Students from the University of Portsmouth have broken new ground by being the first undergraduates in the country to produce and air four hours of live television coverage.
Students celebrate the end of an epic four-hour live broadcast
The 46 students and four staff from the School of Creative Technologies BSc Television and Broadcasting course ran a four-hour magazine style show which aired on the BBC big screen in Guildhall Square and was streamed live across campus and on the internet.
Their mission was to promote and celebrate the work of fellow students in the University’s faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries, including broadcasting direct from the end of shows for art and fashion.
Course tutor Charlie Watts said: “As far as we know, this has never been done or even attempted in higher education in this country before now. I’m ecstatic with the end result.
“We have been building up to this moment for five years, and I’m so proud of the students that we actually pulled it off and broadcast consecutive programmes over the four hours. This year has seen us launch the CCi TV website that streams the TV channel content 24/7, and also provides video on demand displaying over three years of work.”
Students' work on the BBC Big Screen
The broadcast transmission was broken into sections with Charlie, TV manager Lou Appleby and lecturer Gary Bown overseeing the students’ showcase programmes, which included work from Art, Design and Media students and the BA Fashion and Textile Design with Enterprise students’ fashion show broadcast live to the BBC big screen. Technical support specialist Steve Bellinger also helped throughout.
Gary said: “The final year show is a great opportunity for all levels of the TV and broadcast course to work together, and both first and second year students did a fantastic job of covering the fashion show.
“Knowing we were being shown live in Guildhall Square added a little to the pressure, but we specialise in working without a safety net, and it sharpens everyone’s minds when they know if a mistake is made everyone will see it.”
The live shows were a combination of magazine style programmes, featuring music, art, film, a game show, and a magic show.
Charlie said: “This live show will be hard to top for a while. The BBC trusted us implicitly to broadcast acceptable and professional content, and we owe a big thank you to Portsmouth City Council for their continued support of our presence on the Big Screen, and for the investment they have made to make it such a major asset to the city.
“We know other universities around the country cannot believe our students produce live programmes every week, and now they will have to try and comprehend how we have managed to produce four hours of live TV from two separate locations while also transmitting all around campus and to the web.”
The running of the TV channel is a team effort and Charlie and the course team say they are grateful to all who have contributed towards its on-going success.
Charlie said: “Although we make our own original TV content, we are always looking to screen other student or staff work, so please email ccitv@port.ac.uk if you wish to have work screened.”
CCi TV can be viewed at www.ccichannel.port.ac.uk
