When Brad Christianson arrived at the university in the fall of 2006, he never thought he would produce a television show about the University Recreation Center.
Christianson, a senior film-TV-digital media major and employee of the Recreation Center’s marketing office, presented the idea this past summer to start a show called “Rec 360,” which highlights activities at the Recreation Center.
The show was named “Rec 360” because it gave a “circular look at Campus Recreation,” Jay Iorizzo, associate director of Campus Recreation facilities, wrote in an e-mail.
The Recreation Center marketing staff supported experiential learning, Iorizzo said. The marketing office looked for new ways to promote the Recreation Center and viewed the show as an opportunity to allow Christianson real experience, Iorizzo said.
The student said the show was an opportunity to get some experience in his field of study and other areas.
“This is really a way to not only help the Rec Center out in marketing different programs and different aspects but also gives me a chance to gain some experience in both of those and help prepare me for things I can do after I graduate,” Christianson said.
Christianson, along with Jon Wulf and Phil Mann, both senior film-TV-digital media majors, edit and produce “Rec 360.”
About 30 minutes long, the show will be divided into sections, Christianson said. The first half of the show will include intramural highlights. The second half of the show will include features about Recreation Center programs such as outdoor programming and personal training, as well as a guest interview. Christianson said he wanted to give the show a “Sports Center” feel but include pretty much every aspect of the Recreation Center.
With only four people to work on the show, Christianson said he was charged with producing, directing, running the camera and editing. He said Iorizzo served as executive producer and provided the funding for the show through the Recreation Center’s marketing department.
Wulf said he helped film and edit. As an employee of intramural sports at the Recreation Center, Wulf said it was easy to film intramurals because he was already at the events.
“We like to include intramurals as well as club sports,” Wulf said.
Mann and Marcus Bahena, a senior film-TV-digital media major, helped run camera, Wulf said.
Christianson said Mann and Wulf switched off co-hosting the show with him.
The first episode aired Oct. 2 and featured intramural softball, men’s and women’s club soccer teams and a paper football tournament, Wulf said.
Christiansonsaid “Rec 360” will air every other week on TCU cable channel 20.
The team of four encountered a few technical difficulties with the first show, but those glitches have been fixed, Christianson said.
Only two weeks after the premiere, Iorizzo said it was too soon to know what the impact of the show had on Recreation Center activities.
Most of the feedback had been from employees at the Recreation Center or those featured in the first episode, Wulf said. The employees enjoy having more exposure on campus, he said.
Iorizzo said “Rec 360” will be available on YouTube soon and on the campus recreation Web site, www.campusrec.tcu.edu. The episodes will be uploaded in segments so people can watch the sections they want, and the Web site will provide information about what was featured on the current episode, and what is going to run in the next episode, Iorizzo said.
Christianson said the group is looking to recruit other students who will carry on the show after he and his peers graduate.
“We’re ultimately looking for more people to help,” Christianson said. “We’re all seniors that are working on it now, graduating in May and we would like it to continue after we graduate. So we need to find younger students with similar interest that want to pick it up.”
