Surprisingly, the chaotic and feverish energy that is normally expected in a television studio is not found in Seton Hall’s own Pirate Television studio, where the atmosphere is pleasantly calm and relaxing.
As the executive producer of Pirate TV (PTV) Katie Cahalin, a junior TV production major, almost lives in the basement of Fahy Hall as she spends an average of 25-30 hours a week in the TV studio.
Cahalin describes herself as “the face of PTV” because she is the one who speaks at open houses and runs the social media accounts. On top of that, she also oversees everything that goes on in the studio, including handling, scheduling and organizing everything for the day. Cahalin, like many of her peers at PTV, started working there her freshman year and hasn’t slowed down since.
“Everyone gets along really well. I met my best friends here,” said Cahalin.
Taping for PTV’s three shows, “Pirate News,” “Style Watch” and “Hall Talk,” is from Monday to Thursday. All of the shows go onto PTV’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages which can all be found at the username setonhallptv.
“Pirate News,” which airs Monday and Wednesdays at 5 p.m., centers on only Seton Hall-related stories, which the anchors write themselves.
Louis Olvera, a sophomore broadcast major and the Wednesday night producer for Pirate News, said the pre-production process starts with setting up the scripts, preparing the lighting for sets and putting in the graphics for the weather forecast.
During pre-production the crew, which averages about 20 people per day, plays calming music to get ready for taping.
Elian Zidan, a sophomore broadcast major and the associate producer and director of Style Watch, PTV’s newest show, said they talk about trends going on in school and there are three panelists who vote at the end on the trend of the week.
Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Hall Talk airs, which is a sports debate show that features three students who discuss the latest in Seton Hall sports, while also using outside segments like post and pre-game interviews with players to mix it up.
Vincent Paolella, a junior TV production major and associate producer for Hall Talk, said that the show has come a long way than when it first started in fall 2014.
“We have a designated set now and an overall feel about how it’s supposed to go but there’s always room for improvement,” said Paolella.
Cahalin encourages all majors and students who are interested in joining PTV, or who have any ideas for a future show, to contact her.
“You don’t have to have any experience at all, we’re willing to teach people. Teaching students how things work in the studio is one of the most fun things we do here,” said Cahalin.
Mackenzie Scibetta can be reached at mackenzie.scibetta@student.shu.edu.
