Hyderabad : Annapurna International School of Film and Media (AISFM) announced today that it represented the Indian media industry for the Global City Project – a live, studio based, TV show that was streamed online to film students around the world. The Global City Project was created by one of Canada’s top universities, Ryerson University in Toronto.

The unique aspect of this project is that the schools produce a live television show, with studios in four countries, without the use of satellites. Using Mako video encoders, provided by Haivision, the schools are able to produce the high-definition show using only Internet connections. The other schools participating this year were Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, Tel Aviv University, Israel and AISFM, Hyderabad, India. Previous editions of the show have also featured students in Denmark and New Zealand.

This year, the theme of the show was film and dance, and AISFM was selected to join the global network of film schools and to produce four short segments for this show – ‘Intro to Indian Cinema’, ‘India’s Regional Film Industries’, ‘Bollywood Dancing’ and  ‘Reviews of Midnight’s Children’. The show was produced by the BFA (Film + Media) students as part of their four-year graduation course at AISFM.

The Global City Project provides students with two incredible opportunities. Firstly, it teaches students to collaborative produce live, international content in the same way they will in a global media marketplace. Secondly, students develop friendships and expand their personal networks to include students at other top film schools around the school.

“Global City Project is a liveshow streaming over the Internet. Normally, co-hosting a show from different locations around the world would happen via satellite. The Global City Project uses cutting-edge technology to send signals through the Internet so we can see and hear our international co-hosts with no delay says AISFM faculty member Padma Kasturirangan.

AISFM student Pradeep N explained the project: “We were given the opportunity to talk about the film and documentary industries of our different countries and how these reflect our culture. The show was packed with celebrity interviews, both live and recorded, and one of the highlights of the show was the interview in Canada with Deepa Mehta about the her recent release,Midnight’s Children.There was also a special segment on Bollywood dance.

“It was a great learning experience for us with an insight into TV Production. We had to be extremely organized since it was a live show with no room for error. I had the opportunity to anchor the show for AISFM and was able to communicate in real-time with the other anchors in Canada, Israel and the US. Our whole production team did a really amazing job as everyone was so enthusiasitic about the project.” Said Shynica MC, a BFA student at AISFM.

Chris Higgins, Vice-President – Admissions & Marketing, AISFM said, “This is our third international project so far in 2013 and I can see the benefits that our students gain from these experiences. Ryerson is a very progressive university with exciting media programs such as the Global Campus Network and it was a real honor for AISFM to be selected as the first Indian school to join the network. As media production becomes increasingly globalized, it is essential that media students have the chance to participate in collaborative, international programs like this.”