University of North Texas Students Produce New Sitcom with Hitachi Z-HD5000 HD Cameras


WOODBURY, NEW YORK – Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd., today announced that Radio-TV-Film students at the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton, Texas used four of the department’s six Hitachi Z-HD5000 HDTV studio production cameras to produce three half-hour episodes of an original sitcom, “Peppuccinos.”

The sitcom—created and produced by Noah Sargent while an undergraduate senior in the spring of 2012—takes place in a shop that offers coffee on one side and pizza on the other, hence the name “Peppuccinos.”

Sargent and fellow radio-TV-film students volunteered their time to tackle every aspect of the demanding multi-camera production—including scriptwriting, manning cameras, technical directing, lighting design, audio recording, and music composition. They also had help from UNT theater students who lent their acting talents to bring the project to life while cameras rolled before a small studio audience.

“This was one of the most ambitious projects we’ve attempted, and the results were impressive. Were it not for the quality of these Hitachi cameras, we probably wouldn’t have attempted this,” said James M. Martin, a senior lecturer at the University of North Texas and technical supervisor of the sitcom. “The Hitachi cameras produced excellent HD image quality, and the students were able to ‘dial in’ the exact look they wanted because the camera shading controls were so easy to use.”

All six Hitachi cameras—purchased through Hitachi dealer Burst Communications in Houston—are outfitted with Hitachi CU-HD500 camera control units (CCUs) and RU-1000VR remote control panels.

“Producing these sitcom episodes put our students in a real-world, multi-camera television environment where they could really apply and refine the skills they learned in class,” said Martin. Prior to the “Peppuccinos” project, UNT students primarily produced newscasts, such as “The NTTV Nightly News,” a daily, half-hour news report featuring field reports via Skype; elections coverage for broadcast by local cable systems; as well as a Spanish language program. UNT has won several “Lone Star Emmy Awards for Excellence in Student Broadcasting” and other awards.

This student-driven sitcom production maximized UNT’s video facility resources, especially Studio A where the “Peppuccinos” set and risers for up to 35 audience members were constructed. The larger of two UNT studios, Studio A has an adjacent control room that houses a Ross Vision-M 1.5-M/E multi-format switcher, Compix Synergy 2 dual-channel HD graphics system, Blackmagic Design Videohub router, and a 360 Systems HD Max server.

“Since we installed six Hitachi Z-HD5000 HD cameras in 2010, we’ve transitioned to a fully digital, HD-SDI workflow that helps make the most of the high-quality imagery these cameras capture,” Martin said. “As a university facility, we need to stretch our dollars as far as they can go to provide our students with the best possible studio production experience, and Hitachi enables us to do that.”

The three “Peppuccinos” episodes were staged and recorded in one weekend, and that video is being edited by students using Apple Final Cut Pro. When finished, the shows will air on North Texas Television, a local origination channel devoted to UNT programming that is offered by the local Charter cable system, as well as on UNT’s website.

“This was a unique project that brought two UNT departments together—Radio, TV, Film and Performing Arts,” said Martin who collaborated with UNT Theater Professors Adam Chamberlin and Mario Tooch. “Based on the success of these three episodes, we’re looking forward to offering more multi-camera production projects and classes where students can obtain valuable skills and academic credit. Our goal is to prepare our students for the media jobs of the 21st century by giving them training they can’t get anywhere else.”

About Hitachi

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 400,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2009 (ended March 31, 2009) consolidated revenues totaled 10,000 billion yen ($102.0 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials, logistics and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website atwww.hitachi.com.

Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd. designs, manufacturers and markets video cameras, digital transmission, processing and recording devices for the broadcast television, cable, video production, and industrial vision markets. For more information, please call (516) 921-7200 or visit Hitachi’s web site at http://www.hitachikokusai.us . Hitachi Kokusai Electric, Inc. (TSE, OSE: 6756), is a Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT) group company.

Full versions of all press releases and product images are posted on the web site in the pressroom section: www.hitachikokusai.us

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