Age of enlightenment

Peggy Case directs series of spots for PBS

	Director-Producer Peggy Case on the set of Be More shot by cinematographer Richard Numeroff. PHOTO BY: Randy Hayes.

Trying to communicate a story visually is always a challenge, but for director-producer Peggy Case, showing life-changing repercussions of a television program in less than two minutes was especially demanding. The Seattle-based production company Mad as Birds produced the series of "Be More" promotional spots for the Public Broadcasting Channel (PBS).

To find subjects for each spot, Case combed through thousands of e-mails and letters sent by viewers in response to shows previously aired on PBS. The idea of these first-person perspective spots was sparked by PBS Senior Creative Director and Executive Producer John Ruppenthal. The producer was Sidney Beaumont.

"There was no shortage of candidates," says Case. "The initial hurdle was unearthing stories that could be told in less than two minutes without losing their power and authenticity."