The 40-year-old television studio located in King Hall is getting a brand new extreme makeover.
To bring in the New Year, it was announced on Jan. 6 that the studio — used by many media studies students — would undergo a renovation. The announcement calls for private contractors to bid on the opportunity to work the renovation.
Constructed in the 1970s, the studio is outdated and has not been recently updated so everything will need to be replaced to create a brand new modern television studio. The renovation is expected to cost between $1.5 and $1.7 million.
Improvements to the 3,250 square-foot space will include complete renovation of the main production studio, green room, master control room, engineering room, new flooring, lighting, an acoustic ceiling, soundproofing and a handicap lift. Students will be able to efficiently do more fieldwork
After the bidding is complete and a contractor is chosen, the renovation will start. It is estimated to last for two semesters. The construction that will be taking place in King Hall may be a little distracting to students and the building may have to close for a while. However, until construction starts, there can be no definitive timeline.
“The equipment we have is limited in its capacity to shoot video and to record sound, which are the basics of studio production,” media studies professor Susan Macmillan said. “Renovating this studio provides students with state of the art cameras and an audio system which they can do so much more with music and sound.”
The studio will not only benefit the students of Queens College, but also the people of the neighborhood and community around QC as it will be available to rent for independent productions.
The studio’s state of the art capabilities will make it more attractive to anyone who may want to rent the studio for independent productions. There are no classes on Fridays and the studio would be available to rent for the weekend.
“We have rented out the current studio, though on a very limited basis because it’s so limited in its capability. It will not be limited once everything has been renovated,” Macmillan said.
The new facilities will be a major plus for the media studies majors at QC. They will find the new studio extremely beneficial to practicing skills that they will use in their careers.
“Hopefully after the renovation, the television studio will be more lively than it has been prior to the renovation,” media studies major, James Butka said.
This will be helpful to students and professors who teach production and editing classes as they will be able to demonstrate their lessons in an actual modern studio.
“It will challenge professors to come up with projects that require state of the art thinking,” Macmillan said.
