City of Novi Builds State-of-the-art TV and Podcast Studio

The City of Novi has recently transformed a small storage space fondly called the “dungeon” at the Novi Civic Center into a cutting-edge TV and podcast studio called “Studio No.VI”. The studio took over a year to design and build, finally opening its doors in February. All this was achieved by making smart use of public, educational and governmental (PEG) funds.

PEG funds are collected annually from federal fees that cable consumers pay. These funds are only allowed to be allocated towards video operations, making them the perfect funding solution for the new studio. Sheryl Walsh-Molloy, who is the Director of Communications for the city of Novi, explained, “we had over a million dollars in PEG fees from our relationships/partnerships with those cable entities,” but only restricted to video operations.

The $800,000 studio was conceived with a clear vision in mind, to better tell the stories of Novi through reels and multimedia content. “Social media, electronic communications changed so much over the last 20 years…We need to do something. Let’s build a studio, let’s be able to utilize it to tell the Novi stories through reels and through longer content through multiple platforms,” Walsh-Molloy stated.

The new 1,000-square-foot studio houses three separate sets, a variety of state-of-the-art equipment that is all mobile, and about 180 different zones of lights. The versatility of the studio allows for fast and efficient content creation. Trevor Walega, video production specialist for the city of Novi, mentioned that they now can turn around content much faster than before thanks to this studio.

Prior to the studio, the Novi Community Relations Department had to set up and take down equipment for field shoots. Now, with the modern studio equipment, everything is “self-contained”,
making content creation much more efficient. As life in Novi continues its pace, the city is finding more ways to make use of the studio’s versatility to share the stories of its residents.

While the studio is not made available for rent to the public, it is used strictly to produce engaging content for the city’s social media channels, website, and cable channels. Recently, it was utilized to share information on the city’s transition to People’s Express for community curb to curb transit, focusing on services for seniors and the disabled. Walsh-Molloy sees the studio as another means of making the city as transparent as possible to its citizens.

As for the next project, the city plans to update the City Council chamber using PEG funds, as its technology is becoming outdated. The council’s meetings are televised, and the chamber is in desperate need for upgrades. With the PEG funds back up to around $1 million dollars, Walsh-Molloy is hoping to have the project done within a year.

“The big thing for me is that this was completed without using taxpayer funds, which I think is super exciting,” Trevor Walega stated, emphasizing the importance and success of this project.