ACUTV started taping Chapel in Moody Coliseum at the start of the semester.
Starting next week, the student production team at ACUTV will film Chapel on Mondays, Wednesdays and certain Fridays for the remainder of the semester.
Cyrus Eaton, dean of Spiritual Formation and campus chaplain, said he is looking forward to working with ACUTV to bring a better Chapel experience to students.
“[Eaton] contacted me in January and said we would like to give Chapel a different feel and look and that starts with video production in his mind,” said Hutton Harris, director at ACUTV. “He is basically contracting us to come and shoot every other day.”
Eaton said he hopes students do not feel as though the speakers are 100 feet away, but rather a sense of community.
“Right now our biggest focus is on the functions in Moody that best serve our students, so ideally when we’re in Moody Chapel we want to partner with ACUTV to make that room feel more intimate.”
Eaton said with the service and support of students, Chapel improvements and changes are already being implemented – starting with ACUTV.
“We have so many avenues for us to improve in – improving on our use of social media, how we tell the story of what this semester looks like, who’s coming to campus and how we can even archive and store past speakers and presentations,” Eaton said. “The full scope of where we want to go is probably as far as we can find students who are willing to help us get there.
“If used well, media and technology should help us connect on a deeper level – that’s my conviction,” Eaton said. “But I also know technology can become a distracting sometimes, so we want to be careful not to overuse our media outlets when it comes to serving our students in Chapel.”
Harris said the main goal for ACUTV is to provide students with a professional video production experience, so they are prepared to take on any job after graduation.
“For me, the everyday goal is to give our students a great professional and college experience,” Harris said.
Eaton said he hopes the partnership with ACUTV confronts the challenge faced in Moody of students feeling disconnected from the speaker and worship.
“Having a live feed of a magnified version of what’s happening on stage helps students connect and feel like the room is a little smaller,” Eaton said.
