“I remember going to city council meetings, press conferences and some accidents here and there…all those things I did at Channel 8 that I was happy not to be doing anymore,” he says.  “I had been there, done that and was determined to come up with something I could do that would be fun…to find my own little news niche.”

Once again, Larry paved his own career path and went the feature route.  His first stop was doing “Summer Shorts,” an every-Friday video essay set to music.  He remained very much a cameraman, reporter and producer all wrapped up in one.

“One of my favorite films was shot in slow-motion. It captured the joy and innocence of some youngsters cooling off by swinging out over the Alafia River on a rope…and letting go. It was timeless.”

“The single news figure who most influenced me was the great Charles Kuralt,” Larry says.  “In my eyes, he was the 'Babe Ruth' of television.  Kuralt was the master of telling stories.  I liked the way he wrote and the expressive way he delivered a story.  But most of all, I admired the stories he told.  His 'little' stories were mostly about good people doing good things in a world spinning out of control.”   (Left - Charles Kuralt)

“Kuralt found the beauty in life and the wonder of all living things.  Having the chance to talk and be with Kuralt on several occasions was a dream come true for me.”  Larry’s produced-for-WTVT features would eventually share airtime on overnight CBS newscasts with Kuralt’s folksy material.

Larry interviews the man who inspired him...Charles Kuralt

From the “Summer Shorts” in 1979, Elliston moved on to creating some 300 artistic film essays shot on 16mm film and edited on tape. He called them “Something Else” and that they were.

“I enjoyed doing them because I was so focused on telling a story visually.  I learned a lot about doing that while working on Project 13.  The thing that made it really challenging was because by its very nature, I had to go from telling a story in 26 minutes to doing the same thing in two minutes.”

Larry produced the Emmy award-winning “Something Else” for two years and never once uttered a single word on the air, preferring to let his pictures and music tell his stories.  He did two or three stories a week with no pressure from higher ups. He was free to do his own thing with natural sound, music and editing...on every subject and emotion imaginable.

In the fading days of “Something Else,” Larry felt the urge to use his voice and get more involved in telling a story with accompanying narration.  A proposal for a new series of short features was made to News Director Hugh Smith, stating that a more demanding audience needed to see 'Larry Elliston' kinds of stories at the end of each news program.  Smith was convinced and gave Elliston the go-ahead to hit the road.