, but considerable work was required to emerge with the right 11 minutes. "The filming wasn't too bad," said Dave. "I had 8-10 hours of footage." Getting the footage had its interesting moments. Dave had to be out among the paintballers during actual competition to do his filming. In the heat of battle he was mistaken for an opponent by players on both teams I several times and was accordingly shot. Art has its price. Next came the 40 hours of editing that it took to produce the 11 minute video. "I tried to make it so it builds up and holds your interest," said Dave. "The difficulty was editing is selecting what to use. Dave said that a good rule of thumb is that for every 10 minutes of film you shoot, only one will find its way into the finished product. Audio is important in video. Dave needed to select a soundtrack for the video. He chose an uncopyrighted hard-driving rock piece without vocals.

Over 350 videos were entered in this year's Philo T. Farnsworth competition, 30 of which were in contention with Dave's runner-up entry in the Non-Profit Organization Promotion category. The Philo Awards recognize excellence in community programming in the four state region of Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and lndiana.

In his spare time Dave enjoys restoring limousines. He's completed a 1973 Cadillac limo variously used by rock artists Kiss, Alice Cooper and Frank Zappa. He also refurbished a '73 Chrysler formerly owned by associates of President Gerald Ford. He may have picked up an interest in old limos from his days on the road when the band was ridin' around in their automobile, a 1964 Lehmann-Peterson Lincoln Continental limo once owned by Vice-President Hubert Humphrey.

If bitten by the nostagia Dave can lay back and listen to some of his 15,000 45 RPMs from the 50s, 60s and 70s. He's taken up golf and recorded his first hole-in-one two years ago.

Philo T. Farnsworth (1906-71) conceived of television while in high school. In 1927 he took an optical image (a dollar sign aptly enough), successfully converted it to an electrical signal and transmitted it to a screen it reassembled. He was instrumental in the development of amplifier tubes, cathode-ray tubes, electrical scanners and photoelectric applications.

Dave is the son of William and Geri Cline and his brothers Dennis and Dan still reside in the Fostorla area. His dad called us and asked to make sure that everyone knows Dave appears in a current national TV commercial. It seems that one day last July Dave discovered a Post Grape Nuts commercial being filmed three blocks from his house at a softball field. He approached the film crew and pretty soon was in the commercial. "I'm on for about a second and a half", said Dave. "l'm sitting in the bleachers clapping and wearing a yellow shirt." For his appearance, Dave was compensated, sort of. They have to pay you something. I got paid one dollar. The Grape Nuts commercial began airing recently and will run through March on morning news shows and the CBS Sunday Night Movie.

Philo T. Farnworth has been dead for over 25 years, but he would probably be right at home in the modern world that blends computers, television, telephones and video. He and Dave Cline might well have a lot to talk about. The Focus; congratulates Dave on his fine showing in the video competition and wishes him continued success.

As a side note, in 1978 through 1982 Dave had the opportunity to work with a former Motown recording engineer as an apprentice, Dave learned advanced recording and microphone techniques along with classical music recording. With this knowledge he and a fellow audio engineer provided audio service's for the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra for their outdoor Summer Concert Series.