Husky Productions to Present 12 Games on Fox Sports North

Published Oct 15, 2018

ST. CLOUD, Minnesota - Husky Productions will present a dozen men's and women's St. Cloud State University hockey games this season for broadcast on FOX Sports North and FOX Sports North PLUS.

The nine men’s games and three women’s games are part of a 39-game “College Hockey on FOX Sports North” schedule.

The Jan. 19 men’s Huskies Hockey game against Western Michigan will be broadcast during day-long coverage of the 13^th Hockey Day Minnesota. Broadcasts originating from St. Cloud State will by produced by the award-winning, student-run Husky Productions. Jim Rich of FOX 9 will handle play-by-play alongside Pat Micheletti.

“College Hockey on FOX Sports North” is a collaboration with the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), the Western Collegiate Hockey Conference (WCHA) and the University of Minnesota.

The games will be broadcast in high definition and will be streamed live via the FOX Sports app. The FOX Sports app, available to iOS and Android devices, provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content along with highlights and instant alerts for scores and key plays. Fans can download the mobile app for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play. Streaming on the FOX Sports app is also available on connected devices, including on AppleTV, Android TV, FireTV, Roku and Xbox One.

Women’s Huskies Hockey continues its non-conference schedule with a home series Oct. 5-6 against Rochester Institute of Technology. Coach Eric Rud‘s team is led by goalies: Swiss Olympian Janine Alder, a junior from Zurich, and third team All-WCHA selection Emma Polusny, a sophomore from Mound, Minnesota.

The defending NCHC champions, men’s Huskies Hockey (0-0) is fourth-ranked nationally in the USA TODAY/USA Hockley preseason poll and sixth-ranked nationally in the U.S. College Hockey Online preseason poll. The veteran team is helmed by first-year coach Brett Larson. Among the team leaders is Hobey Baker finalist and team captain Jimmy Schuldt, a senior from Minnetonka. The men have a home exhibition game Oct. 7 against Mount Royal University. The regular season begins with a road series Oct. 12-13 against University of Alaska Fairbanks.

In addition, three St. Cloud State men’s hockey games will air on CBS Sports Network in 2018-19.

UTVS Recognized as National Finalist for CBI Awards

Published Sep 24, 2018

College Broadcasters, Inc. recently announced that two UTVS productions are being recognized as a finalist in the 2018 CBI National Student Production Awards for the following:

Best Sportscast Video Husky Mag

Best Comedy Video Husky Tonight

CBI recognizes students involved in radio, television, webcasting, as well as countless other aspects of media. The awards will be held at the National Student Electronic Media Convention on October 25-27th in Seattle Washington.

UTVS won multiple awards through the CBI Awards last year, and continues to be a known outlet for student productions nationally.

College Broadcasters, Inc. recently announced that two UTVS productions are being recognized as a finalist in the 2018 CBI National Student Production Awards for the following:Best Sportscast Video Husky MagBest Comedy Video Husky TonightCBI recognizes students involved in radio, television, webcasting, as well as countless other aspects of media. The awards will be held at the National Student Electronic Media Convention on October 25-27th in Seattle Washington.UTVS won multiple awards through the CBI Awards last year, and continues to be a known outlet for student productions nationally.

Katie Emmer Takes Home Top Prize

Published May 30, 2018

Congratulations to our own Katie Emmer who recently won the Jim Nantz Award, which recognizes the top collegiate sportscaster in the nation!

The award was given through the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America, and was reviewed by a panel of judges such as Paul Allen of the Minnesota Vikings. "It's an honor to represent St. Cloud State and also an honor to represent college women across the country that are working to get into this career field" said Emmer on winning the award. Emmer transferred to St. Cloud State in the fall of 2015 after attending a school in Hawaii.

She hit the ground running at SCSU as was involved in UTVS and Husky Productions in her first semester.Through her three years in Husky Productions, Emmer has held multiple positions. In her first year, she worked behind the scenes as scoreboard operator and graphics, and then she moved to the desk as in-studio host for her second year. In her third and final year, she was named ice-side reporter.

Emmer also hosted a show named "Two Minute Minor" where she laced up her skates and hit the ice with members of the mens hockey team.Emmer completed her time at SCSU this spring, but is taking online courses over the summer to complete her degree. Emmer will receive representation from STAA for a full year as she looks for her first sports broadcasting job following graduation. "I'm excited for my next step into this exciting career and will always be proud to be a Husky!" said Emmer. She is the first person from UTVS to receive the award, as well as the first female.The award has been around since 2009, and receives hundreds of applicants from across the country each year.

UTVS and Husky Productions win 10 Eric Sevareid Awards

Published on Apr 23, 2016

UTVS TV and Husky Productions combined to earn 10 different awards at the Eric Sevareid Awards Banquet!

These awards, named for the Emmy-winning reporter Eric Sevareid, were given to student broadcast journalists at a banquet on April 9th.

UTVS Alum Speaks at St. Cloud State

Published on Dec 3, 2015

Cinematographer, Editor, Producer, and proud St. Cloud State alum and former UTVS member Justin Turkowski will be featured on Career Conversations at the Career Services Center on Friday, Sept. 5th.

