HD!!!

OTN is now completely HD! New cameras complete with P2 cards. We are breaking some ground here and it is going to be a learning experience for everyone but we are ready and up to the challenge.

Last Friday we put the new HD equipment to the test. We filmed the Steve Moakler performance in the Jab (he was REALLY good!). You will be able to check that show out in the upcoming weeks.Everything went really well and we are excited about our upcoming events include (but not limited to) SU Idol, Dance Showcase, Tully Center lecture, and Laugh Till You Say WhAt. And that is only this week!

That's all for now,

Rachael Datello
Coordinating Producer

Almost ready!

We're almost ready to start the new semester. The staff is nearly complete and next week is the first day of class. It'll take a little time to get ramped up but once we do, watch out. Or should I say, Watch Yourself! Look for the program schedule to get established in the next couple of weeks.

Did we mention that we're going to start producing in HD?

More to come!

Last Indie Flick File of the Semester!

Whats up Bloggers,

This is the last indie flick of the semester, but we are definitely bringing you a great one. This month's film is called "August the First". If you think your family is dysfunctional, just watch this movie and you may think differently.

Roughly, this film is about a boy named Tunde, who recently graduated high school and is ready to celebrate this occasion with his family. What his family doesn't know is that he invited his estranged father to the party all the way from Nigeria. After seeing him, Tunde's whole family showed nothing but hostility. As the day went on, things just progressively got worse until the end when hell broke loose.

For everyone who gets frustrated by subtitles, you're in luck because this one is an American film!!! (...no subtitles here)

Hope you enjoy and have a great summer!

-Mike Eassa
OTN Producer

RACE N' TV

What happens when you mix Professor Dubin with a conversation on Race and Television?
answer: Uh, I don't exactly have a funny punch line here, but I can tell you that you're in for an interesting night.
This month, Tim McNeal, VP of talent development and diversity for the Disney-ABC Television Group sat with Professor Dubin for a chat in front of a packed audience in the Herg Auditorium.
It was interesting to hear that the character Ari Gold from Entourage was based off the talent agent that Tim worked for early in his career. So, we all assumed that Tim was based off Ari Gold's assistant in the show.
The audience members were encouraged to ask questions throughout the conversation and to my surprise, Tim's surprise, and Dubins's surprise, most all questions were very intuitive.
One statement by Tim on discussing diversity went something along the lines that he doesn't necessarily like the work 'diversity' because it has a negative connotation, rather he prefers the word 'choice'. I'll let you all ponder on that, while I still try to figure out exactly what he meant. In the meantime, GO ORANGE!

-Vin Nucatola
Coordinating Producer - OTN

DANCEWORKS 2009

Bloggers,

Danceworks never seizes to amaze us with their talent, creativity, and musical diversity. This year Danceworks' theme was Danceworks Air. Basically, they were taking the audience all over the globe by performing dance routines from all cultures. I thought it was quite original.
And yes, Danceworks was sold out...again...all three nights. No surprise there.
The performance of the night had to be between the hip-hop mash-up dance battle, similar to the movie Stomp The Yard, and the Billie Jean number. If you've ever seen the actual Billie Jean music video, there's hardly any dancing so I think Michael Jackson needs to check out the Danceworks' Billie Jean version.

In addition, Danceworks' pamphelts were a bit clever. The cover looked like a passport. Whoever was the clever little devil who raised their hands at their meeting and suggested that probably sounded like a genius! However, I overheard some people saying they thought the pamphlets were actual passports...Ah, college intellectuals.

-Vin Nucatola
Coordinating Producer - The Orange Television Network

Woo Hoo

Woo Hoo was back at the Jab last Saturday to perform their second show of the season. The show was hosted by Matt Harris, who explained his issue with his film noir class. AJ Abraham confessed his spell check shame and Justin Trimm couldn’t calculate ESF math. Tyler Gilden discussed his spring break plans, while Vin Nucatola explored how karma gave him a black eye. It was certainly a great night for the comedy. The show will air on OTN and on the web in the near future and the group is scheduled to perform March 21 at 8 p.m. in the Jab.

- Ginny Cruciano, Event Producer

Drag Show 2009

When I heard the Drag Show was back this year, I knew it was a must to tape.
Once again, Syracuse's Pride Union and the undergraduate LGBT student Union hosted the "2009 Totally Fabulous Drag Show" and each year the show gets better. The Drag Show here at SU is the 2nd largest drag show in the country, according to research and the office of student life, and is the largest student funded and produced drag show in the country.

This year, Totally Fabulous was hosted by Peppermint who was formerly on MTV's Real World. The show opened with a music video of Peppermint from her new album. It was quite a thrill to watch. Peppermint's calfs were also much bigger and more cut than mine! Then Peppermint selected two people from the audience to battle it out on the runway to win a spot as an additional judge!
Nikki Fenmore who was crowned Miss Universe and hostess of
X-bar, a local club's drag show was also there, as well as Windz and Raven - two
famous Drag Kings from Rochester, NY.
-All proceeds from the show went to AIDS charity.

So, be sure to check out some clips on OTN's website and be sure to check out the entire show this month on OTN channel 2!

-Vin Nucatola
OTN- Coordinating Producer

Zamboni Revolution

It was a double dose of comedy as Zamboni Revolution took to the stage last Friday night after the Penguins Without Pants show. Because of the overwhelming turnout, the Zamboni show had to be moved from the Jab to the Underground and based on the audience reaction, they did not disappoint. It’s always remarkable to watch how the performers come up with such hilarious situations right on the spot. Performing that night were Dan Grgas, Jessie Jolles, Michael Luiacono, Megan Reddish, Derek Leach, Alex Adelson, Alex Schmidt, and Jeremiah Thompson. Be sure to check the show out when it appears on OTN.

