Top Value Television

Background

Top Value Television (TVTV) was a mobile guerilla video and television team formed in 1972. The group was formed to "infiltrate" the 1972 electoral campaign, in which they produced a film called "Convention '72: Four More Years", where members interviewed politicians, interviewers from major networks like CBS, NBC and ABC, as well as anti-war protestors, including American soldiers who fought in Vietnam. TVTV used a highly customised van full of portable video equipment, such as the 1965 Sony Portapak reel-to-reel video recording system. The group claims to have made 30 separate films, of which mostly only segments are available. The group had involvement from members of the Videofreex (Channel 6 Woodstock TV/Lanesville TV) and members of Ant Farm Video (Media Burn). TVTV later produced content for official corporations and produced a failed TV show pilot called "The TVTV Show" in 1978. The group disbanded in 1979 due to the belief that the masses had no interest in independent, journalistic media.

Logo (1972)

Visuals: A cylindrical table is visible in an empty room. The text "TOP VALUE TELEVISION" in a circle appears, and then a small early 70s portable CRT TV appears. The text slightly zooms into the TV before disappearing and the contents of the film appear to display on the CRT screen as the camera zooms into it.

Technique: The text was printed on a green page and chroma-keyed over the footage.

Audio: More Than Ever by Mike Curb Congregation.

Availability: Appears after advertisements on "Convention '72: Four More Years".