Trojan Vision
Encyclopedia
Trojan Vision is a student television station
at the University of Southern California
through the School of Cinematic Arts
. Established in 1997 by the Annenberg School for Communication, Trojan Vision is a member of the Open Student Television Network
(OSTN), which televises student programming throughout the United States. Trojan Vision broadcasts 24/7 from the Robert Zemeckis
Center for Digital Arts to the University Park Campus on Channel 8.1 and online through their website. Programming is also made available to the greater Los Angeles community on local channel LA36. Trojan Vision also operates the Student Film Channel, showcasing the work of students of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
As of Fall 2006, students are able to use their volunteer work at Trojan Vision to earn credits through the school of Cinematic Arts.
Since its start, Trojan Vision has featured a wide array of programming. The following list features some of the many shows that have been produced for Trojan Vision. Although none of these shows are still in production, some of them may still continue to air on TV8 in repeats.
Trojan Vision’s primary broadcast studio, Studio B, is located at the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts. Studio B is equipped with six professional video camera
s: four cameras on pedestals, a robotic camera mounted on the ceiling, and a camera mounted in the production control room. The studio has Strand lighting control and teleprompters. The video control room includes a Grass Valley 4000 switcher. The audio]] room contains a MIDI keyboard, a sampler, and a Yamaha O2R mixer with integrated effects. These rooms export their signals to TV8 Master Control
, where they are recorded on video server
s, broadcast live in HD on the campus cable TV system and streamed online.
In addition to Studio B, Trojan Vision has access to other stages in the Zemeckis Center. These include a 30x30 insert stage, a 30x40 stage with standing sets, and two 40x50 stages that can be combined, forming a 40x100 sound stage.
For field use, Trojan vision uses Sony XDCAM
s and other cameras. It has access to an HD flypack (portable studio) with a FOR-A FA-300 switcher, four Sony HXC-100 broadcast-quality HD cameras and two Omneon video servers.
Trojan Vision operates a single-mode fiberoptic network, enabling it to do live TV broadcasts from many locations on the USC campus, including the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, various theaters and stages at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and from a Trojan Vision-branded kiosk located in the center of campus in Hahn Plaza near Tommy Trojan.
Trojan Vision also hosts its own award show each year, honoring top station programming in the areas of Best Nightly Show, Best Weekly Show, Best New Show, and a variety other awards that honor writing, production, and invaluable station crew. In 2005, the variety program Exposed! won awards for Best Weekly Show & Best Show Opening, while the game show Mind Games won the award for Best New Show. In 2006, the new show Birnkrant 616 won a record 6 TV awards, including a new award for its pilot episode being the first show to reach 1,000 downloads on Trojan Vision's website, and in 2007 the entertainment show Take 5 won the award of Best New Show. In 2009, NewsMakers, Trojan Vision's news satire show, took home the award for Best New Show. NewsMakers went on to win the award for Best Non-Nightly Show later that year at a special fall edition of the Trojan Vision Awards before winning the award for the Best Show on Trojan Vision in the spring of 2010. CU@USC was named "Best Show" at the spring 2011 Awards.
Student television station
A student television station is a television station run by university, high or middle school students that primarily airs school/university news and in many cases, student-produced soap operas, entertainment shows, and other programming....
at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
through the School of Cinematic Arts
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The USC School of Cinematic Arts, until 2006 named the School of Cinema-Television , is a film school within the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It is the oldest and largest such school in the United States, established in 1929 as a joint venture with the Academy of...
. Established in 1997 by the Annenberg School for Communication, Trojan Vision is a member of the Open Student Television Network
Open Student Television Network
The Open Student Television Network, also known as OSTN, is a USA national student television network, head-quartered in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.OSTN was founded in the fall of 2004 and launched its high-bitrate IPTV stream on February 28, 2005....
(OSTN), which televises student programming throughout the United States. Trojan Vision broadcasts 24/7 from the Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future film series, as well as the Academy Award-winning live-action/animation epic Who Framed Roger Rabbit ,...