Bobbie Bohlig Joins LFSN

Published Oct 10, 2017

St. Cloud State alumni and St. Cloud native Bobbie Bohlig started the next step in her career a few months ago that led her out to Virginia.

St. Cloud State spring of 2017 graduate, Bobbie Bohlig, was offered a job out in Virginia before leaving the university.

Fast forward eight months, Bohlig works as a reporter for the Liberty Flames Sports Network at Liberty University. She has been featured on ESPN3 covering the Liberty football team, and also works on their sports show "Game On".

Bohlig originally attend Minnesota State Mankato where she played on the golf team. She decided to change her major and transferred to St. Cloud State University. She is also a native to St. Cloud, so she was already very familiar with the university as well as the area. She ended up staying at St. Cloud State for two years. In her time here, she was a member of Husky Mag, was a sports anchor for UTVS News, was a sideline reporter for the basketball teams as well as football, and in her final year here became the Ice Side Reporter for Husky Productions.

UTVS Alumnus Directs MLB All-Star Television Broadcast

Published on Jul 14, 2017

Fox Sports MLB All-Star game broadcast was directed by Matt Gangl.

UTVS/St. Cloud State alumnus Matt Gangl recently directed the MLB All-Star Television Broadcast for Fox Sports. Check out the featured article at St. Cloud Today.

UTVS earns Crystal Pillar awards

Published on Apr 24, 2016

UTVS was awarded with five Student Production Crystal Pillar Awards this April.

Media professionals from the Upper Midwest Emmy Chapter hands out these pillars each year in honor of creativity, content, and execution.

Check out the full story and list of winners here!

UTVS News: Behind the Scenes

Published on Dec 3, 2015

Take a look at what goes on behind the TV screen for our weekly news broadcasts!

Read the WJON article here.

UTVS at BEA

Published on Dec 3, 2015

Take a look at UTVS's Spring 2014 trip to the Broadcast Education Association convention in Las Vegas!

UTVS at Broadcast Education Association (BEA) 2014

Twenty-two UTVS members traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada to accept six national awards at the Broadcast Education Association (BEA). All part of UTVS News, UTVS News en Espaol, and Husky Productions.

Awards

Television Feature Reporting:

1st Place:

Meghan Reistad & Emilio Ramos DeJesus

Honorable Mention:

Nick Minock & Vicki Ikeogu

Television News Anchor:

3rd Place:

Natalie Davis

Television Newscast airing 4/5 days per week:

1st Place:

UTVS News

Television Newscast airing 3 days per week or less:

1st Place:

UTVS News en Espaol

TV Sports Event Production:

1st Place:

Husky Productions

While in Vegas, the students attended several journalism conferences at BEA to enhance their skills and prepare for the professional world.

The trip to Las Vegas also offered the students a chance to attend the National Association of Broadcasters, the worlds largest video production convention.

UTVS member Alex Elmore meets the producer and creator of NBCs Parks and Recreation."

(From left to right) Taylor Budge, Ben Henry, Nicki Cunningham, Mitch McDermott, and Brian Stanley receiving the 1st place award for Husky Productions under the Best Television Live Sports Production category at BEA.

(From left to right) Producers of UTVS News en Espaol Emily Haeg, Emilio Ramos and Alyssa Tryggeseth receiving their 1st place award for Best Television Newscast airing 3 days per week or less.

The UTVS News crew receiving their 1st place award for Best Television Newscast airing 4/5 days a week.

Emilio Ramos and Meghan Reistad won 1st place for Best Feature Reporting.

Megan Hedstrom, National SPJ Finalist

Published on Jun 29, 2017

Megan Hedstrom, a UTVS Alum and former Sports Director recognized on national level for Society of Professional Journalists.

Megan Hedstrom, recent St. Cloud State graduate and UTVS Television Alum was recognized as a national finalist for Society of Professional Journalists in the TV Sports Reporting category for the SPJ Mark of Excellence National Awards competition for her "Sarah Paulus | Feature Twirler" feature. Hedstrom was also the Sports Director for UTVS Television this past academic year.

Watch her feature here.

Ottes Success Builds From SCSU to Stanley Cup

Published on Jun 25, 2016

From behind the lens of his camera, SCSU alumnus Jon Otte has witnessed many victories on the ice over the years, but none quite like the moment the Pittsburgh Penguins grasped the Stanley Cup this season.

Jon Otte, Pittsburgh Penguins

The 2011 graduate began working for the Penguins organization a mere two years after covering SCSU hockey while being on board the award-winning Husky Productions (HP) team.

"Its amazing, it seems like it was just yesterday [I was there]," Otte said. "If someone would have told me I would be working for the Penguins after graduating, Im not sure I would have believed them."

Otte was heavily involved in student media at St. Cloud State. Beyond HP, Otte was also part of UTVS News and co-produced original content on a show called AVFuzz that featured live music and action sports. They would travel and shoot live performances at First Avenue and often-frequented Powder Ridge to feature snowboarders and skiers.

While attending St. Cloud State, Otte helped bring home the single story Emmy for "Schiefelbein Farms" in 2009-2010

St. Cloud State Assistant Athletic Director Joel Larsen and Otte were students and colleagues for HP.

