U-Matic

City Shots Detroit Downtown
05-08-89
Tape 1

U-Matic S tape containing b-roll footage shot of the exteriors of the Fox Theatre, Cobo Hall, Cobo Arena, the Renaissance Center, the Millender Center, and Trappers Alley, as well as a lengthy sequence shot inside of Trappers Alley. Two stills of holiday-themed illustrations appear at the beginning of the tape. The footage is followed by a composite of several other clips assembled while making Coleman A. Young's 1989 birthday video.

The tape opens with a pair of stills of holiday-themed illustrations. The first shows the Detroit People Mover "wearing" a reindeer's antlers and a red nose, and the second has the Spirit of Detroit framed within a wreath made of fruit. Part of a voice over for a public service announcement promoting the Detroit Fest Holiday Season is heard during this sequence.

The stills are followed by audio of traffic over a test pattern. The picture returns with several shots of the Fox Theatre's marquee and front entrance. The marquee promotes an upcoming Wayne Newton concert.

Following a cut, the camera is repositioned on Jefferson Avenue, in front of Cobo Hall and Cobo Arena. The camera gets a series of shots of both structures, as well as members of the Detroit Police Department's Mounted Police division, and the statue of Joe Louis through Cobo Hall's windows. The camera also rotates around to get a shot of the People Mover passing above Jefferson Avenue.

After another cut, the camera is repositioned again on the north corner of Randolph Street and Jefferson Avenue, across from the Renaissance Center. The crew pans around the building's exterior and gets shots of the building's logo in the glass above its front entrance, the People Mover and its station, the skywalk connecting to the Millender Center, and several passing pedestrians. The camera also rotates around for shots of the Millender Center's signs, glass facade, and People Mover station

The camera is then repositioned again, outside of Trappers Alley. Here the crew films the neon lights below the building's skywalk over Beaubien Street, its sign, the sign for Pizza Papalis, and pedestrians walking along Monroe Street. The crew then moves into Trappers Alley for shots of people walking through its ground floor, a trip up one of its escalators, and multiple views from the upper levels of its atrium. The camera also gets shots of workers and food preparation at several of its "Festival Foods" restaurants--Sbarro, Philadelphia Steak and Subs, and the Fudgery.

The downtown footage is followed by a shot compositing stills of housing developments (Franklin Wright Village, McDonald Square, and Jefferson Square) overlaid over footage of the 1989 French Ethnic Festival in Hart Plaza (see tape 2015.008.209) and Mayor Coleman A. Young at a press conference.

The recording is on a UCA-30s U-Matic S tape with a handwritten 3M label on its top. The tape is housed in a black plastic latching case with a handwritten City of Detroit Department of Public Information Video Production label on its cover. The case also contains a handwritten shot list:

City Clips #1 Downtown
Drawing of P.M. w/ Antlers 00 - 16
Spirit inside fruit reef 16 - 54
Bars 57 - 1:26
Fox Theatre shots 1:26 - 3:56
Cobo w/ Police shots 3:56 - 6:40
P.M. Passing over Lodge worksite 6:40 - 7:04
New front of Ren Cen shots 7:04 - 7:58
Ren Cen P.M. Station pan down P.M. 7:58 - 8:18
Young men crossing street/girl 8:18 - 8:30
Ren Cen shot 8:30 - 8:37
Lady smiling @ camera/ladies 8:37 - 9:09
P.M. pass in front of Ren Cen 9:09 - 9:53
People on Sky Walk 9:53 - 10:00
Millender Center shots 10:00 - 11:38
P.M. track in front of Ren Cen 11:38 - 11:47
Man walking people behind him 11:47 - 11:55
New front of Ren Cen 11:55 - 12:01
Trappers Alley P.M. Station shots 12:01 - 12:41
Trappers Alley sign 12:41 - 13:05
People walking Trappers Alley 13:05 - 13:20
Trappers sing & people shot 13:20 - 13:53
Inside Trapper people shots (vague) 13:53 - 20:05
Special Effects for CAY B-Day 89 20:05 - 20:35