Students may have seen posters across campus announcing that Tufts University Television (TUTV), after being off-air for the entirety of last fall, would return in December 2007. Sadly, some things are too good to be true, and Channel 23 remained without programming.
This semester, however, TUTV plans to re-launch with updated equipment, a few content changes and a completely revamped Web site.
A delayed takeoff
TUTV directors cite personelle problems as the main reason programming didn't return on time last December.
"Part of the delay is that everything is student run; everything's in-house," senior Production Director Yuna Park said. "We don't have anyone to fall back on."
TUTV has been almost exclusively under student control since it was voted into existence by Tufts faculty in the 1990s. Students are in charge of an array of activities including training others and providing them with equipment, broadcasting, scheduling, producing, editing and management.
Park and Meller agreed that there is much more administrative work that goes into TUTV than most people imagine.
"We're on our own," Meller said. "There's a lot of leadership and facilities management involved."
Howard Woolf, TUTV's faculty advisor, said that the day-to-day management of TUTV is completely the students' responsibility.
"Ideally, I'm just the Wizard of Oz encouraging them to 'think great thoughts,'" Woolf said. "They're learning by doing and making mistakes."
Despite the delays, Park and Meller agree that once TUTV is back on-air, it will have been well worth the wait.
"We're already so late; we want everything to be perfect," Meller said.
A technological turnaround
"Three years ago was the Dark Age of TUTV," said junior Benjamin Meller, TUTV's technology director.
He was referring to the network's past equipment, which had grown so unreliable and difficult to work with that the organization decided to go off-air last semester.
In that time, group members have been working to update the station, replacing the nearly-useless, dying equipment and making the entire station more user-friendly.
TUTV's fall renovations completely changed how the organization will edit and broadcast its content. Computers in the editing lab were networked and upgraded, making it easier for TUTV to work on projects on multiple computers. This also allowed the group to devote a computer entirely to DVD production, allowing them to create professional quality recordings.
Additionally, TUTV's entire broadcasting system was replaced with a custom-built, Linux-based server designed by sophomore Michael Vastola, who is also the Daily's executive technical manager. The new system is HD-ready, makes scheduling programs and broadcasting content much quicker and more efficient, and allows TUTV to transfer digital content to the Internet.
Incorporating the past into the future
Viewers may notice a few changes to TUTV's content when it begins broadcasting. One change will be the inclusion of older footage that has been painstakingly digitized and archived.
Over 200 hours of content from the past 20 years will be broadcast, including episodes of "Jumbo Love Match" and "Tufts-a-Blanca." These older episodes will be broadcast alongside newer content. In addition to episodes of current shows like "The Lousy Hour" and "The Institute," TUTV hopes to air producer showcases every three weeks and to develop new content through group meetings.
"We hope to start a community through brainstorming sessions that lead to new content," Park said. "This is really a great resource for students, and it's just up to them to make use of it like any other facility on campus."
TUTV also has hours of recorded live performances which may air this semester. This footage includes past plays, musical performances, dance recitals and even academic lectures and debates. Meller says that recording live performances and reproducing them on professional-quality DVDs has become one of TUTV's largest applications.
"It's a huge new thing for us. We can film anything on campus, and the end product is industry standard," Meller said.
Going Digital
The most significant change to TUTV this semester will be its new focus on online content. Park and Meller say they will encourage students to make "webisodes" lasting 5-10 minutes. These shorter films will be easier to make and put online where students, alumni and people living off campus can watch them. Also, having video-on-demand capabilities will mean that people can watch whichever shows they want whenever they want to watch them. They won't have to wait for certain episodes to be broadcast over the cable channel.
"It's been clear for a long time that the future of television was the Internet," Woolf said. "This is part of a move to get TUTV to be essentially an online presence."
The launch date for TUTV's new Web site, www.TUTV23.com, has not officially been announced, but Woolf says that "within a month" TUTV will go live and have a video-on-demand site.
"I'm confident that people will choose to watch the Web site," Park said. "It's so much easier than cable."
Streaming video online will also make submitting work easier for students. With the stations' technological upgrades, it will be possible to take footage straight from a handheld camcorder and broadcast it or upload it to the Internet.
"I think 80 percent of our energy will end up going [onto the Web site], and 20 percent will stay with the Reslife channel," Woolf said.
In the meantime...
Now that most of TUTV's technological problems have been solved, the group hopes to concentrate on content. Park, Meller and Woolf agreed that they saw no decline in student participation while TUTV was off-air and anticipate continued contribution.
"We're expecting a good turnout this semester," Meller said. "There are so many aspects of the club. It's really multifaceted."
TUTV offers a five-step equipment training program and encourages students to take advantage of the network's facilities in Curtis Hall. There are also general interest meetings and brainstorming sessions that newcomers are welcome to attend.
Park said she sees mostly "people with senses of humor who just want to have fun with their friends" and students interested in broadcasting.
Park and Meller said that there won't be any additional upgrades to the station in the near future, but that eventually they would like to replace TUTV's cameras. TUTV's faculty advisor, however, sees a more overarching problem that will eventually need to be addressed.
"We need a new media building that can satisfy everybody's needs; that's the main thing," Woolf said.
The Institute: Tufts' 'Saturday Night Live'
One of the new shows scheduled to air this semester is "The Institute," run by a comedy group of the same name. Their performances and episodes include improv and taped, as well as live, sketches.
The Institute will perform in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room this Friday at 10:30 p.m. and will be taped for the group's next TUTV episode.
"It's going to be an extravaganza," freshman Brian Agler said. "We mix a live performance with taped sketches, which are usually more technical."
Filming during the performance gives the show a very unique atmosphere, allowing audiences to take a part, however small, in the show's creation.
"It's cool to have a type of show that feels like you're in a TV studio," sophomore Gregory Berney said. "It's our version of 'SNL.'"
The group began as the senior project of alum Luke Yu (LA '07) but took on a life of its own after he graduated. "We had such a fun time with it that we didn't want it to end," Berney said. "We just ran with it."
"It was such a tight group; it would've been a tragedy if it had stopped," Agler said. "There's still a palpable energy in each meeting."
"The Institute" produces three thirty-minute episodes per semester. Sketches include everything from satirical movie and television previews to music videos to more traditional narratives. Agler and Berney agree that the performance on Friday will fit perfectly into most college students' schedules.
"It's a good way to get the night started. It's quick, it's free, and it'll be a really great time," Agler said.
"The Institute" is only one reason to look forward to the return of TUTV. Over the next semester, the group promises to make its mark on Tufts' media community and continue to provide the Tufts campus with some close-to-home entertainment.