Larsen said, "During his [Ottes] time at St. Cloud State he surrounded himself with other talented students and they produced some of the most creative content I have ever seen come out of UTVS.

Jon Otte hoists the Stanley Cup in 2016 after the Pittsburgh Penguins captured their second championship since 2009

"Jon is an incredible talent in this industry, it is no surprise that his work has gotten him to the NHL ranks so quickly. I am very happy for him that he has been able to experience an NHL championship with the Penguins."

After graduating, Otte got his foot in the door interning for the Minnesota Wild, where he worked an entire season shooting content, uploading video and interviewing the players after games and practices. Although they didnt have a position open for him when the season was over, they kept him in mind and gave him a call upon hearing a spot opened up in the NHL for the Penguins.

Pittsburgh Penguins | "The Push" from Jon Otte on Vimeo.

A hop, skip and a jump later, Otte landed the position.

"Literally, the very next day I had a phone interview with the Penguins. The day after [that interview] they hired me without even meeting me in person."

In January of 2013, Otte moved out to Pittsburg to work as an associate producer for the show, 'In the Room,' that is an all-access, behind-the-scenes show that documents players throughout the season both on and off the ice.

"I still remember my first day on the job like it was yesterday, I remember road tripping from St. Cloud out to Pittsburgh with my dad, driving the entire way through, staying up all night."

One year later he was promoted to producer, where he spends time going through 300-400 hours of playback action in a season, often traveling with the team.

2014 Pittsburgh Penguins Reel from Jon Otte on Vimeo.

"It's awesome, I've been to so many places now that I would probably never would have ended up going without this job," Otte said. "It lets you experience new places and see hockey from different places."

The St. Cloud native grew up playing the sport that has had a big role in his life ever since his youth seasons.

Jon Otte and Matthew Cullen celebrate after the Pittsburgh Penguins winning the Stanley Cup

Otte recalls going to St. Cloud State hockey games with his dad, watching players like Matt Cullen back in 1996, who now is a forward for the Penguins. Otte and Cullen laugh about it today, but Otte imagines it makes him feel somewhat aged.

After a turbulent start to the season with replacing their coach, Otte was in San Jose for the final when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup for the second time since 2009.

"Midway through the season when our coach was fired, I worked 103 hours in one week making edits/changes to our show, In the Room. "I slept under my desk 2 nights in a row," Otte said.

But, it was all worth it in the end as the Penguins locked the season down.

"It was awesome," he said. "I didnt even get to see the last 5-6 minutes of the game because I was downstairs in the tunnel."

It was the moment of truth; either Otte would go out and celebrate the victory with the team or hurry back to the locker-room for post-game interviews. The relief and excitement was unmatched when the buzzer rang out, with the Penguins on top.

"We got to see the guys raise the cup and just like that, all their hard work during the season had gone into that moment. It was amazing to be a part of that."

Otte balances on the wing of an airplane while shooting content for the Pittsburgh Penguins

Larsen says Ottes story-telling ability and creativity turn nearly all subject matter into something viewers want to see.

"Despite his high-talent level, he is very humble, caring and hard working. I think that combination has allowed him to be such a good fit in the hockey community. He has proven himself as a trusted storyteller to the professional athletes and their families."

Its been a flurry of activity for Otte in the aftermath of the win. Over 50,000 people showed up for the Stanley Cup parade that took place in Pittsburgh days after the game ended.

Otte says he has one more episode of In the Room to put together before calling it a wrap. Afterwards, more preparation is to come for the hockey season to start back up. But, for long-term plans, Otte says he is taking one season at a time and riding things out.

For Huskies planning hoping to go into the field, he says to take advantage of the programs offered.

"You never know where the heck you will end up " try to learn as much as you can while youre there [SCSU] and youll be ready for the real world."

Otte featured in an aerial view above the Consol Energy

Broadcast Major, Piper Shaw Stays Involved in Her Community

Published on Jun 29, 2017

News Director, Piper Shaw gives back to St. Cloud Tech High School by coaching the speech team that she was once a part of.

UTVS Television News Director, Piper Shaw has been giving back to her high school speech team since she graduated in 2014. She spends early mornings going to speech tournaments and writing scripts for students. Shaw also spends time helping students rehearse for their meets.

Shaw was able to coach for her speech team when she stayed in St. Cloud to attend school at St. Cloud State University. She is double majoring in Mass Communications and Marketing.

On March 2 she was recognized for her hard work by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Upper Midwest Chapter with a $2,000 journalism scholarship. She also earned three nominations from the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association this year.

You can learn more about Piper Shaw and her decision to attend St. Cloud State University here: http://today.stcloudstate.edu/broadcast-major-stays-involved-at-st-cloud-tech/

UTVS Featured by Higher Ed Tech Decisions: Real World Broadcasting Experience with Updated Studio

Published on Dec 3, 2015

Derrick Silvestri talks to Higher Ed Tech Decisions about how UTVS's latest studio upgrade allows students to learn with the same equipment the professionals use, and how the upgrade benefits the University.

Derrick Silvestri talks to Higher Ed Tech Decisions about how UTVS's latest studio upgrade allows students to learn with the same equipment the professionals use, and how the upgrade benefits the University. The full article is included below.

