NUTV at the University of Calgary is one of the oldest university-based television production societies in Canada. Established in 1983 and incorporated in 1991, NUTV is a campus-based non-profit organization that offers opportunities to University of Calgary students and community members to explore the medium of television by learning the various stages of production. These opportunities include reporting/interviewing, hosting, writing, camera operation, lighting, sound mixing, using Final Cut Pro & Adobe Creative Suite, editing, producing, and directing. NUTV is part of the University of Calgary Tri-Media Alliance, composed of print (The Gauntlet), radio (CJSW 90.9), and television (NUTV). The University of Calgary is unique in that it is one of only two Canadian universities that house three media operations on-campus, the other being the University of Toronto Mississauga's UTM/TV.
The majority of NUTV programming is produced by the volunteer members with NUTV staff giving guidance for quality and content. NUTV encourages a forum for a free exchange of ideas and opinions and provides a voice to individuals and groups without the constraints of for-profit media.[9][10]
Greenlight Arts Festival is an annual festival started in 2011 to raise issues surrounding environmentalism. The Festival hosts several events that are part of the green art movement, starting with a 48-Hour Eco Film Challenge and a Photography Competition. The festival's mandate is to provide opportunities for students to dialogue about environmental issues, develop technical skills, engage their creativity and facilitate the production of film and photographic work. Taking place in the last week of March the festival serves to jump start Earth Week and consists of various environmentally themed activities including; digital photography competition; 48-hour film challenge; digital filmmaking workshops; environmental documentary screening with panel discussion; daily shorts exhibition; and a closing gala. All activities are free and open to student and community members.
NUTV and the Students’ Union Sustainability Board both contribute funding and resources towards the success of the festival.
NUTV has industry standard equipment and offers all members professional training sessions throughout the year, including orientation covering all of NUTV's production and post production equipment. To operate NUTV's cameras and edit systems members must be proficient on that piece of equipment.
NUTV has a Sony F350 XDCAM HD camera, two Sony EX1 XDCAM HD cameras, two Sony DSR 300 DVCAM cameras, and a Sony three chip mini DV camera to shoot the bulk of production.
NUTV has two Final Cut Pro editing systems and an Adobe Creative Suite multimedia edit system with which members can also create graphics and animation.
NUTV has been the training ground for many individuals wishing to break into the television and film industry.
Michael Dowse- director of FUBAR (2002) & It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004). "I started at the University of Calgary and worked at the University of Calgary television station (NUTV), which was a great place." Excerpt from The young, the restless, and the dead: interviews with Canadian filmmakers by George Melnyk (2008) (p. 4)[13]