This story originally aired on May 13. 2017.
Television producer and director, Steve Wilson, says making television is just like making cheese.
“People consume cheese. Some people make really good cheese. Other people make really terrible cheese. But, everybody eats cheese —and I make the cheese,” he told us.
Steve’s decades-long love affair with television began when he was a kid growing up in Seattle. The 1960s was was a golden age in television for kids. This was when KING, KIRO and KOMO created their very own shows for children. Steve watched them all.
When Steve was six years old, he went to the 1962 World’s Fair at Seattle Center. The local television stations had stages inside the Armory and were doing their kids’ shows live on location. This was the first time Steve saw how his friends on the small screen at home came to life.
At first, Steve was horrified to see the homes of his favorite characters being torn down to make way for the next show. But, he says, “That’s when I kind of woke up and I looked around and I saw the lights and I saw the cameras, and I saw the monitors and I went, 'Oh, I get it now!'”
Steve was enthralled. Later that afternoon, in his backyard, he built his own television set using apple crates and cardboard boxes.
That moment at the World’s Fair was a turning point. It played a role in shaping his future.
This episode of Sound Effect is all about turning points — those moments when things shift and point us in a new direction.