St. Cloud State University Forecasts Real World Broadcasting Experience with Updated Studio

Published on September 08, 2014 By Jessica Kennedy, Higher Ed Tech Decisions

SCSUs new studio serves as a learning-lab and professional broadcasting space for communications students.

While upgrading St. Cloud State Universitys broadcast center, Derrick Silvestri kept the 80s in mind.

The studio, first designed in the late 1980s, was "outfitted with the best equipment you can possibly buy at the time," says Silvestri, SCSUs TV studio manager and University Television Station advisor. "My whole theory was were going to build this like we did back then, with the best stuff there is."

Since starting the studios upgrades in 2006, the studio is finally ready for lights, camera and action this coming school year.

Silvestri says the studio has a dual purpose: to facilitate the needs of the Mass Communications department and provide a lab space for current students to utilize for communications classes.

"Its integrated together," he says. "Its one big happy family."

Silvestri says that even though the studio usually covers sports and news content, the upgrades will give the department more flexibility with content coverage.

"This year were going to migrate into producing some music and choir concerts out of our auditorium," he says. "Weve done them in the past, but never in HD."

The updated studio earned SCSU its own HD sports channel on Charter Communcations, and can be viewed by Charter customers throughout Minnesota and in a handful of surrounding states.

"Thats something you dont hear a lot of colleges being given," Silvestri says. "Thats another opportunity to showcase the university."

SCSU students who use the broadcasting studio get a taste of real-life filming and broadcasting. Some students have gotten jobs at Fox Sports and ESPN.

He also says the studio broadens the universitys curriculum and gives students a taste of real-world broadcasting.

"Whole curriculum teaches student on the most current equipment out there," Silvestri says. "Its preparing students for stuff that theyll actually see and use and learn out there."

The studio features three bundled solutions from Edit Share (which were integrated by Alpha Video): XStream, which provides high performance storage, Ark Tape, which backs up and archives content, and Flow Browse, which provides media asset management.

Jeff Barnes, Director of WorkFlow Design at EditShare, says that technology Silvestri chose for the studio collaborates threefold to store and process content.

"[These] are appealing to higher ed[ucation]," he says. "Its three products we make under one roofEditShare covers a large umbrella of systems integrated together."

Silvestri says his decision to purchase EditShare products was determined by the studios workflow needs, price tag, and user-friendly capabilities.

"Thats what put us forward with the type of equipment Ive chosen, [based on] the workflow and how it works," he says. "For the editing side of things, Edit Share fit our price point, and it was more open to working with any editor vs that of a specific companys solution."

The equipment provides fiber connectivity from the head-in control room at Stewart Hall to three separate venues on campus, including the colleges renovated hockey center.

Silvestri says the new broadcast studio and technology allows the University Television Station students to provide HD content to the hockey center 50 new monitors.

"A person sitting in a big suite paying big money expects to see HD video," he says. "Being able to provide HD content to those monitors is an added benefitWere adding tremendously to the university."

Challenges Along the Way

Coordinating the flows

Darren Whitten, Account Executive at Alpha Video, says one of the biggest challenges his team faced while integrating the systems was coordinating each workflow.

"The biggest challenge was the fact that there were many different kinds of facets and workflows that all had to be tied together," he says. "The news, sports. They also have a student lab for editing a remote field gear. A lot of different pieces had to come together to make this whole system work."

Coordinating with administration

Silvestri says his biggest struggle was getting administration on the same page as him and the Mass Communications department.

"The biggest challenge was telling our story to the administration, what we needed and why we needed it," he says. "Its hard to explain high intelligent broadcasting to people that dont know the lingo or know how many hours are put into a single 30 second edit piece. They had to know exactly what we did and where we wanted to go to."

Watching the Clock

Whitten says that a big obstacle Alpha Video commonly faces during projects of this size is time.

"Once these schools typically get the greenlight to start moving forward, its a fast-track type of approach to get these projects completed," he says. "Theres not always the amount of time you would like to have on the front end to get things planned properly before implementing. Its compact, the time you get to have the stuff installed and up and runningfor the beginning of the school year."

Tips to Building Your Own Broadcast Studio

Keep your wallet full

Barnes says colleges should always look for ways to save, especially when looking at technology with hefty price tags.

"We serve smaller budgets with our three pronged product [which is used by SCSU]," he says. "Colleges and universities should be looking for ways of saving themselves money. They should have lots of checklists, what is the long term cost of ownership, integration costs, closing costs, etc."

Map it out

Whitten says one of the best ways to execute a project of this size is to plan, plan, plan.

"I think it was more about thinking about the core infrastructure and having a good plan at the very beginning on how all these pieces are going to tie together," he says.

Play copycat

Silvestri says that colleges looking to construct a similar broadcast studio should mimic the other technologies that are out there. That way, they can capture the essence of the studio at reduced costs.

"Even if a college cant put 4.8 million dollars into a facility, its all about the workflows and how its really done," he says. "I can come up with the same work flow we used for very cheapand mimic the way the news is done. It may not be the same stuff the industry is using, but the theory behind it is done basically the same."

Husky Productions Earns Sports Video Group CSMA National Award

Published on Jun 21, 2017

Husky Productions take home eighth national SVG award pyramid.

