Showtime at BUTV
Student-run channel features talk show, sports, and more to come
After years of creating television shows for the viewing pleasure of a small group of similar-minded friends calling themselves Growling Dog Productions, Jason Marcus is looking forward to more widespread recognition.
With yesterday’s launch of BUTV 10, Boston University’s first student-run television channel, Marcus’ work became available to the entire BU community. And Marcus (COM’07), the station’s general manager, expects the impact to be nothing short of revolutionary.
“We want the shows to be a bonding element for all of BU,” he says. “We want the station to be as far-reaching as possible and for it to become more and more important to everyone within the BU community as we progress.”
It could happen. Students, faculty, and staff can start with the dozen-odd shows now available from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. on the on-campus television network’s channel 10. They include a weekly interview show called Full Circle, where students, faculty, administrators, and alumni discuss specific topics of interest to the greater University community; Pinnacle, showing narrative and documentary film work created by BU faculty; Rendered, showcasing student film, video, and broadcast journalism work; and Terrier Nation, where viewers can see highlights from hockey, basketball, lacrosse, and other sports.
That lineup did not come easily. Since September, when the administration gave permission for the channel, BUTV staffers have been working almost around the clock, creating all aspects of the station, from the logo, programming, and script-writing to acting, shooting, and creation of a Web site.
“The workload has been constant,” says Christophor Cavalieri, a College of Communication assistant professor of film and television and the network’s faculty advisor. “BU gave us the channel and provided us with the equipment and from there left the students to do virtually everything from scratch.”
Like Marcus, Cavalieri has great ambitions. He hopes that eventually the station will broadcast 24 hours a day and will include the work of students from all over the University, not only those from COM. Giselle Rivers (COM’07), BUTV’s programming coordinator, envisions collaborations with the College of Fine Arts, broadcasting CFA performances and perhaps filmming theater productions and other student-written shows from around campus.
“The goal is to make it possible for anyone to pitch an idea,” says Rivers. “We are just looking for shows that are different from what we already have.”
Cavalieri agrees. He feels it’s essential to engage as much of the University as possible. “We hope to forge relations with other colleges and to provide viable information and interesting stories for the entire BU community,” he says. “We have big plans.”
Stay tuned.