Center for Digital Arts to the University Park Campus on Channel 8.1 and online through their website. Programming is also made available to the greater Los Angeles community on local channel LA36. Trojan Vision also operates the Student Film Channel, showcasing the work of students of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
As of Fall 2006, students are able to use their volunteer work at Trojan Vision to earn credits through the school of Cinematic Arts.
Current programming
- Annenberg TV NewsAnnenberg TV NewsAnnenberg TV News, or ATVN, is a student-produced 30-minute nightly news program serving the University of Southern California student body and Downtown Los Angeles. It airs live at 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the school year on Trojan Vision 8 on campus and online on Trojan Vision's...
- A live 30 minute news programNews programA news program, news programme, news show, or newscast is a regularly scheduled radio or television program that reports current events. News is typically reported in a series of individual stories that are presented by one or more anchors...
broadcast live Monday to Thursday at 6:00pm produced by students of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. - CU@USC - A live interview show featuring notable guests from a variety of background broadcast live at 6:30pm on weeknights.
- The Cutting Edge - Featuring films of past and present made by USC students and analysis from hosts and the films' creators. New episodes air weeknights at 7:00pm.
- Impact - A newsmagazineNewsmagazineA news magazine is a typed, printed, and published piece of paper, magazine or a radio or television program, usually weekly, featuring articles or segments on current events...
program presented by students of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. - Mind Games - The only game showGame showA game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
currently produced for TV8, Mind Games tests contestants to see how well they know their best friends. - NewsMakers - Trojan Vision's news satireNews satirethumb|right|220px|[[The Daily Show with Jon Stewart]] is a news satire program.News satire, also called fake news , is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content...
, NewsMakers features a mix of in-studio segments and field reports. "It's not the facts, it's the news." - Platforum - Bringing the debate on all of today's hot topics to USC, Platforum is a round-table debate show broadcasting live at 5:30pm on weeknights.
- The SCoop - Airing live at 11:00am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, this entertainment news and talk show covers the latest trends and stories from the biggest movie premieres to interviews with the world’s most fascinating people. From the very best of popular culture, to unlimited access to your favorite celebrities, television shows, and much more, The SCoop has it covered.
- underGRAD - A situational comedy about undergraduate students.
Selected past programming
- Birnkrant 616 - This sitcom followed the lives of USC students as they deal with life, love, and the bumbling World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Nazis that live next door. - Common Grounds - A situational comedy.
- The Daily SCene - An hour-long breakfast showBreakfast televisionBreakfast television or morning show , is a type of infotainment television program, broadcast live in the morning...
that featured entertainment updates, local Los Angeles culture spotlights, and more, that aired live at 11:00am on weekdays in the Fall semester of 2010. - Doing it for Reel - A film show.
- DormGourmet - A cooking showCooking showA TV cooking show is a television program that presents the preparation of food, in a kitchen on the studio set. The host of the show, often a celebrity chef, prepares one or more dishes over the course of the show, taking the viewing audience through the food's preparation showing all...
teaching college students how to cook, one person at a time. - Exposed! - Featuring the hidden, and not so hidden, talents of USC professors, students, and staff.
- God Help Us! - Produced as part of the curriculum for USC's sitcom class.
- The Kinda Late Show - Airing live on Sunday nights at 10:00pm, this variety showVariety showA variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
featured sketch comedySketch comedyA sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
, musical guests, interviews, and more. - Life in the Dorms - A mockumentaryMockumentaryA mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
sitcom about the lives of students living in USC's New-North dorm building. - In Real Time - A 30 minute documentary show taking an in-depth look at various subjects.
- Mister McSuper - Only one episode was produced of this sitcom, telling the story of a recently unemployed superheroSuperheroA superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
. - MySelf - This sitcom told the story of a student and his clone.
- On the BallOn the Ball (Trojan Vision show)On the Ball is a television show for the University of Southern California's Trojan Vision network. The show focuses on the new Women's Professional Soccer league in the United States, which finished its inaugural season in late August 2009. The show mixes game highlight footage with player...
- Focused on the Women's Professional SoccerWomen's Professional SoccerWomen's Professional Soccer is the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded 6 teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion...
league in the United States. - Sports SCense - Provided viewers with an in-depth look at football and other sports.
- Take 5 - A pop culture and entertainment show that takes a looked at the latest news and movie reviews, covering everything entertainment.