Sports Video Group The Sports Video Group (SVG) and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) partnered to shine a spotlight on the very best in college-sports video at the ninth-annual College Sports Media Awards, sponsored by Ross Video.

In a special ceremony capping Day 1 of the SVG College Sports Summit in Atlanta, a total of 20 CSMAs were awarded in five categories: Live Game Production; Program Series; Special Feature; Promo, PSA, Team, or Marketing Campaign; and, new this year, Live Non-Game Production. More than 400 entries were submitted for consideration across four divisions: National Networks, Regional/Local Networks and Production Companies, Collegiate Athletics, and Collegiate Student.

No stranger to the CSMA stage, three schools continued their tremendous success at this years ceremony. University of South Carolinas Gamecock Productions, Ball State Universitys Ball State Sports Link, and St. Cloud States Husky Productions took home an eighth pyramid each in the CSMAs nine-year history. Over the past six years. Husky Productions took home an award from the Outstanding Non-Game Production for Husky Faceoff.

See more here.

See more awards here.

Editshare at UTVS

Published on Dec 3, 2015

Editshare recently wrote an article highlighting St. Cloud's transition to using Editshare storage services in the station for part of our HD upgrade.

ST. CLOUD UNIVERSITY BUILDS REAL-WORLD BROADCAST CENTER WITH EDITSHARE

Published on Tuesday, May 20 2014 by EditShare

Centralized storage and archiving creates production efficiencies and educational opportunities for university tv station.

Located in Minnesota, St. Cloud State University has developed a popular television production program centered around a "real" broadcast operation.

"UTVS (University Television Station) started cablecasting in 1978," explains Derrick Silvestri, the TV studio manager, SH building coordinator and UTVS advisor. "We now operate the St. Cloud State Sports Network on Charter Channel 823 HD and Charter Channel 426 SD along with UTVS Channel 21. UTVS also provides 24-hour streaming through Livestream, and the News operation provides live streaming on the UTVS News (www.utvsnews.com) website for viewers."

The station generates a variety of programming ranging from live local news five days a week, Spanish news, sports including hockey, basketball and football, and music programming. There is also a selection of non-live programs, including a movie review show, sports highlights, and general entertainment and community affairs programming.

Derrick says that each year provides an opportunity for new programming content with the fresh intake of students bringing diverse ideas to the station.

He explains, "Students enrolled in broadcast or production courses are required to participate in a course lab, which, in this case, involves our news broadcasts, with a 5pm and 6pm newscast Monday to Friday, which goes out live to over 33,000 households. Furthermore, students in specific production courses produce different programming that is also aired on UTVS. A majority of our student members - over one hundred - are also involved in producing content for a wide range of shows that are not course-specific. Our hockey transmissions are the only paid broadcasts that have an entire student production crew, with professional talent and a faculty/staff advisor and engineer."

Upgrade for efficiency

Already a highly efficient operation, UTVS turned to professional system integrator Alpha Video (Edina MN), to upgrade its systems to include EditShare high-performance shared storage, asset management, and archiving solutions. These additions, which were also deployed by Alpha Video, have enabled Derricks team to create a better workflow and take advantage of more production opportunities. "In all, we purchased and installed a 128TB XStream shared storage unit, Flow media asset management with capabilities for ingest and browse, and Ark Tape with a 24-slot LTO-6 tape library."

EditShare XStream systems can start out with just one 16-drive storage unit. Then, as demands increase, up to four storage expansion units can be added to create a total of 80 drives. And with high-capacity disks, that generates over 320TB of storage in a single XStream server. Flow is EditShares powerful media asset management software that provides the ability to manage any file type, not just video content. The system allows audio clips, still images and documents to be tracked throughout a project. Users can even add their own "asset type" metadata to these files.

Ark Tape provides an integrated solution for easy, energy-efficient backup and archiving of media and projects from EditShare shared storage systems. Designed for EditShare's own LTO-6 tape libraries, which range from 24-slot to 560-slots, Ark Tape seamlessly integrates with Flow, making restoration a breeze. Whenever media files are sent to Ark Tape, a proxy file is automatically created so you can view what's on your LTO tapes in Flow Browse. When you restore from Ark Tape, you can either select the exact files you want to restore using the Flow Browse interface, or you can restore the entire EditShare Spaces to the exact state they were in on any date when an Ark Job was run.

Replacing Silos with Collaborative Solutions

Prior to switching to EditShare, tapeless editing with P2 cards and SD cards was carried out using external hard drives and several dedicated MacPros with 1TB hard drives. Sports melts and footage were stored on Mini-DV and BetacamSP tapes, while several shared 1TB drives were used to store features and content.

For editing, the facility uses Final Cut Pro 7, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer 7 and Adobe Premiere Pro CC. All 12 editors have 27" iMacs with Panasonic P2 Readers.

Derrick reports that after an extensive search for a storage and archive solution, the EditShare equipment was purchased because it is the most cost-effective and user-friendly storage system available. With EditShare, all non-linear editing workstations are connected to the shared storage server with advanced project sharing capabilities that allow editors to collaborate on projects and programs, eliminating the pains of a sneaker-net setup.

