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Guide to the Alexander Media Services Videotape collection
MS0060
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Table of contents
Title: Alexander Media Services Videotape collection
Dates: 1974-2000
Collection number: MS0060
Creator:
Alexander Media Services
Collection Size:
90 linear feet (88 boxes)
Repository:
Center for Sacramento History
Sacramento, California 95811-0229
Abstract: Alexander Media Services, Inc. was a video production company based in Sacramento, California founded in 1981 by Daniel Alexander
and was one of the first video production companies in Sacramento . The production company created television commercials
for a variety of businessess in Sacramento including auto dealerships, banks, department stores, restaurants, banks, and grocery
stores. The company also produced local television programs, documentaries, educational and corporate videos for television
stations, state and local government agencies, corporations, and non-profits in the Sacramento area. The company produced
the California Lottery's first television game show,
The Big Spin, when it was filmed at KTXL Studios in Sacramento, California between 1986-1998.
Physical location: 49D5-8, 49E1-7, 49F1-7
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open for research use.
All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted
in writing to cshatcityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron.
No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.
[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], Alexander Media Services Videotape collection, MS0060,
Center for Sacramento History.
The Alexander Media Services Videotape Collection was donated to the Center for Sacramento History by Daniel Alexander on
December 29, 2000 (accession #2003/098).
Inventory created by Chris Lango in 2015. Finding aid created by Sean Heyliger in 2019.
Biography / Administrative History
Alexander Media Services, Inc. was a video production company based in Sacramento, California founded in 1981 by Daniel Alexander
and was one of the first video production companies in Sacramento . The production company created television commercials
for a variety of businessess in Sacramento including auto dealerships, banks, department stores, restaurants, banks, and grocery
stores. The company also produced local television programs, documentaries, educational and corporate videos for television
stations, state and local government agencies, corporations, and non-profits in the Sacramento area. The company produced
the California Lottery's first television game show,
The Big Spin, when it was filmed at KTXL Studios in Sacramento, California between 1986-1998.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Alexander Media Services Videotape Collection consists of 88 boxes of videotapes of television programs, documentaries,
television commercials, public service annoucements (PSAs), and corporate videos produced by Alexander Media Services between
1974-2000. The collection is organized into ten series: Series 1. Entertainment, Series 2. Commercials, Series 3. Government
and politics, Series 4. Sports, Series 5. California State Lottery, Series 6. Landscapes, Series 7. Aerials, Series 8. Personal,
Series 9. Demos and resumes, Series 10. Corporate.
Highlights include a 1998 documentary on the Burning Man Festival "Into the Heart of the Fire- A psycho-documentary of the
Burning Man Festival," and two documentaries featuring pioneering African American cartoonist Morrie Turner interviewing Peanuts
creator Charles Shultz. There are numerous commercials featuring national and local Sacramento area businesses such as grocery
stores, auto dealerships, hotels, radio stations, farmer's markets, and restaurants. The government and politics series includes
public service annoucements and government training videos on a number of topics including fire prevention, drunk driving,
air pollution, and highway safety. Also included are a small number of videos containing raw footage of speeches delivered
by visiting politians Ross Perot, Jesse Jackson, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, and Mikhail Gorbachev. The corporate videos were mostly
produced by Alexander Media Services and feature training videos for Weinstocks, First Commercial Bank, B&H Manufacturing,
Sacramento Campbell's Soup Plant, and several cultural videos on Saudia Arabia.
- Series 1. Entertainment
- Subseries 1.1 Television
- Subseries 1.2 Musicals
- Subseries 1.3 Comedy
- Subseries 1.4 Children's programming
- Series 2. Commercials
- Subseries 2.1 Automobile Dealerships
- Subseries 2.2 Products, Businesses, and Banks
- Subseries 2.3 Denio's Auction/Farmer's Market
- Subseries 2.4 Composite spot reels
- Subseries 2.5 Assorted
- Series 3. Government and politics
- Subseries 3.1 Agencies, Commissions, and Conferences
- Subseries 3.2 Political spots and advertisements
- Subseries 3.3 Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
- Subseries 3.4 Speeches and rallies
- Series 4. Sports
- Subseries 4.1 Football
- Subseries 4.2 Boxing
- Subseries 4.3 Basketball
- Subseries 4.4 Skiing
- Subseries 4.5 Racing, Skating, Fishing, and Wrestling
- Series 5. California State Lottery
- Subseries 5.1 Big Spin
- Subseries 5.2 Lotto drawings
- Subseries 5.3 Graphic elements
- Subseries 5.4 News stories and interviews
- Series 6. Landscapes
- Subseries 6.1 Sacramento and Sacramento County
- Subseries 6.2 Cal Expo and California State Fair
- Subseries 6.3 Folsom
- Subseries 6.4 Rivers, Lakes, Nature, and Ocean
- Subseries 6.5 Assorted
- Series 7. Aerials
- Series 8. Personal
- Subseries 8.1 Weddings
- Subseries 8.2 Parties
- Subseries 8.3 School Plays, Awards, and Ceremonies
- Subseries 8.4 Assorted
- Series 9. Demos and resumes
- Subseries 9.1 On-air talent
- Subseries 9.2 Producers, Directors, and Photographers
- Subseries 9.3 Alexander Media Services Corporate Reels
- Subseries 9.4 Other agencies
- Subseries 9.5 Graphics,Animation, and Logos
- Subseries 9.6 Stock Footage and Still Images
- Subseries 9.7 Assorted
- Series 10. Corporate
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Alexander Media Services
California State Lottery
Sacramento (Calif.)-History
Television-California
Television commercials
Audiovisual playback equipment that were donated with the collection (accession #2003/098) were separated and are used in
the Center for Sacramento History audiovisual lab.