Out With TUTV, In With "Studio T"

TUTV is kicking its television station to the curb and embracing the Internet in its new incarnation, "Studio T."

Studio T intends to be a provider of equipment and knowledge so that Tufts students can make video clips of any sort, including movies, moving beyond the previous framework of all shows needing "a script and a cast" to proceed, according to Studio T president Wyatt Newport '11.

But a big area where it plans to expand is in collaborating with other groups, said Studio T senior member Eric Nichols '11.  So far, Studio T is looking at partnering with The Tufts Daily, Tufts Culinary Society and Pen, Paint, and Pretzels (3Ps), as well as organizing a film event with Tufts Film Series.

TUTV has had a checkered past, and in my time here, there have been plenty of promises but little to show for it.  There have been some individual efforts, such as Nichols' Mouthwash last year, and The Institute's sketch comedy shows, but TUTV as an entity has taken a backseat on campus, it seems, while JumboCast, another student organization, has branched out beyond sports, covering candidates' forums for student government and doing a live broadcast on Election Night complete with a green screen.

Nichols noted that Studio T has new, advanced technology, including $5,000 cameras, that puts it "on the cutting edge.

"When I ran [Mouthwash], I used my own stuff," he said.  Now, the goal is for Studio T to have the best equipment, and it is looking to upgrade technology every two to three years to stay on top of changing technology.

Students with an idea can come to Studio T, get access to camera equipment and funding (with differing amounts of money given based on the complexity of the idea -- a change from years past, according to Nichols), and be trained by work-study students who have editing knowledge.  To get started, e-mail Nichols.

It remains to be seen whether the name change and new focus will make Studio T a relevant content producer on campus.  But in talking with Newport and Nichols, I got the sense that the shift is designed to shed unproductive elements like the television broadcast channel and to focus instead on opening up camera access to students interested in video in general.  As students gravitate more toward the Internet (last year, 2 TCU presidential campaigns produced YouTube videos), perhaps Studio T will end up in a prime position to take advantage.

Editor's Note: The Quad intends to get involved in video production this year, and Studio T sounds like the type of arrangement that will help with this -- either directly or through the video wing of Tufts Roundtable.  (We're already working, through Roundtable's video wing, on a video report of an event.)  This blog post was prompted by TUTV's name change -- and the significance that it entails for a campus television station to essentially drop the television station component -- and not by any affiliation The Quad has or wishes it had with people who own really nice cameras.