Centralization is crucial

"The most important workflow benefit EditShare has created is the provision of a central place to store and retrieve assets the XStream shared storage server with integrated Flow Asset Management and Ark archiving - to store various content, such as news features, hockey melts and complete shows. Prior to our implementation of EditShare, storage was not consolidated and was often on random computers and arbitrary hard drives, with no organizational system and no media asset management."

He continues, "EditShare Flow allows our producers, reporters and programming department to access content, review low-resolution proxies, and organize production material all from their desktop systems. No need to use one of the editors to review content. Its faster, more efficient and much more organized in terms of content indexing and storing. In the past, if a reporter wanted a hockey melt, he or she had to physically get the tape from the producer, ingest the tape, and then edit the file on the computer. Now, everyone has an opportunity to access that file off the EditShare shared storage server via EditShare Flow and that has significantly increased productivity."

Derrick states that the specific benefit of using EditShare Ark is the ease, with which content can be backed up and then readily accessed for subsequent use. In addition, the LTO-6 tape library provides further backup of content for future access in a format that is small enough to store in the stations archiving facility. "LTO-6 archiving with Ark Tape is extremely cost-effective compared to the use of additional hard drives."

He goes on, "We plan on archiving all our sports melts and broadcasts, as well as all of our news features and production material, for five or ten years to come. We also anticipate eventually archiving all of our standard definition archives, which amounts to thousands of tapes, and making them digital H.264 or MPEG-2 files for ease of access."

When producing the stations hockey broadcasts, between three and 13 personnel simultaneously use them system, while during news transmissions the number ranges from six to 12. "All of our editing suites are connected to the EditShare shared storage server, allowing a significant number of reporters and producers to access content at the same time."

Multiple efficiencies

He concludes, "EditShare gives us the flexibility to have our producers and editors access all of their content from any computer on the EditShare network, which allows for greater collaboration and time saving. Furthermore, the central storage of all of sports, news and historical content in combination with Flow asset management provides for the most efficient access to required material. With news and other production content available to all of our students, we can facilitate easier collaboration and editing, which increases the productivity of our workflows. It was the right move to install EditShare."

UTVS Alumni Directs the World Series

Published Oct 30, 2017

St. Cloud State and UTVS alum Matt Gangl is taking his career to the next level by directing this years World Series.

UTVS alumni Matt Gangl will be directing the World Series for the first time in his career this year.

Gangl works for Fox Sports North as a Show Director and has directed basketball, hockey, and baseball broadcasts.

Over the course of the last four years, Gangl has directed the American League Divisional Series as well as the National League Divisional Series.

Interestingly enough, Gangl came to St. Cloud State to become a meteorologist. He decided to change his major but stayed within the program and became the producer of Husky Mag, as well as working on Husky Productions.

You can read the full story on Matt Gangl here.

UTVS Featured in Government Video Magazine

Published on Nov 24, 2015

UTVS was featured in the March 2015 edition of Government Video Magazine in their first digital edition.

Get an in-depth look at the systems and equipment behind our productions, and read the online article below.

St. Cloud University Builds Broadcast Facility

Published on Mar 26, 2015 by Derrick Silvestri

Founded in 1869, St. Cloud State University is the second largest public university in Minnesota. Located on the banks of the Mississippi River, the campus offers more than 200 academic programs, with nearly 16,500 students, including more than 1,000 international students.

The Department of Mass Communications has more than 500 students, with advertising, news-editorial, public relations, broadcast and graduate sequences. The broadcasting sequence includes television production, television journalism and radio. Accredited by ACEJMC (Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication), St. Cloud States undergraduate mass communications program is one of only two in Minnesota. St. Cloud State graduates can be found in television production and journalism positions at almost every television station within Minnesota, and in the Midwest region.

Since 1978, the campus has had its own television station, UTVS (University Television Station), which provides programming and offers students the experience of producing live television content. UTVS cablecasts on Charter Communications Channel 188 in standard-definition to more than 33,000 households in the Saint Cloud and surrounding community, and in high definition on campus Channel 21.

UTVS is a student-run organization with more than 100 students and a faculty advisor. Today, UTVS provides live coverage of news, sports and entertainment, with two daily live newscasts each weekday, and numerous sports and entertainment programmingall student produced.

Beginning in 1992, St. Cloud State University has been providing live televised coverage of SCSU Division I Mens Hockey through Husky Productions, an award-winning student production team. These broadcasts are student-produced, with students fulfilling positions, under the supervision of a faculty advisor, and a professional color-commentator and play-by-play announcer. Husky Productions broadcasts on various cable outlets, including Charter Communications and Comcast, with select games on ESPN, Fox Sports North and Fox Sports Plus.

NUMEROUS UPGRADES

Over the last 37 years, the television studios at St. Cloud State University have undergone numerous upgrades, moving from a small basement to a state-of-the-art facility in 1988, with a massive facility re-build in the summer of 2013. The television production facility offers large (1,700 square-foot) and small (1,300 square-foot) soundstages, two production control rooms, two voice-over booths, a central equipment room, a media control room, a master control room, 12 editing suites, two training computer labs, a newsroom and an engineering department. The television studios are used by Mass Communications production and journalism courses and UTVS Television.

