Television

At various times during the 1990s, AMI has edited and provided post-production supervision for HBO's highest-rated series, "Real Sex."

The shows are entertaining forays into the sexual lives and sexual cultures of peoples from around the world.

Executive Producer Sheila Nevins guides this successful series with an eye for what is provocative and flair for what is exciting.

Described by sportscaster Al Michaels as the most dramatic hour of sports he had ever seen, the fifth inning of the fifth game between the California Angels and the Boston Red Sox was simply sensational.

The unscripted drama did not just end the Angels quest for a trip to WorldSeries it also began with the beginning of the end for All  Star relief pitcher Donnie Moore. Having been blamed for throwing the game-losing pitch over the next three years his health, finances and metal state all came to a crisis when he wounded his wife and shot himself. Eric Marciano partnered with Jason Goodman, co-creator of VHS1's  "Behind the Music" to produce and edit this powerful documentary with their new company Green Light TV for ESPN Classics.

It’s rare it be part of a definitive ground breaking project. The unique opportunity to both observe and be a critical component in the process of making an important film (and ultimately a franchise). And like any powerful and provocative document to the times there are always intrigues to recount and interesting stories to tell. Such is the case with Brent Owens’s film “Hookers at the Point”. We are sorry that the clip has been taken down. Brent Owens has been missing since and out of contact with us since the start of the Covid -19 Pandemic. Hopefully, he is hiding out somewhere safe and pleasant on the planet. 

Brent is perhaps the most important client and friend that American Montage ever had. I remember him coming to the original American Montage (Video Deal) office at 91 Second Avenue back in 1985. Brent always knew what he was doing. Sometime after working together on commercials and music videos around 1987 Brent asked me if I could help him by editing footage he had been shooting of prostitutes in the Hunt’s Point ho stroll in the Bronx. He had shot 16mm and 3/4” with his collaborator Bobby Shepherd. The footage was remarkable. The interviews powerful, gut-wrenching and beautiful.

Over the next eight years for little or no money I would take the tapes film in the light of the late night street lamps and headlights and the early morning sunrise and dutifully weave them into the next rough-cut. The next version of what would eventually become “Hooker’s at the Point”.

Character like Jazz, Angel, Babyface, Miriam and Brandy would flash across the frame telling the sad, funny, sexual and compelling survivor stories. It was not unlike listening to combat veterans that talk about a war. Except this was a war that never ended.

All of this was done on a SONY Rm-440 hooked up to 3/4” 5000 series U-matic VTRs. Both Brent and I thought that the natural home for this film was HBO. At the time HBO’s documentary department had the place. They had the budgets. They had the vision. It was before Michael Moore, Errol Morris and Morgan Spurlock had truly blown the roof off of the documentary box office.

Back in the early 90’s I had done quite a bit of work for Sheila Nevins at HBO, mostly editing and post-producing Real Sex episodes and programs. I had a sense of what she was looking for. What piqued her interest? The goal was to get a 55-minute cut to her sometime in the summer of 1995. Brent and I worked hard to bring the stories and atmosphere of these girls and their world to the screen. Brent would bring in Bobby Shepherd and another good friend Sam Pollard his to screening sessions where their sound advice would be incorporated into the each edit.

When the time came for Brent show the cut to Sheila I had no doubt that she would go for it. It was everything she craved, socially and politically provocative and sexually exploitative with hint of anti-male perspective. Indeed, after screening the film Sheila told Bent it was like watching an archeological dig that revealed a new sub culture. She offered Brent a sizable sum of money on the following conditions:
Replace me as editor (apparently because I was too independent).
Make himself a character with a first person voice over.
Remove any character that managed to leave the world of prostitution (Miriam).

Brent accepted these conditions. The program and subsequent episodes became part of the "America Undercover" series where it lives on today.

We are sorry that the clip has been taken down. Brent Owens has been missing since and out of contact with us since the start of the Covid -19 Pandemic. Hopefully, he is hiding out somewhere safe and pleasant on the planet. 

Director and Producer Brent Owens was one of AMI's original clients way back in 1985.

So, it was with great pleasure that we accepted the challenge of taking the extremely popular documentary on HBO from a 60-minute version to a feature-length film.

