Branding MUTV 99 Owner Marquette University | Affiliations mtvU, CNN,
CBS, OSTN Founded 1976 | |
 | ||
Slogan Your Campus News Source Channels Analog: 99 (CCTV - Cable) | ||
Marquette University Television (MUTV) is a student television station at the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University. MUTV is considered a co-curricular activity of the Broadcast and Electronic Communication Department and is advised by full-time faculty member Barbara Fleming Volbrecht. The students produce three shows a night (Monday - Thursday), one from each department: Entertainment, Sports, and News. The station is seen as a valuable learning tool for students to find what they enjoy and hone their skills within the context of a television station.
Contents
About
Marquette University Television was chartered by Marquette University in 1976 and is a registered student organization with the Marquette University Student Government and Office of Student Development. MUTV was formed through the diligent work of Bob Turner, former head of the Instructional Media Center, students Steve Olson and George Wensel, and other students and Marquette faculty and staff. Kenneth Shuler, a former engineer, is legend for making MUTV possible by running the campus cable system. As the story goes, during the night Ken would go to work running cables through offices and in tunnels under Wisconsin Avenue. Many of the original engineers died in a plane crash in the 70's that nearly crippled the program's success. George Wensel, who later went on to be a major force in sports telecasts and has a Sports Emmy Award named in his honor, died in a drowning accident in 1995. Ken, Bob, and George live on through the annual scholarships awarded to creative and innovative broadcasting students.
Awards
Mascot
MUTV's mascot is Cornelius the Armadillo. A former general manager of MUTV had a pet armadillo whose name was Cornelius. When Cornelius died he had it stuffed and gave it to the station. Cornelius still lives in the MUTV office, though he has suffered some abuse over the years. Cornelius can occasionally be seen on the air in MUTV entertainment shows.
Specials
MUTV occasionally runs special programs during the year.
General Managers
MUTV was started by students and continues to be student run. It is led by the General Manager, as selected by the Student Media Board at the end of each academic year. An incomplete list of former general managers follows:
Current Staff
The MUTV Staff for the 2016 to 2017 academic year is as follows:
Production
Students utilize the newly renovated facilities of the Instructional Media Center for nearly all aspects of show production. The IMC features two large video production studios (Studio 6 and Studio 7) with complementing control rooms. Control 7 is utilized for show taping and has direct access to all gear (including cameras and graphics) in Studio 6. All shows are recorded live-to-tape on the MiniDV format, as well as digitally on the M-Series iVDR. In 2006 the entire facility was upgraded and renovated for all brand new, state-of-the-art broadcasting equipment, making Marquette HD capable.
Studio 7
Studio 7 is a 2-story, 30' x 45' sound stage with fifteen mobile lighting grids for easy light placement and focusing. The room once served as the university library.
Equipment list (Studio 7 and Control 7):
Studio 6
Studio 6 is a single-story, 20' x 25' studio with a stationary lighting grid.
Equipment list (Studio 6 and Control 6):
Audio Studios 2 and 4
Audio studios 2 and 4 are two full audio studios. Audio 4 is set up like a classroom and Audio 2 is smaller and features a separate recording room.
Equipment list (both studios are exactly the same):
Media Lab
The IMC's Media Lab features nine Apple Inc. iMac 5K Retina Display video editing workstations that have both Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro. Seven stations are in the media lab and two are in adjacent, private edit bays.
PC Workroom
The PC lab features seven Microsoft Windows computers loaded with the Adobe Creative Suite, Adobe Audition, and Chyron Lyric. The computers are networked to the Chyron character generators, enabling offline graphics work to be done in the lab while the control rooms are in use.
Remote Kit
MUTV's remote kit travels to the Al McGuire Center, Alumni Memorial Union, Weasler Auditorium and any other location a live multi-camera event needs to be broadcast from.
Equipment list:
Client Productions
The Client Productions Department is a full-service production house within the station that is available to record events or produce works for hire. Commonly requested to document speakers and concerts on the Marquette campus, the department also utilizes a Polycom Video Conference box to act as a remote interview site for PBS affiliates. The Client Productions Department also travels to area events, providing live video support and/or taping services.
Their rate card is available on the MUTV website.
Remotes
In the early days of MUTV, Big Fred and Little Fred were the remote trucks that enabled MUTV to go off and shoot events like Marquette Men's Basketball. The trucks were hand-built by the engineers and students and Big Fred, specifically, was a used bread truck. MUTV broadcast Men's Basketball on a tape delay since a microwave transmitter was not available. 3/4" tape was driven from the Milwaukee Arena to Johnston Hall. A microwave transmitter was eventually purchased, but it was almost immediately struck by lightning and rendered useless. The trucks were valuable assets to the program, though, were difficult to maintain. One day Big Fred and Little Fred were driven away and were never returned. In the late 70's remotes were done from the Haelfer Sports complex, Wilson Park ice arena and the mall in front of LaLumere.
A remote fly-pack was built at the start of the 2006-2007 school year, utilizing equipment replaced during that summer's digital upgrade. The kit, see equipment list and description above, is a valuable tool for MUTV, allowing them to do remotes once again. The kit has traveled to the Al McGuire Center, Bradley Center, Weasler Auditorium, Varsity Theater, and Alumni Memorial Union to broadcast sporting events, political debates, and other events. The students utilize both the equipment in the fly-pack and equipment in the Johnston Hall control rooms (video and CG support) to make the broadcasts successful. Video is sent to Johnston Hall over a network of fiber optic converters placed in key buildings on the Marquette campus. A telephone link between intercom systems allows seamless communication between the remote and Johnston Hall.
Programming/Distribution
MUTV utilizes Public-access television cable TV channel 99 on the Time Warner Cable feed to the Marquette campus. MUTV operates on channel 99 Monday through Thursday, 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM. mtvU is aired on the channel during off-air hours.
MUTV launched their first Video-on-Demand service in fall of 2003. Shortly after, the project was suspended due to workflow inefficiencies. The service was revived in spring of 2007, taking the form of a UFO-based Flash Video player. In February 2008, MUTV acquired access to one of the University's QuickTime Streaming Servers and thus converted their Video on Demand Service to QuickTime. An ongoing initiative to have all MUTV shows available in Video-on-Demand is continued by the Programming/Distribution Department. In 2008, MUTV purchased a Mac Pro to handle the duties of putting content online on the MUTV Website and YouTube.
For sporting events, a live stream of MUTV is available in the All-Access player at GoMarquette.com.