About this project

From modernist composers to balletic skateboarders, Northwestern students are creative in unexpected ways. Yet as it stands, the school that produced Steven Colbert, Ira Glass and Zach Braff lacks a dedicated platform to encourage and broadcast the distinctive creativity of its undergraduates. Massive.tv aims to be that platform.

We are taking up the tools of our generation: the dynamism of digital video, the flexibility of online journalism, and the formidable advances in presentation, design, and online infrastructure. We intend to use these tools as powerful allies as we endeavor to lift up the creative efforts of our most imaginative peers, to be inspired by work of quality that deserves to rise above the fray of YouTube.

Our plan is to profile one student a week, someone who we feel is creative and innovative, someone whose skills are unique, whose talents and sense of individualism break through the mundane, and come out the other side. We'll do a brief, high-quality video profile, a written profile, an interview, and a photo shoot. Our site will also contain an arts and culture blog to tell the community about interesting events, while simultaneously serving as a promotional vehicle for our profile subjects. The third component of our site will bring to the fore existing video content at our school. Check out our prototype site to see how it all works: www.massive.tv

We're not just creating a resource for Northwestern: we're creating a multimedia laboratory. Every aspect of the project offers a new twist on an old medium. All we need is the equipment to bring a new storytelling aesthetic out of the box and into the world.

With Kickstarter, we hope to raise enough money to purchase a single Canon 5D Mark II Digital Camera, and the necessary audio equipment and lens kits. This revolutionary machine looks and acts like a photography camera, but shoots higher-quality HD video than anything in its price range. By a long shot. All we need is a single camera to bring an incredible new resource to the digital media community.

Remember, Kickstarter is all-or-nothing: your donation to our project does not take effect until we've reached our entire fundraising goal. If you like what you see, please encourage your friends and colleagues to get involved.