The process of going into an already well-made film and revising it can be fraught with difficulties. Fortunately, that was not the case with this cut. New footage and interviews were smoothly incorporated into the piece. The results make for a powerful film.

"Pimps Up Ho's Down:The Directors Cut" must be seen to be believed.

It is rare to be able to participate in a project that has the potential to reach millions of people and help them to understand a complex subject.

Michael S. Smith was asked by Discovery Health Channel to create a new documentary exploring the "Down Low" ­ a phenomenon in which African American and Latino men identify as straight, often having wives or girlfriends, yet secretly sleep with men.

Winner, Cable Positive's 4th Annual POP Awards (2005): Outstanding Documentary

What a strange tale this production was. The triumvirate of Steve Weinstock, Michael Rosenblum and Glenda Hirsch of TruTV had a tremendous success on The Learning Channel (TLC) with "Trauma: Life in the ER" and they were hoping to translate their idea of "reality tv" from the world of the emergency room to the world of the S.W.A.T. team.

It wasn't easy. As one of the video journalists Eric Marciano spent two months filming with the Newark, New Jersey, Emergency Services Team (SWAT). Shooting with the then  new DV camera the Panasonic EZ-1 and radio microphones. The best part of the production was working with Emmy award winning videographer Bill Gentile and making some lifelong friends with this amazing group of elite policemen.

Eric Marciano of American Montage and Rick Van Meter and Tom Romita of No Ego Productions spent a year documenting the unique events and scenes that thrive at the Webster Hall the nightclub and concert venue located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, near Astor Place, in Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1886, its current incarnation was opened by the Ballinger Brothers in 1992.

Eric directed and produced this clip. Much of this excellent footage was shot by Ben Addonizio. Sam Richards edited brilliantly.

Webster Hall is absolutely epic.

Take one notorious horror movie director, add a generous helping of John Waters as host, liberally stir in copious amounts of spousal homicide, cook for thirty minutes and serve: Till Death Do Us Part.

The creator of the series, Jeff Lieberman, is an old school horror director who’s career started with the cult classic “Squirm” and most recently was responsible for “Satan’s Little Helper”. Jeff has a feel for this marital bliss turned bloody mess subject matter.

An original pilot for Court TV, the series is hosted by the one and only John Waters.

Cast as the “Groom Reaper”, Waters introduces and narrates this doomed romance from start to finish. The series focuses on actual murder cases that have occurred between once beloved married couples, dramatizing real-life characters from wedding to sentencing.

Jeff Lieberman notes, “You see all these one sided lovey-dovey drama’s on television and I’m sick of it. It’s such an inaccurate picture of what marriage is really like so I decided people ought to know what holy matrimony can actually lead to…hence Till Death Do Us Part.”

Jeff went to the School of Visual Arts just like the editor and post-production consultant on this piece, Eric Marciano of American Montage, Inc.  Marciano notes,“I had worked with Jeff before and have a good sense of what he’s looking to do with a scene. He had to work fast and he and cinematographer Igor Sunara managed to pull off great coverage which always makes the editor’s life easier. Also, the lighting was great and the High Definition look exceptional”.

It was crunch time and in order to get the green light for a series Jeff needed to have the  pilot finished in a speedy and stylish fashion.  Jeff knew Eric could deliver. “All the years of film making do come in handy when you’re under the gun.”

The series has been approved and has moved production to Toronto.

Till Death Do Us Part is due to be aired on Court TV sometime in the near future.

The 1990s began with AMI's work on a special television series on the history of African-Americans called "In Search of the Dream," for the Arts & Entertainment Network.

This six-hour program chronicled the life of host Haskell Ward amidst the events and history of African-Americans from the 1940s to the 1980s.

This insightful and informative series was nominated for a Cable Ace Award (now part of the Emmys).

The mission of Elite Forces TV is to create high-speed action programs that capture the excitement, intelligence, and adrenaline of the Elite Police and Military unit's missions. The producers' experience as a current U.S. Army Special Forces and S.W.A.T. team member and an experienced television producer and director contribute to their ability to tell these powerful stories. They understand the sophisticated scenarios they originate from. Furthermore, they can get personnel, locations and hardware that are often difficult to access.

The execution and format of these programs is unique and powerful.