For the first time in LU history, a student society will be covering the Roses tournament by capturing the action through student produced videos. Organizers from LUTubeTV will be working with the student TV station from the University of York to record the events in May.
Co-Executive Producer, Alberto Ramirez, met the York team at a national student TV convention last month. The York team is well established, having won several awards, and has been helpful in assisting the LU team, who are in their early days. So, as York and LU battling it out on the filed, the two student TV stations will be playing on the same team to provide broadcast coverage that will seen by both schools.
Meeting the York team and others who attended the NASTA convention was very inspirational. According to Alberto, “We learned that we are producing material that is good quality, considering the equipment we have, and that the volume of our productions has thus far exceeded what many other schools are doing. We made more videos in our first 60 days than some schools do all year.”
Despite the fact that LUTubeTV is a newly sanctioned LUSU society, the members have been working hard creating content for more than six months. From pilot shows hosted on their website, to informational clips that will be featured at LUCinema, to virtual reality videos known as “machinimas.”
Co-Executive Producer, Michele Ryan, says that she is encouraged by the interest from both staff and students regarding the creation of machinimas. She explains, “While virtual reality platforms, such as Second Life, are still an emerging technology in the UK, LU seems to have a strong interest in it. This is evident from the feedback I’ve received from various pockets of people that I’ve met, such as the Lancaster University Second Life Educators Group.” Although these animated videos are in their early days, Michele is confident that LUTubeTV will be able to produce features on a regular basis in the very near future. The use of machinimas can be combined with recorded video to add a new level of graphic action. Michele hopes that by Roses 2009, they will have the animated side of the production mastered enough to fold it directly into their video coverage.
Both Alberto and Michele said that they are aggressively seeking funds to purchase better equipment. Although they have not yet decided, they have been approached about producing a DVD of the activities at Roses that could be sold to raise funds for LUTubeTV. Explains Michele, “It’s a catch 22. We need funds to buy better equipment. But producing a sellable video at this point would not be an accurate reflection of the quality that we are capable of producing. Our quality is pretty good, don’t get me wrong. But we could do so much better if we had better microphones, camera lens, upgraded software, etc. On the one hand we need to produce something we can sell so we can get funds needed to buy that equipment. On the other hand we need that equipment so that we can produce something that is sellable.”
As you cheer for your favorite team this year at Roses, look around you. You may be on camera. Don’t fret if you see the LUTubeTV filming crews being chumming with the York crews. In this case they are playing for the same team…you! Visit their website at http://lutube.tv
