Chinnel [W] became the first college-based Chinese television network in the country a few days before Halloween after airing its inaugural show, “Halloween Fright Night.”

Since then, the network has continued to expand and add new shows. The network is currently working on a music video called “SU Style,” a parody of the viral K-pop hit, Gangnam Style, said Vivien Ding, the network’s president, in an email.

“We wanted to bring something informative to the Mandarin-speaking population in Syracuse, yet interesting enough for them to watch it,” said Ding, a graduate student in television, radio and film.

The network’s 25 volunteer staff members film almost every day. They don’t have definitive release dates for all their shows, but anything the group produces can be seen on YouTube. The show will also be on Orange Television Network and Facebook in the near future. In the spring, the group will also debut its website, which will hold all of the show’s content, Ding said.

Though Chinnel [W]’s primary role is to serve as entertainment for the Chinese-speaking members of the SU community, it also serves as a bridge between the non-Chinese and Mandarin-speaking population, Ding said.

“Our program will help them get used to the lives here in the United States more effectively and rapidly,” she said. “For the local students, on the other hand, our programs will increase awareness and mutual cultural understanding.”

The station’s name, Chinnel [W], combines the words Chinese and channel along with the letter W, which stands for “a wing that flies across the pacific, sky is the limit, freedom, youth, and passion,” Ding said.

In addition to the music video, the network produces a drama show called “Our World,” which centers on the struggles of international students on American college campuses, Ding said.

“I believe the cultural shock and other elements in the film will resonate with many students who are new to Syracuse,” Ding said. “Not just international students.”

Aside from parody and drama, Chinnel [W] also plans on doing a culinary reality show. Ding said the purpose of this show is to inform Mandarin students about how to eat at SU.

“The idea came about when I noticed many international students are not used to the food here in Syracuse,” Ding said.

She said the network is also planning a show called “Chinese Learning Program in English,” which teaches the most updated, trendy slang from China.

Ding said she hopes the channel will become a company in the future so she will be able to pay the staff, noting that it might help expand the staff and the range of potential projects.

The group has made a lot out of a little, Ding said, and she is proud of what the show has accomplished in such a short period of time.

“We don’t (have) fancy gadgets and production technologies,” Ding said. “But we believe in (the) content of the program.”

 

Published on November 14, 2012 at 1:47 am

Contact Sam: [email protected] | @SamBlum3