Zamboni Revolution is scheduled to perform again March 27 at 8 p.m. in Panasci.

- Ginny Cruciano, OTN Producer

Penguins Without Pants

The sketch comedy troupe Penguins Without Pants was back at the Jab last Friday night to kickoff their first performance of the season. Playing to a standing-only room crowd, the troupe started their show with funny sketches like “Two Dutchmen at a Souvenir Shop” and “Meowsie McMeowserton”. Derek O’Brien battled for survival in “Man versus Wegman’s” and Matthew Gasda shared his secret sauce in “Farmer Gooey.” Another highlight of the night was a sketch called “Millionaire”, which taught us that looking to the past doesn’t always give you the best answers. Also performing that night were Jason Samlin, Noelle Fuoco, Ian Chin, Davis Haines, Dan Vallejo and Michael Debach. The show is scheduled to air on OTN and online in the near future, and Penguins Without Pants is lined up to perform their next show March 20 at 8 p.m. in the Jab. Be sure to check them out.

Ginny Cruciano, OTN Producer

'Cuse Coverage Update

Hey 'Cuse Coverage Fans,

Now that we're into a new semester season of 'Cuse Coverage, I figured I'd check in about what's going on with the show. Already we've learned about some really interesting things going on around campus-a mentoring opportunity where SU students can do art with kids from the city, free mediation classes every Monday, and the all Spanish news show...still to come are even more groups and events on campus. We've talked to students about the inauguration, fuel-efficiency, ideal Valentine's Day dates and the closure of the website Juicy Campus. I'm excited to see what else comes up this semester. Also in the works is the search for a new host/producer. Mike and I will be graduating this Spring, so we are looking for someone to take over and make this show their own...if there are any fans interested you should shoot me an e-mail, or show up at our casting calls Friday and Saturday the 20th and 21st. That's all for now! -Torie

Indie Flick Files February

The indie feature this month is kind of strange, but I think that the film's unusual storyline is exactly what keeps you watching.

Basically, four buddies are coming home from a ski trip and one of them needs to stop to go to the bathroom. When they pull over, they come across this giant rock formation that, as you can see from the picture, isn't something you see everyday.

The guys' inner child comes out because they literally spend the entire film trying to push it over. They are so stubborn on the idea that they do everything they can to push the rock over the side of the cliff that it's resting on. There are a lot of critics who argue that the rock symbolizes Iranian patriarchy that is impossible to topple over, but I guess the movie can be seen however you want.

Hope you enjoy it.

As promised, here is this month's gag reel.

-mike

Woo Hoo

Stand-up comedy was back with a vengeance last Saturday as Woo Hoo kicked off their first show of the season with a strong performance. Playing to a packed house at the Jabberwocky Cafe, the performers entertained their fans by skewering the latest fads to hit campus. AJ Abraham questioned the functionality of the Snuggie, Vin Nucatola waged war with T-Mobile salesmen, and Alex Adelson advised on how to get thrown out of the Dome. Also performing that night were Eric Silverman, Justin Trimm, Jordan Young, Andrew Benedict, Matt Harris, and Mark Zito in his stand-up debut. Be sure to check the show out when it appears on OTN as well as online later this month.

Woo Hoo is scheduled to perform their next show Saturday, February 28 at 8 p.m. in the Jabberwocky Cafe.

Ginny Cruciano
OTN Producer

Indie Flick Files January

So I realize it is now February and it's probably bizarre that I'm blogging about January's episode. I say better late then never!

Last month we featured a Belgian film entitled, "Hop". To give you a brief summary, Hop is about a boy (Justin) and his father who were torn apart from each other after they were found out as illegal immigrants. Justin's father was deported, but he (Justin) managed to escape. He later meets up with a retired anarchist named Frans who helps him reunite with his father without having to leave the country. To do this, they have to pull off what is called, a "hop".

February's film should be going on air later this week or early next week at the latest.

I would like to explain why Indie Flick Files' hosts keep changing up. Deb is currently abroad this semester, which left me with a vacancy. For now, Torie is filling in for her, but we will be holding auditions soon and hopefully I will find a permanent replacement. With that being said, look out for flyers about audition sign-ups if you are interested in being a host for my show or any other show on OTN.

Lastly, you probably don't get a sense of it from the show, but Torie and Andrew are quite the characters. We have a lot of fun shooting the show and I am going to try to put up a gag reel from each month's shoot to share the love.

Enjoy,

Mike

SU Opera Presents: The Mikado

Readers of the Blog,
So last week we had the privilege to tape the SU Opera in their presentation of The Mikado. I went into the show without knowing very much about the opera and it turned out to be quite a entertaining and witty show that even you haters of the opera would enjoy. The entire cast was dressed like and looked like geishas and the stage decoration was magnificent. The singing and acting was also way above average.
That's the great thing about this job at OTN - while working, you get the opportunity to see all the performances on campus that you normally would never hear about or think of seeing.
So, for all of you that that were not able to see The Mikado, or never thought to go see it, don't worry because OTN has got you covered. It'll be on air probably this entire semester and clips of the opera will be posted on our site. Be sure to keep a look out!

-Vin Nucatola
Coordinating Producer