- Trojan Chef - This cooking show was a unofficial student version of the popular Iron ChefIron Chefis a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1992, is a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle built around a specific theme ingredient. The series ended...
franchise. - Trojan Huddle - Airing live on Thursday evenings at 8:00pm, Trojan Huddle gave a close-up look at USC Trojans football.
- Trojan Timeout - Featured USC's world of sports.
- Trojan Triumph - This competition show featured USC's undiscovered talents from the worlds of singing, dancing, and acting.
- Visual Frequency - Music televisionMusic televisionMusic television is a type of television programming which focuses predominantly on playing music videos from bands, usually on dedicated television channels broadcasting on satellite or cable. Music TVs may host their own shows charts, award prizes. Examples are VIVA, Scuzz, MTV, JBTV, MuchMusic,...
from a student perspective.
Technical details
Trojan Vision broadcasts 24/7 on both the flagship channel on 8.1 and the Student Film Channel on 8.3.Trojan Vision’s primary broadcast studio, Studio B, is located at the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts. Studio B is equipped with six professional video camera
Professional video camera
A professional video camera is a high-end device for creating electronic moving images...
s: four cameras on pedestals, a robotic camera mounted on the ceiling, and a camera mounted in the production control room. The studio has Strand lighting control and teleprompters. The video control room includes a Grass Valley 4000 switcher. The audio]] room contains a MIDI keyboard, a sampler, and a Yamaha O2R mixer with integrated effects. These rooms export their signals to TV8 Master Control
Master control
Master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations and television networks. It is distinct from a production control room in television studios where the activities such as switching from camera to camera are coordinated...
, where they are recorded on video server
Video server
A video server is a computer based device dedicated to delivering video.Unlike personal computers, being multi-application devices, a video server is designed for one purpose; provisioning video, often for broadcasters. A professional grade video server records, stores, and playout of multiple...
s, broadcast live in HD on the campus cable TV system and streamed online.
In addition to Studio B, Trojan Vision has access to other stages in the Zemeckis Center. These include a 30x30 insert stage, a 30x40 stage with standing sets, and two 40x50 stages that can be combined, forming a 40x100 sound stage.
For field use, Trojan vision uses Sony XDCAM
XDCAM
XDCAM is a a series of products for digital recording using random access solid-state memory media, introduced by Sony in 2003. Four different product lines — the XDCAM SD, XDCAM HD, XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD422 — differ in types of encoder used, frame size, container type and in...
s and other cameras. It has access to an HD flypack (portable studio) with a FOR-A FA-300 switcher, four Sony HXC-100 broadcast-quality HD cameras and two Omneon video servers.
Trojan Vision operates a single-mode fiberoptic network, enabling it to do live TV broadcasts from many locations on the USC campus, including the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, various theaters and stages at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and from a Trojan Vision-branded kiosk located in the center of campus in Hahn Plaza near Tommy Trojan.
Awards and honors
In 2006, Trojan Vision Trojan received a Telly Award for the third year in a row. The award, which honors "outstanding local, regional, and cable television commercials and programs" has been awarded to Trojan Vision 4 times since 2004. Trojan Vision has received several other awards, including being named Spin Magazine's, "Best College Television Station in the Country," and being presented with six Telly's.Trojan Vision also hosts its own award show each year, honoring top station programming in the areas of Best Nightly Show, Best Weekly Show, Best New Show, and a variety other awards that honor writing, production, and invaluable station crew. In 2005, the variety program Exposed! won awards for Best Weekly Show & Best Show Opening, while the game show Mind Games won the award for Best New Show. In 2006, the new show Birnkrant 616 won a record 6 TV awards, including a new award for its pilot episode being the first show to reach 1,000 downloads on Trojan Vision's website, and in 2007 the entertainment show Take 5 won the award of Best New Show. In 2009, NewsMakers, Trojan Vision's news satire show, took home the award for Best New Show. NewsMakers went on to win the award for Best Non-Nightly Show later that year at a special fall edition of the Trojan Vision Awards before winning the award for the Best Show on Trojan Vision in the spring of 2010. CU@USC was named "Best Show" at the spring 2011 Awards.