By CARMEN DURLAN
Like any other production at the LDS Motion Picture Studio, the television program 'Center Street,' started as a request by an LDS Church department.
The idea originated in the public affairs department, Ron Johnson, a 'Center Street' producer, said. The series is produced for a teen-age audience. Its purpose is 'to promote good and build bridges,' he said.
All films produced by the studio must be approved by the Correlation Committee of the LDS Church, he said. Once the topics are approved, production begins at the studio in Provo.
The studio is one of the few facilities that can go from script to print because it has all the facilities, technicians and equipment needed for its productions, said Jerry Craven, a producer/director in the LDS Church audiovisual department.
As part of production, characters must be cast, sets built and costumes found.
Tracey Wilson, a BYU broadcasting graduate, was cast as one of the hosts on 'Center Street.' Wilson enjoys her role on the show.
'It's great,' she said. 'I get to talk about the gospel, and I get to talk with teen-agers.'
Another host, Abe Mills, is also excited about the show.
One of the ideas behind 'Center Street' is to give teen-agers an alternate to what is being shown on television about them, Mills said. 'Center Street' shows that many teen-agers have a positive outlook because they want to.
Johnson said the show has a newsmagazine format. There are two or three five-minute stories about teen-agers or people of interest to teen-agers who are doing good, he said.
There is also a segment called 'Detour' where ideas for fun dates and service activities are given.
When possible, stories are done on teen-agers of other religions, Johnson said. The show 'promotes good values without being churchy,' Mills said.
The set for this season's Center Street was designed by five local high school students, Johnson said.
According to Johnson, the set has more of a city look, with three levels where there was one before, neon colors, an operating elevator and a 'bubble tube' filled with colored water.
Post-production work includes converting all the shoots done on film to video, Craven said. All pictures are digitized in the computer and rearranged in a sequence which best tells the story, he said.
Footsteps, sound and music are mixed to get the right levels of each, and these separate soundtracks are combined into one soundtrack, Craven said.
After each episode is finished, it is sent to Salt Lake City for approval by the committee, Johnson said. Any changes necessary are made when the video is returned, and then the episode is released for broadcasting.
'Center Street' is broadcast both nationally and internationally. Locally it is broadcast on the Faith and Values network, KSL and KBYU.