Over the past semester, 5C students
have revived the Claremont Colleges Television (CCTV) station, producing short
videos on events such as the 5C Hackathon as well as features on clubs and
individual students. CCTV provides students with an
opportunity to produce original videos that stream online for the 5C community.
“One of the things that I’ve
noticed that’s pretty interesting about CCTV is definitely how interested
people are,” said Chloe Webster PO ’14, a Studio 47 employee and co-founder of CCTV.
“I think CCTV has opened the doors
and allowed people to say that ‘You know what, if you have an idea, come to
us,’” she added. “We have cameras, we have the
editing suite, we have people that can help you and teach you how to do what
you want to do.”
This semester, CCTV produced a news feature about the 5C Turf Dinner as an example of
what news broadcasts will look like in the future. Other features, such as
multiple interviews with second-year students about the sophomore slump, reveal aspects
of student life on campus to current students as well as prospective students
who might be interested in learning more about the Claremont Colleges.
According to the video, the
sophomore slump is a phenomenon in which sophomores are faced with decisions
about their future academic and career paths and find themselves struggling to
maintain their motivation in the face of more challenging classes as well as
the transition to possible new living situations.
CCTV operates under the umbrella organization of Studio 47, the film and TV production club of the Claremont Colleges, which receives its funding from student fees. There are currently 25 students who are involved with CCTV, said Peter Chen PO ’16, one of the head founders of the club.
Chen said that CCTV will be
producing a comedy news show based on The
Onion for its final piece this semester. Next semester, the club is planning to host new web series, such as Shakespeare in the modern day and a
mock reality TV show on Campus Safety, along with news-based segments.
For students like Alex Nolan PO
’16, one of the founders and now the Programming Director of CCTV, CCTV is an
opportunity to create original videos and dabble in a different medium than
the print and radio media that are currently available on the 5Cs.
“I would love to be a TV writer
professionally,” Nolan said. “I really enjoy TV. I enjoy directing it. I enjoy
writing it.”
“I think that video has a lot of
potential as a story-telling medium to unite a lot of different interests that
I see on campus,” she added.
In addition, some see CCTV as a way
to combine the interests and focuses of preexisting clubs.
“We have a screenwriting club,
people who enjoy doing video and all of these great stories happening on campus,”
Nolan said. “It seems like video is a really good way to get those across in
the small increments that a college student can absorb at a time.”
Creating
each of the videos is an intensive process which can involve around 15 students, according to Chen. CCTV is limited by the amount of equipment that is
available such as computers and cameras, he said, but not by student interest.
“I am very excited by the work that I’ve seen so
far coming from the new CCTV’s student producers,” wrote Erica Tyron, Director
of College Radio and Television and the CCTV staff advisor, in an e-mail to TSL.
“It is always extremely beneficial for students
to not only learn about how [to] think critically about media, but the hands on
creation of media can be an incredibly empowering educational experience,” Tyron wrote.
There may also be opportunities for students
involved in CCTV to collaborate with other 5C production clubs such as the
radio station, KSPC.
“As yet KSPC and CCTV have not collaborated on
any programs, but it’s easy to see that happening in the near future—as all
student media has been on the path to convergence,” Tyron wrote.
“I think
that this is a really cool opportunity and a cool thing that is getting started
on campus,” Nolan said. “We’re really glad that we have so much support and so
many people helping out.”
The videos
are currently available to stream on the club’s YouTube channel, CCTV. The most-viewed video at the time of print, a feature on the a cappella group The
Claremont Shades in advance of the SCAMFest concert Nov. 22, has 429 views. The
next-most popular video, a feature on the Chinese Drama Society, has 75 views.
“I really think that the next stage
of media development is definitely going to be online,” Nolan said. “So having
the majority of our material online is a really good way that students will be
able to see it and they will be able to just click on it and have it available
right away.”
CCTV was originally founded in
1990, according to Tyron, and was carried on the local television networks. Funding for the channel came from each of the undergraduate colleges and was controlled by the Claremont University
Consortium.
“CCTV ended in 2008; the cable industry was
deregulated in California such that the cable companies were no longer required
to provide public access facilities, and it was too costly at that time in the
financial crisis for CUC to approve the funding needed to move the CCTV access
point to campus,” Tyron wrote.
Students from all 5Cs except Harvey Mudd College are involved in the current version of CCTV.
Unlike at other media outlets on the 5Cs, no work-study is currently available.
Jesse Caro PO ’13 contributed
reporting.