Meet Steve Purcell of SLP Productions in Calabasas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Purcell.

Thanks for sharing your story with us steve. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
So here’s my story, I was born in Los Angeles and lived in a small house in North Hollywood. One of my earliest memories was my mother’s love of photography. She had a Rollicord 21/4 x 21/4 camera and shot black & white Plus-X film. She photographed every school event, birthday or any memorable occasion. I was her only child and her favorite subject. Her father, my grandfather was a renowned package designer in the 50s and 60s. He designed logos and packaging for products that are still being used today, Jell-O, Lipton Tea, Quaker Oats, Mobil Oil, Morton Salt, etc. Both he and my mother were creatively gifted people.

My parents gave me my first camera when I was seven. It became my best friend. It was how I would spend free time and was my window to the world. My youth revolved around photography. I converted my bedroom into a darkroom so I could process my film and print my photographs, day or night.

At 14, I started working at the Mid-Valley YMCA teaching swimming, sailing, gymnastics and was a lifeguard. During high school, I would look for ways to turn photography into a money-making business. I tried event photographer for the school paper and taking headshots of realtors for local realty companies, both never went anywhere.

At age 16, my father gave me a Beaulieu super-8 movie camera. This allowed me to continue my visual exploration but now with moving pictures. This was a new tool to explore my world and develop my visual style.

After graduating high school, I attended Los Angeles Valley College and photography was still my passion. To that end, at 20, I got a summer job working for a local production company, Video Tape Enterprises. They provided production equipment for LA-based television shows. I spent that summer as a camera assistant, working at small comedy clubs to Anaheim Stadium. I also worked at CBS Studios backlot on Gunsmoke and Gilligan Island’s sets. I took any job in production I could get. At the end of that summer, I was offered a job with a four-month guarantee, at newly formed local production/post-production company, The Post Group (TPG). Feeling that I should seize the opportunity, I accepted the job and put my education on hold.

This was 1978, I was 21 and the television industry was at the very early stages of computerized editing. Film editors were still cutting film. If you had a technical mind and desire, you could pursue videotape editing. Fortunately, TPG was one of the first LA-based production companies to explore this new technology. As TPG started to grow, I got the opportunity to grow along with it.

Within two years, I had learned enough to run an edit suit. Ultimately, I was given the opportunity to sit in the edit chair and work with local producers and directors. I wasn’t an editor, I was a technician but started to learn the creative process from these professionals. Soon I was offered the graveyard shift editing talk shows, game shows, local commercials, etc..

August 1st, 1981, MTV was launched I was 24. MTV opened up new avenues for production and post-production. It gave directors and editors the opportunity to learn the craft of storytelling in a short form. For me, I found myself being thrown into situations with musicians, feature film directors, commercial directors to edit these four-minute mini-movies, “music videos”.

Music videos gave me the opportunity to hone my creative vision and style. This was a new art form for both my clients and me; there was no rulebook. Creatively we experimented and tried unconventional approaches to storytelling. I found myself collaborating with the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Prince, Pat Benatar, BB King, Paul McCartney, Van Halen, the list goes on.

Because of my growing relationships with music artists, I was given the opportunity to edit their concerts as well. In 1980, I edited “Elton John in Central Park”, I was 27 at the time. It opened the door for me to edit countless other concerts throughout the rest of my career.

In 1982, I edited a concert for Prince, “Parade” filmed in Detroit. Editing concerts was a long process and typically I would be left alone to wade through the footage and craft the first cut. At the time Prince lived in Minneapolis, in order to creatively collaborate with him, I would send a VHS copy of his concert on a nightly basis by airline counter to counter for him to review. Typically, I would get a call at 2 am to get his thoughts and we would discuss the next steps. This built a comfort level and a creative bond between us. I subsequently edited countless music videos over the next six years as well as his concert films Sign O’ The Times and Graffiti Bridge.

This was a very challenging and exciting time. My career was advancing rapidly. I was editing music videos back to back. I was also editing with feature film directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Soderbergh and Joel Schumacher.  Joel gave me the opportunity to work on movies like The Lost Boys and Flatliners. I could see my career was coming to a crossroad. One was to pursue editing feature films and the other was directing, I chose the latter. In 1989, I left The Post Group and started my own production company, SLP Productions, Inc.

At that time, I had a strong and diverse client base. I convinced my clients that if they would let me direct their next project, I would edit it as well. One of my first clients to give me this opportunity with Prince. Once I had his vote of confidence, doors started opening for me. I quickly moved from the editing suite to the director’s chair.

My directing career was advancing rapidly, some notable events were I was accepted into the Directors Guild. I spent three years directing Disney specials in Los Angeles, Orlando, and Tokyo. I directed a behind the scenes for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson which he played on his final show. I continued to work closely with Johnny for several years on a home video series. Next, I produced and directed, Jagged Little Pill Live with Alanis Morissette, I won a Grammy for that. From there, I got the opportunity to direct three made for TV movies with the Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen. The list continues.

A notable side note, my father, Jack Purcell was head of the law department for CBS West Coast. On Saturdays when he had to work, I would tag along to CBS Television City with him, I was 10 at the time. This gave me the opportunity to sit in the studios and watch, The Smothers Brothers, Glen Campbell and Carol Burnette rehearsals. One of my most cherished memories was 30 years later I got the opportunity to direct a CBS network special for Carol with the original cast. We shot it in Studio 33, the same studio I would sit in on those Saturdays, the only difference was now my Dad was in the audience and I was directing.

After spending 20 or so years traveling the world producing and directing, I explored several new opportunities. I was asked to join the Los Angeles-based post-production facility Chainsaw/Sim International, as Senior-Vice President of Post Production. This was working a new muscle for me, one that I found challenging and rewarding. After four years, PBS reached out and offered me the position of Senior-Vice President of Content and Distribution for PBS SoCal. Again, I welcomed the challenge and opportunity for continued growth. During this time, I also taught Producing and Directing at Syracuse University’s Westcoast Campus. All of these positions while challenging and rewarding, didn’t provide the creative environment that I had grown to love.

What I’ve learned during my journeys, is that working in the television and film business can provide you with rewards beyond your wildest dreams. I will often take a step back when I’m in production and reflect on how I have had the opportunity to create all kinds of programming with some of the top professionals of our time. My career has provided me with creative growth, financial stability, enough to raise a family and personal experiences beyond what I could’ve ever imagined.

I have been blessed. I’ve traveled the world several times over. I’ve won numerous awards; Emmy’s, Cable Ace, Grammy, etc.. I have a loving family with three boys, Ryan, Kevin, Collin and my wife Cynthia of close to 40 years. The greatest gift I have received through my work are the people I have collaborated with along the way. I’m talking about Production Assistants to U.S. Presidents and everything in between. I’m not referring to casual acquaintances, I’m talking about people I’ve spent time with, laughed with, drank with and shared stories with. What I found with anyone at the top of their field is their passion for what they do, they seek and welcome life’s challenges. We all have different jobs, we all have different career paths, but we all share one common goal and that is to always look forward, never shy away from obstacles and always welcome the challenges that life gives you. Most importantly, I’ve learned to share my life experiences and mentor the next generation as my mentors did with me.

So that’s my story. Currently I’m producing and directing projects through my production company SLP Productions, Inc. Next chapter, I look forward to fulfilling my original dream as an aspiring photographer.

Please disregard any typos or grammatical errors. My Dad always said I should have finished college.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 818-404-3744

• Email: SLPTV@me.com

• Other: stevepurcell.org

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