Due to the unexpected and unprecedented circumstances of the semester, many student organizations at Northeastern had to pivot, adjust, and find ways to stay active, engaged, and connected. In the new digital world, this was especially challenging for people and groups in some of the creative industries, including music, film, and theatre, among many others. Despite the challenges the fall semester presented, NUTV –Northeastern’s on–campus video production club – was able to go above and beyond and surpass the expectations of even a traditional semester. 

NUTV is an organization that gives Northeastern students the opportunity to learn, collaborate, and create videos for the Northeastern community and beyond. Students of all experience levels are welcome to practice and develop their skills in curating meaningful and entertaining videos.  

“Leading a club during a semester like this, and finding a way to keep the spirit of 24 Hour, and NUTV Entertainment, alive is daunting.” said co-entertainment director Dru Caporale, who is a Northeastern Economics and Business Administration major. “It’s the normal leadership pressure magnified, along with the mutual responsibility to help ensure everyone is safe, but not left out. We had to think quick and out of the box, be open to criticism, adapt, and put ourselves out there in ways that we just weren’t used to, while also dealing with how everything else was different, from classes and work. We grew to meet those challenges, and I’m immensely proud of how we managed to find a way to make this semester work.” 

Since May of 2020, NUTV has created and shared more than 50 videos, an achievement that extends the scope of previous semesters. The group has combined virtual and distanced in-person shooting to create these, all while following university and state safety guidelines. 

Amidst the new and unpredictable semester, in addition to creating these videos, NUTV was able to hold their semesterly 24 Hour Film Fest. During this semesterly event, four groups have 24 hours to write, film, and edit a short film, with a prompt given by the Entertainment Directors. Sometimes the editing takes a bit longer, but that’s fine since the event is mostly done for fun and don’t want people stressing out too much about it.This fall, the whole event was spread over two weekends, with four teams producing four videos, that all fit the Halloween prompts and had a good mix of new members and senior members getting involved from writing to production to editing, with people from all over the country getting together. 

“That meant a lot more coordination on the directors’ end, and we had to divide in-person participants, from virtual, from people who wanted to do both, and those who were unsure,” continued Dru. “We also had a hard limit on the number of in person participants since we were only allowed a handful of people on shoots with COVID guidelines. And tried to divide each team between new members and more senior members both in person and virtual, and had to switch up some participants based on changing schedules and no shows.” 

The videos that were produced from this event are showcased on NUTV’s YouTube Channel and website all highlight the resilience, resourcefulness, and creativity of the filmmakers and the Northeastern community at large. 

“The event allows our members to get creative. Having little time to come up with a concept actually causes the groups to think of some really interesting ideas!” said co-director Natalie D’Ambra, who is a Northeastern Behavioral Neuroscience major. “It also brings the whole club together as we have a lot of participation across our three departments. It has become a pivotal part of our club and I’m thrilled that we were able to make it happen.” 

Despite the circumstances of the semester, the students of NUTV had a productive semester and look forward to a strong spring.  

“These past several months, we grew to meet the challenges, and I’m immensely proud of how we managed to find a way to make this semester work, and going forward we’ll be able to use these lessons to help mitigate future challenges and obstacles, once there’s no more pandemic,” Dru said.

“NUTV has done what it does best – it has been creative,” concluded Nat. “As an E-Board and a club we have worked so hard to stay connected and continue making videos despite so much being against us. I am extremely thankful to be a part of a group like this and I hope that other organizations see that with some work and creativity so much can be accomplished.”