BINGHAMTON, NY -- What does it take to shoot a modern TV spot? Expensive equipment? A 40-man crew? A gargantuan budget? For Binghamton University, all it takes is some teamwork.

The University’s new 30-second TV spot, "Binghamton – This Is Premier," is a study in collaboration. The video, which showcases the University’s history using archive footage and props, period furniture and digital effects, was produced almost entirely in-house by students, faculty and staff.

"The way that people came together to put this project together, it’s unbelievable," said University Video Producer Andrew Hatling. "From so many different arenas, it was such a huge, huge team effort -- from theater to Special Collections in the library to people on the web team and the marketing department."

"Binghamton – This Is Premier" tells the story of Binghamton’s 60-plus year mission. The video opens with a shot of a vintage TV set playing film clips from throughout the University’s history. The camera zooms out to a living room set straight out of the 1940s, complete with period furniture and Binghamton memorabilia. As the TV begins to play more modern footage, the camera pans up and the back wall drops out to reveal the campus, where over 100 Binghamton students are walking around — shaking hands, high-fiving and smiling under a sunny autumn sky. 

"I think the coolest thing about this spot is it helps to show the journey the school has made," said Hatling. "At the very end, you see the reality of that. You see this school with a beautiful campus, with a great, diverse group of students, and they’re happy. They’re happy here, learning and growing. I think it’s cool to see the evolution of the school."

James Pitaressi, assistant provost and executive director of the Center for Learning and Teaching, helped convert footage from the University Archives to digital format.

"To see the final product is amazing, and to have a tiny part in that is very satisfying," said Pitarresi. "What’s really exciting for me though is kind of the nexus of all of these threads coming together, if you will, this old technology of film coupled with the new technology of digital, coupled with this concept of digital fluency."

The video premiered via a Binghamton University Blog post, which gave a behind-the-scenes look at production.

To view the new TV spot, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4TeY69wsVY.