Videos by Emerson College Students Premiere in MBTA stations

MBTA and Emerson College partnered to produce #TFamily videos and others

The MBTA today is premiering video content that was written, directed, filmed, and produced by Emerson College students in collaboration with T staff on in-station digital panels.

"This project is a positive for the T in so many ways," said MBTA General Manager Luis Manuel Ramírez. "We’re pleased to have partnered with Emerson College in helping to shape the real-world experiences of their students. We’re also excited to highlight our employees and show our riders just how important they are to the MBTA and throughout our communities. Debuting the project on our in-station digital screens shows, too, how our growing digital network delivers real value to our customers—both through critical customer-focused information and as an outlet for this excellent and creative video content."

"When we were presented the opportunity to work with the MBTA, it was a quick 'yes' for us. They have been terrific partners throughout the process,” said Brooke Knight, Emerson College Chair of the Department of Visual and Media Arts. “We were able to focus on the educational experience for our students while also delivering a professional quality product. Riding the T is something our students do every day, so it resonated with them immediately. We look forward to continuing and deepening the relationship with the MBTA."

"The partnered studio production with the MBTA has provided Emerson students with the unique opportunity to work with the MBTA to pitch and produce creative visual concepts," said Emerson College VM420 Professor Nicholas Corsano. "The students applied their skill sets developed at Emerson to work in creative teams with representatives of the MBTA, which provided students insight into how concepts both develop and refine through the production process, and also how to cultivate working relationships within their creative teams—with the MBTA and within the class. These learning outcomes will without a doubt prepare students for a career in professional creative production."

During the fall 2017 semester, students taking part in Emerson College’s VM420 "MBTA: Partnered Production Studio" class collaborated with MBTA Operations, Customer Technology, and Communications staff in developing meaningful video concepts that highlight the goals and values of the MBTA. With this video content intended to be showcased on in-station digital screens and social media, students were connected with MBTA staff experts and given special access to film within the MBTA’s Emergency Training Center at Broadway Station, within the MBTA system, and among the MBTA’s Signal Shop and bus garages.

The first of these videos to be released, "MBTA Family," highlights 3 MBTA employees—a bus operator, the Blue Line’s Supervisor of Transportation, and a Green Line official—and their passions in and out of the workplace. With a focus on the employees that make the MBTA system run safely and smoothly, "MBTA Family" accentuates the roles T employees play in their communities, too.

Beginning today and running for four weeks, clips of "MBTA Family" will be presented on high-definition digital triptych screens installed within MBTA stations across the system with the full video available online. Additional videos produced as part of the MBTA-Emerson College partnership will be released in the coming months.

With a commitment to providing useful and enjoyable customer content across its growing digital network, the MBTA similarly collaborated with the community it serves by showcasing video art by the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston’s Teen Arts Program in stations in March. This new digital network provides customer information across the entire system at no cost to the MBTA and generates advertising revenue to help support daily MBTA operations, in addition to providing customer-focused information about T services.

The MBTA encourages its riders to check out the in-station clips on its digital screens and to view the students’ full video at mbta.com/Tfamily. Stay connected and let the T know what you think by tweeting to us @MBTA #TFamily.