There was a time when Broadway melodies would play on radio stations across the country, a time when showtunes were part of a crooner’s nightly set list at the club. Those were the days of musical heavyweights like Oscar Hammerstein II, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and Irving Berlin. When one of these musical masterminds crafted a song, chances are, people around the country wanted to hear it.

It was called the Golden Age of Broadway — a period of time between the 1940s and 1960s that is often recalled by theatrical historians and Broadway devotees. Sadly, nostalgia does not pay the bills, nor does the current exposure Broadway musicals have been getting these past few years.

While the average twenty-something isn’t dying for another Gershwin-like hit, innovative musicals have been offering up songs that could strike a chord with the iTunes and YouTube generation. If only someone in the marketing community would hurry up and figure out a way to reach these unaware future fans.

The musical ‘Next to Normal’ uses a contemporary sound to deal with themes of depression and emotional crisis — dark themes reminiscent of Emo rock. ‘In the Heights,’ another currently running show, takes soft-rap music and combines it with Latin flair, making it an easy fit for contemporary hit radio playlists. And the soon-to-open ‘American Idiot’ is, well, full of music by the already hit mainstream band Green Day.

It is the latter musical, ‘American Idiot,’ that’s making the biggest strides in Broadway marketing, thanks in major part to Green Day’s lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong and his push to get the Broadway actors on stage at this year’s Grammy Awards telecast. Musicians joining Broadway shows as producers isn’t a new concept, and this season has a few big names joining the crowd, including ‘Fela,’ which boasts an affiliation with Jay-Z. It’s time to take advantage of that relationship.

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Traveling the Silk Road brings to life one of the greatest trading routes in human history, showcasing the goods, cultures, and technologies from four representative cities: Xian, Chinas Tang Dynasty capital; Turfan, a verdant oasis and trading outpost; Samarkand, home of prosperous merchants who thrived on the caravan trade; and Baghdad, a fertile hub of commerce and scholarship that became the intellectual center of the era.

I produced, edited and narrated this Silk Road trailer for the American Museum of Natural History February 18, 2010.

Introducing the first official app from the American Museum of Natural History.  This app lets paleontologists of all ages explore the Museum’s famous fossil halls in depth.  DINOSAURS: American Museum of Natural History Collections contains more than 800 images from the Museum’s archive, woven together to create a striking image of the world’s most famous dinosaur, the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The app also features six detailed stories that take you even further into the Museum’s archives to explore the deep history of fossil collection. Keep an eye out for additional adventures coming soon.

I produced/edited this video for the Museum’s first iPhone app January 2010.

After seemingly endless public fighting and controversy, Conan O’Brien has departed NBC’s “The Tonight Show.”

First hosted by comedian Steve Allen in 1954, “The Tonight Show” has seen many lead the talk show. From Allen and Jack Paar to the venerable Johnny Carson and now O’Brien, the program is full of comic history. Jay Leno reigned as king of “The Tonight Show” from 1992-2009 after nabbing, some would argue “stealing,” the show from David Letterman upon Carson’s retirement.

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the show, with ratings dropping and that ill-fated format switch in 1957 to a news-type program. However, there has been a sense of dignity about hosting the legendary broadcast, until now. Who wants a washed up comedian, Leno, to return to late-night with his tail between his legs, besides Jeff Zucker?

With O’Brien departing and Leno set to return as host March 1, NBC is certain to face an uphill climb as it tries wooing back viewers and re-building the dignity of its storied program. Any TV viewer that ditched “Tonight” once O’Brien took over shouldn’t be that hard to get back, pending they haven’t died of old age. No, NBC shouldn’t be concerned about that demographic. It should, however, be nervous about the 18-to-49 demographic — a group O’Brien plays well to.

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With funding from a National Science Foundation grant, I traveled to Mojave National Preserve along the border of California and Nevada to profile Dr. Clinton Epps and his research on big horned sheep populations.  Dr. Epps has been focusing on the effects desert highways have on sheep populations, as road traffic decreases the amount of sheep crossing from one mountain range to another.

This video profile of Dr. Epps is part of an ecology curriculum for teachers of grades 7-9.  Its goal is to advance understanding of basic science and fundamental ecological principles and support schools in achieving national and state ecology standards by using engaging media.

I produced/shot/edited this video November 2009.