In the fall of 2012, the universitys president approved $4.8 million for a television studio upgrade, tapping into special reserved funds. After a year of developmental meetings, the need for a high-definition facility emerged.

This was either an all-in or all-out decisionwe either do it or we dont. Based on how the facility was built in the 1980s, we wanted to continue the tradition, and build it the same way they did, with the best professional equipment available.

The new installation was needed primarily because all of our 30+ year old equipment was failing. With the $14.7-million renovation of the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in 2012, the need for true HD signals emerged, as the HBNHC now had more than 50+ full HD televisions, all needing the best picture possible. We felt our Mass Communications students were falling behind the technology curve, and it was time for an upgrade.

The process of design and integration follows a very specific protocol. Initially, we hired Alpha Video, a state contractor, to help design and develop the bid document. The project went out to bid, and Alpha Video was awarded the contract.

The design and integration process began in March 2013, with Alpha Video developing the drawings and choosing the equipment. The universitys technical staff reviewed these proposals, along with student engineers Alex Dorosz and Wesley Beskar. Revisions and requests were made as necessary and the build phase started.

The time frame for installation was very quick and installation was smooth. From the universitys perspective, Alpha had a great team of integrators on site throughout the summer and into the fall. The crew started on site in June and the upgrade was complete in October in time for the first hockey game.

With a project of this magnitude, the university was concerned about the short time frame, but the years leading up to the upgrade paid off. However, we knew where we wanted to go with the facility, and what the workflows would be.

A building contract was brought in to remodel the various control rooms, enlarge the central equipment room to accommodate the 20 Middle Atlantic equipment racks and build the master control room. Two Liebert air-handlers were installed, along with APC backup power systems and a clean-agent fire suppression system.

Each control room is outfitted with custom furniture from Forecast Consoles. Forecast was able to outfit each room with exactly what we needed, with function for future expansion. The ergonomics behind the companys design allows for flexibility and customization.

Keeping with the industry standard Telex intercom system, we are able to provide the exact same panels that our students would see working in the production truck and studio world. It was important to us that our students get to use the same intercom panel they would see at the Super Bowl.

For facility equipment, Evertz was chosen to provide a large audio/video router, Magnum router interface, 16 multi-viewers, fiber converters, distribution amplifiers, and master clock and synchronization generators. We were pleased with how Evertz was able to integrate with all the other hardware we had.

More than eight Grass Valley LDX series cameras were purchased, with 18x Fujinon ENG lenses and two box lenses (55x and 77x). Three Vinten pedestals provide studio camera support.

We were one of the first to install and operate the new Autoscript E.P.I.C. prompting system. The functionality and style are impressive. We have hand controls, wireless controls and foot pedals throughout our facility for prompting, all integrated with APs ENPS.

Grass Valley really out did themselves with the Grass Valley lineup. The companys fiber-to-triax solution allows seamless integration into our 20-year-old triax infrastructure. The cameras are reliable work horses that will last for many years to come.

The switcher of choice was a Grass Valley Karrera, which operates in dual-suite mode. A two M/E panel was purchased for news productions, while a three M/E panel was purchased for sports productions. A soft panel was purchased for smaller productions and remote control. A Summit 3G Production Client serves as a four-channel clipstore, with integrated fill-and-key channels. The dual suite mode, along with assignable resources allows flexibility in productions.

Wheatstone was chosen for audio mixing. D32 and D8 control surfaces provide flexibility for our daily production needs. Wheatstone stepped up to the plate and delivered a superb custom solution for all our remote venues and production spaces. The companys Wheatnet IP-based audio network gives us instant access to audio sources throughout our facility.

For ease of use and flexibility, two K2 Dyno replay controllers were purchased, along with two Grass Valley Summit 3G production clients and a Stratus media server. A Summit 3G transmission client serves the needs of news production. We are looking forward to future integration between the Stratus and our ENPS newsroom system using Rundown.

For graphics, two Chyron Mosiacs serve news and sports productions, along with a Camio server and ISQ viewer for integration with the ENPS newsroom system.

Twelve edit suites are iMac based, with Adobe Master Collection, Final Cut Pro 7 and Final Cut X, as well as Avid Media Composer. Each editor uses the EditShare servers, with an EditShare LTO tape backup for long-term archive.

Tightrope Media Systems provides on-air channel control for UTVS Television and The St. Cloud State Sports network. Weve worked with Tightrope for more than a decade and the company continues to impress us with its support and dedication to its products."

One integration we were able to accomplish after the upgrade was the construction and installation of a three-camera robotic virtual set system in our second studio, complete with a fifty-foot chroma-key ProCyc and state-of-the-art Kino Flo florescent lights.

Though the process went smoothly, I wish there had been more time to develop additional workflows for the equipment available at the time. There are still future integrations we would like to pursue, including news automation and super-slow-mo cams.

One unique aspect of this build-out is the interconnection between remote venues. During an average weekend, we have two control rooms, one producing news, and the other producing live sporting events, all integrated in a single facility, with bi-directional communication and control between three venues on campus more than a mile away.

In our experience, its unique at the collegiate level to see multiple live simultaneous broadcasts from one facility reaching millions of households on various markets, including Charter Communications, Comcast, Dish Network and DirecTV.

