Panorama In The News
Panorama:
Life On The Hill
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Watch out Beverly Hills 90210...Hamilton has a t.v. show now!
By Alex Slater '99
Features Staff Writer


Everyone has heard the phrase "This is WHCL, 88.7, Hamilton College's Radio Station," and everyone picks up their new copy of the Spectator on Friday as they go into dinner. But soon rooms around the Campus will also be graced with the sound, and sight, of a new form of student media- college television.

David Gaynes, a first-year, has single handedly envisioned a campus televsion show, to be run entirely by the students of Hamilton. Last year, Gaynes produced a 25 episode series for his high school. Gaynes said he belives a t.v. show will benefit Hamilton as much, if not more, than his high-school. "In high school I often found it hard to fill a half-hour show, but here I find myself saying that half an hour isn't going to be enough to cover college issues," said Gaynes.

The Publications Board obviously agreed with Gaynes. He has been made a temporary member of the Board, which was recently renamed the "Student Media Board." According to Cary Devorsetz '96, Chairman of the Publications Board, Gaynes' plans were, "well presented and well organized- we were very impressed."

As a result, the Student Media Board allocated generous funds for the venture, enabling the show, which is to be named "Panorama: Life On The Hill," to buy basic equipment. Due to departmental restrictions, Panorama is restricted from Hamilton's high-tech editing facilities. Because there is no studio available, cameras will shoot entirely on location. For now, the program's staff will utilize the video department's editing room in the basement of McEwen. But Devorsetz said he hopes Panorama will be given a room in Bristol Campus Center after renovations take place there this summer.

So what can we expect from this new television show? According to Gaynes, "The show will walk the fine line between news and entertainment." Panorama: Life On The Hill will be a half-hour in length, and will most likely include two features, interviews with students and concerned faculty, and a humor slot. Gaynes envisions covering issues of primary concern to the community such as the Residential Life Decision, vandalism, and incoming speakers. Panorama will also provide commentary on sports events, although Gaynes does not forsee a need for live coverage. So far, he has recruited about four people who are interested in the sports section. Panorama will not include advertisements- the law stipulates that such a station can make no money. However, some College promotional features might be broadcast.

The show is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday nights. It will be broadcast on channel three of the cable network. Gaynes said he hopes to have televisions moved into the Beinecke Student Activities Village, which will run a loop of the program. Devorsetz did express concern that such an arrangement would be unsuitable for students to view more than a small part of the show.

Lindsay Conny '99 said she felt that her interest in the show would depend on its quality. "It depends how good it is- if it is interesting and entertaining I would stop and watch," she said. The idea of a student-run television show is one at which many might turn up their noses, afraid of amateurism, hazy focus, rough changes and uneven sound. But Gaynes assures us that "Panorama" will be highly professional. "It will not be Wayne's World, it will be a professional production that is formed from the creativity of everyone working on it," he emphasized.

Over 25 people have signed up to help with the show, and the first goal will be quality. On a campus where the student media gods of WHCL and the Spectator have ruled for a long time, the new comer, "Panorama," promises to alter the nature of media worship forever.

-courtesy of the Spectator


Panorama deemed a success- Students preview first episode
Compiled By Features Staff

The passageway to the mail center was packed on Wednesday as students vied for their first glimpse of Hamilton's new television show, Panorama: Life On The Hill. The show will air on Thursday nights at 8:00, in stiff competition with Friends. The temporary television wheeled into Beinecke appears to have been a successful way to debut the show. Most students and faculty pass through the building during the day, and caught at least a segment of the repeating tape.

Students expressed mixed impressions of Panorama, which featured a lengthy interview with President Tobin vis a vis the Residential Life Decision. Other topics included Alcohol Awareness Week, Mildred Jefferson's pro-life lecture, and the Football Team's game against Bates.

"I think the topics are very well presented, with both sides covered, and I'm sure over time the show will get better. I like how it focuses on themes," said Ben Lathrop '97. Tom Capo '97 agreed, "It's a good idea, and professionally filmed. I also like the fact that it's broadcast outside of campus." Some students complained that the topics are too similar to those in the newspaper, or that so much time was spent on interviews that the show began to drag. "I think a television show can be a great creative outlet in ways that a newspaper or a magazine can not. I'd like to see the show "lighten up" a little. "It is too serious," said one senior, who requested anonymity.

"I didn't like the way he [David Gaynes '99] held the notecards in his introduction was very professional," critiqued Julie Hirst '97. Although many students observed the show for only a minute or two, most appeared to be at least pleased to see their own or their friend's faces on the screen. "Hey! That's me!" one woman shouted as she pointed toward the t.v., "I'm famous!"

Who needs "Friends" when there's such a plethora of good looks and talent right here in our own village?


-courtesy of the Spectator



Hamilton College freshman knows how to beat the odds

By Dan Vlossak
Courier Reporter


Few expect Hamilton College freshman David Gaynes to get an opportunity to interview Colin Powell when the retired U.S. army general visits the college on April 1. The Weston, Conn., student said he hopes to obtain an interview with Powell despite an advance advisory that the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will not hold a news conference while at the college and video- and audio-taping of his talk will be prohibited. Still, it wouldn't be the first time Gaynes has had to overcome the odds, and with his drive, he just might pull off what other will only hope to.

Meanwhile, Gaynes has been blazing his own trail since he began producing Hamilton College's first television show, Panorama: Life On The Hill, last fall. Ella Gant, Gaynes' faculty advisor said the program appears to be the first of its kind at the 200-year-old college, and college editor Frank Lorenz added, "It's a new departure."

Panorama airs on Thursdays from 8:30-9 p.m. on Harron Cable's public access channel 3, opposite some of NBC's top-rated programming. "He has such a poor time slot," said junior psychology major Dave Weaver, the show's sportscaster. Knowing this, Gaynes arranged to have a tape of the program shown continously on Thursdays in the Beinecke student center so as many students and faculty as possible can see the show.

Gaynes also had to beat the odds to get his news and entertainment program about the college community funded by the Hamilton Media Board last fall. "I came in late in the budget process, after all other groups got their money," he told The Courier during an interview. The board gave him funds to buy a camera and videotapes, but Gaynes has had to use the audio-visual department's editing equipment to complete each program. He said the production requires three different kinds of video equipment to go from filming to editing to the TV studio.

He even has a different way to get his tape to the studio each week. "I don't have a car, and it's about an hour's round trip drive. I'll hike if I have to," he said. So far, he hasn't missed an air date although he often has to find different friends to drive him to the studio north of Utica.

By the time Gaynes arrived at Hamilton, he was already a seasoned TV producer. In high school, he produced 25 episodes of Inside Weston High School, which were broadcast on a public-access station in Connecticut. "Panorama is a much more disciplined arrangement though," Gaynes admitted. "My high school show could be anywhere from 15 minutes to over an hour long. But with Panorama, I have to budget a half hour each week. Period."

Gaynes said his favorite part of the show is spontaneous "man/woman-on-the-street" interviews segment.

-courtesy of the Clinton Courier