It's a Tuesday night. The sun set about an hour ago; students are no longer scurrying to class and most of the academic buildings are empty -- except for the bottom floor of Campion. Walking down the dimly lit corridor, up the slight incline of the building and past the double doors, the faint sound of laughter penetrates the still air. Passing by the BC TV studio, the laughter grows louder. Who is it coming from? From the crew of the newly debuted show "Now You Know."
The studio may be filled with up to 15 people, or maybe with just five; regardless, the laughter abounds as the show begins to tape. Seated at the homemade wooden desk in the center of the studio are co-anchors and co-producers, Mike Hundgen, CSOM '05, and Jessie Rosen, Heights staff writer and A&S '05. They crack jokes at each other both on camera and in between takes, known to everyone in the room as "banter," reflecting the natural mesh of their personalities.
The cameras are rolling, and Hundgen and Rosen introduce what this week's show will entail, teasing at Dining Services information, Middlemarch details, and UGBC campaign trials. Now You Know is now in action. Tune into channel 50, and you can witness the end result.
The concept of Now You Know came to Hundgen back in October, and after much hard work organizing how to make it materialize, the show first debuted on Jan. 21. Aimed at BC students, it communicates events and issues going on around campus and also features an on-site reporter in Boston covering various city happenings.
"I'm surprised that BC didn't have a show like this before," said Rosen. "We have an entire TV studio and four channels with no programming, except for Boogie Heights, so this was something that was necessary on campus."
As Hundgen and Rosen describe it, the show is another medium to expand communication on campus, providing up-to-date and live information while also offering a learning experience for the students that get involved in the TV production.
Hundgen had an internship at News Channel 5 last semester in Sales and Promotion, but he has always been attracted to the on-camera action as well. "I've always been really interested in television and its different formats," he said. "Now You Know comes from many different backgrounds, such as ESPN's Sportscenter and 20/20, with David Letterman-esque humor."
Existing as its own original club, the group (consisting only of students) meets on Thursdays to discuss the following week's show, and then gathers together on Campion's ground floor to tape every Tuesday night from 7-9 p.m. It airs on channel 50 every 15 minutes on the hour from 6-11 p.m. Monday through Thursday. As of March 17, the show switches over to channel 52. Enormous preparation goes into the creation of the show each week, as the city reporting is done one to two weeks before it is to air, Hundgen and Rosen write their respective scripts, and they also edit after the show has completed taping.
Hundgen and his crew - including himself, Rosen, two other executive producers and directors, Matt Jacobson, CSOM '05, and Pat O'Donnell, A&S '03, and a number of camerapersons - have no background in broadcasting and receive nothing more than the mere enjoyment from producing the show on their own and a great learning experience. It is their determination, enthusiasm, and devotion that create the innovative end product for the campus each week.
"I think everyone that works on the show would agree that they haven't laughed harder," said Rosen. "The show is hands-down the most fun part of my week. The personality of the entire staff contributes to the experience despite the hard work."
Hundgen added, "If it wasn't fun, we wouldn't do it - it's awesome."
The crew had to create most aspects of the show from the ground up. For example, the homemade desk was built by Greg Lorenzo, A&S '05, after the crew borrowed a circular saw and literally set up shop in Hundgen's eight-man in Vanderslice. After that though, the question was where to store it. The team carried it back and forth between Vanderslice and Campion on many bitterly cold nights for many weeks, until they could establish a permanent home for it in Campion's basement.
While the show is still new around BC's campus, Rosen and Hundgen remain optimistic about its future. "We were challenged to produce a show on a weekly basis, but a lot of determination went into that," said Rosen.
"Everyone involved in the project helps out tremendously," added Hundgen. "We had high ambitions and high goals, and our weekly format is working out really well - I think the show is going to continue to grow in many ways." Hundgen encourages students that want to be involved to e-mail him.
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