Now that we built the facility, we can grow into it and train future television production and broadcasting professionals.

Derrick Silvestri is the TV studio manager and an adjunct professor at St. Cloud University. He can be reached at dcsilvestri@stcloudstate.edu.

New Technology at UTVS

Published Oct 30, 2017

UTVS has brought home its very first production truck!

On Wednesday October 25th, members of UTVS traveled up the Grand Forks, North Dakota to bring home our new production truck! After months of St. Cloud State University reviewing the request for the vehicle, it was finally approved in mid October.

The production truck creates a new level of learning for UTVS members, and incorporates more real world technology into the students education.UTVS engineers are currently working on stripping the inside of the truck and installing equipment and getting it wrapped before it will be available for use. The name for the vehicle is still TBD.

St. Cloud Times Highlights Husky Productions

Published on Jun 10, 2016

Teamwork and education can build and extraordinary team.

A new article from the St. Cloud Times highlights some of the great things about Husky Productions.

The article, which followed Husky Productions big win at the College Sports Media awards, showcased how HP uses teamwork and education to create an award winning broadcast.

Jeremy Klein and Neil Lommel, two key members of the HP team, were interviewed for the article.

Read St. Cloud Times full article here.

Husky Productions Takes Home National Media Award

Published on Jun 10, 2016

UTVS and Husky Productions are adding another major award to their trophy cases.

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (UTVS) UTVS and Husky Productions are adding another major award to their trophy cases.

At Sports Video Groups College Sports Media Awards, Husky Productions took home an award for Outstanding Live Game Production in the Collegiate Student category for the broadcast of the St. Cloud State vs. Western Michigan mens hockey game on January 22nd, 2016, which aired on FOX Sports North.

This is the seventh College Sports Media Award that Husky Productions and UTVS have won.

Producer Katie Halter, Director Neil Lommel, and in-studio host Jeremy Klein attended the ceremony in Atlanta to accept the award.

Husky Productions was nominated for six Sports Video Group Awards.

Neil Lommel, Katie Halter, and Jeremy Klein at the 2016 College Sports Media Awards in Atlanta.

For a full list of the winners and finalists, click here.

UTVS goes to NAB Show 2016!

Published on Apr 16, 2016

Follow along with UTVS in Las Vegas as they attend the National Association of Broadcaster's annual show!

This annual trip to Las Vegas offers the students a chance to attend the National Association of Broadcasters, the worlds largest video production convention. For more details and information, check out the official NAB Show website!

"The media and entertainment industry has become unleashed. Dynamic innovation and cutting-edge technologies are shattering the boundaries of content and opening up limitless opportunities. NAB Show is the only place to break free from conventional thinking and open your mind."

Representatives from all forms of the industry are setting up, from the usual Broadcast and Sports, to Retail, Government, Web, the up-and-coming Augmented Reality, and more!

UTVS Reporter Success Story: "No question, one of the best decisions I made"

Published on Dec 3, 2015

Former UTVS reporter Meghan Reistad is featured in St. Cloud States Outlook Magazine, telling about her journey into broadcast journalism and how UTVS helped her get to where she is today.

Read the full article here.

UTVS awarded Best Promo at CBI National Student Production Awards!

Published on Dec 3, 2015

UTVS was awarded "Best Promo" at the CBI National Student Production Awards in Minneapolis this fall.

What's it like to be a TV reporter?

Published on Dec 3, 2015

St. Cloud Times features former UTVS member Emily Deems new reporting career on Fox 11 in Green Bay, WI.

Read the full story here.

UTVS Wins Best of Festival

Published on Dec 3, 2015

UTVS News has won the BEAs Best of Festival! Just one of several other personal and group awards given to our members in Spring 2016. Be sure to check out thefull list of winners!

From the official BEA Press Release:

"Washington, D.C. Eighteen faculty and student works have been chosen to receive the BEA Best of Festival

King Foundation Awards " the top awards given during BEA's Festival of Media Arts, a competitive festival open to BEA faculty and student members.

Best of Festival winners will be honored at the 14th Annual BEA Best of Festival King Foundation Awards

Ceremony in Las Vegas on Monday, April 18, 2016 as part of BEAs annual convention. During the ceremony, recipients will be recognized with a specialized screening of their winning project and a cash award of $1,000 from the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation. The 2016 Best of Festival winners were selected from a pool of over 1,500 entries, representing over 175 colleges and universities in the following competitions: audio, documentary, interactive multimedia, news, scriptwriting, sports, two-year/small colleges and video."

Husky Productions Teams with FOX Sports Featured by SVG

Published on Dec 3, 2015

SVG features the upcoming Husky Productions mens hockey game on FSN. Read the full article here

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Husky Mag and Husky Productions take 1st in the SVG awards!

Published on Dec 3, 2015

Husky Mag and Husky Productions take 1st in the SVG awards! Read the full article here

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UTVS Featured by Autoscript

Published on Dec 3, 2015

UTVS was recently featured in Autoscripts website for the stations use of their E.P.I.C. series of teleprompters. Check out the inner workings behind our state-of-the-art studio!

Read the full article here

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