Avia Ustanny, Outlook Writer
Louis Burke, director extraordinaire. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Quiet and taciturn as he may appear to those who don't know him well, Louis Burke, technical director at Television Jamaica (TVJ), is a man who - with charisma and more to spare - once attracted the limelight in his own right.
The senior technical director first became involved in broadcasting while still attending Kingston Technical High School in the '60s when he emerged on the public radar as an outstanding dancer.
It was not long before he appeared in Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) Radio's Teenage Dance Party as a star.
Burke recalls, "I was crowned king of the teen dance scene in 1964."
JBC asked him to host some of the programmes and it was so, that the 'dancing' director made his debut.
He hosted a few of the programmes and received guidance from broadcasters like Beverley Anderson (Manley), Mitzie Constantine (Seaga), Aggrey Brown, Leonie Forbes and the late Roy Hall.
Burke remained involved in the music scene and was organiser of the original singing group called The Techniques in the early '60s.
But, instead of a career in entertainment, the son of Simon and Ruth Burke of Witfield Town in St. Andrew, chose to remain in the studio.
In 1976, Burke joined JBC as an audio assistant, then moved on to the positions of camera and lighting man.
"They used to call me the dancing cameraman," he smiles in recollection.
He seized every opportunity to hone his talents in sound and light. In 1976, he did a course in theatre lighting at the School of Drama. In 1977, he went to Germany to do a course in lighting, camera and directing. After finishing this course, he lectured at the College of Arts, Science and Technology (now the University of Technology) on lighting.
PIONEER IN COLOUR USE
Burke started to do lighting on programmes such as Music and Youth, Oliver at Large, and a series of other local productions.
He was, in fact, one of the first persons to use the effect called chroma key on local television. A chroma key is the removal of a colour (or small colour range) from one image to reveal another image 'behind' it. The removed colour then becomes transparent.
The technique is also referred to as 'colour keying', 'colour-separation overlay' (CSO), 'greenscreen' and 'bluescreen'. It is commonly used for weather forecasts. The presenter appears to be standing in front of a large map, but in the studio it is actually a large blue or green background.
Louis Burke chose every opportunity to add to his skills and enrolled in a supervisory management course at CAST in 1994. He then became studio supervisor for TV.
In 1980 when there was a redundancy and the entire technical department was asked to leave, Burke was the only one left standing.
"To this day, I don't know the reason why," he tells Outlook.
The department was staffed with workers taken from the Creative Production and Training Centre (CPTC) and Burke became the senior director with responsibility for news and all local programmes on TV.
HIGHLIGHT
The veteran television man declares that one of the highlights of his life was his work with the T.W.I (Trans World International - the largest independent producer, packager and distributor of sports programming worldwide). He worked there in 1990 as a vision engineer, through Caribbean Broadcasting Union.
"I worked on the whole leg of cricket down the islands. I also received the Fanfare Award from South Florida (1990)."
Locally, Louis Burke has worked on almost every national programme on TVJ - including Schools' Challenge Quiz, Ring Ding, Where It's At and more.
A constant pleasure has been his work with the inspirational programme hosted by Ian Boyne - Profile - from the very inception 19 years ago.
Ian Boyne states, "Louis is a gem. He has one of the finest personalities I know. We have never had a single problem in working together for 19 years. The sets that people are crazy about on Profile have been created by him. He chose the theme music."
On Profile, Burke states that he has had the pleasure of meeting major stars, including Wesley Snipes, Dionne Warwick, Chuck Jackson and many other actors and singers.
"The exciting thing about what I do is the chance to meet new people," the director states.
Not surprisingly, Burke's closest friends are men who have worked closely with him in the studio. Tino Geddes, who met Louis Burke when he went to JBC in the late '60s, states: "We struck up a friendship then which has remained intact and has intensified.
"As a professional, I know Louis to be a very committed person to a point that sometimes I tell him that he has to learn to say 'I can't do this' or 'I can't do that'. He lives in Portmore and is often required to work from five in the morning until after news at 10 - then he has to go back and return for 5:00 a.m. duties.
"I say to him, 'Sometimes when they call you on a Friday (his day off) and say we need you, you can say you have other commitments', but his first commitment is to work. He will explain that it is an inconvenience, but he will end up going."
Burke, Geddes declares, "Is someone you can rely on. He notes that while Burke may not be a family person in the conventional manner (he is not married), he is a man who makes every effort to remain close to his four children - even though they are all grown.
"He is really very committed. He loves them very much and he tries to remain close to them. Whatever relatives he has, he tries to remain close."
Although he admits that his dancing days are over, Burke still loves soul, country, western and reggae music and will take in a good session with his pals, along with cricket.
Now aged 58, he admits that retirement is not far off, but he never thinks about it.
"Something will come up," he says.
The studio is his life.
