David Burkhart, creator and producer of "Studio D," talks with 19 design students about ideas for set composition and elements. Burkhart plans to shoot the show's first episode in April and air in May. Neil McGlohon/The Daily

Two OU colleges will work together to create a TV show pilot that will focus on local music.

David Burkhart, journalism graduate student and video production adjunct professor, has enlisted the aid of 19 interior design students from the OU College of Architecture to design a studio set for his show tentatively titled “Studio D.” The name derives from the fact Burkhart will host the show inside studio D of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, he said.

“Studio D” will highlight independent music artists from Oklahoma, Burkhart said.

Even though the show will take place at the university, Burkhart said he does not want it just to be a college show.

“The goal is not to have a college program,” Burkhart said. “The goal is to have a program that people are going to be interested in buying.”

A potential buyer is Cox Communications’s On DEMAND, which showed interest in a previous show Burkhart created named “The Set.”

To make the show look more professional and to appeal to buyers, Burkhart said he is working with interior design students to create an authentic, functional set. Some challenges for these students is set pieces must be able to break down and be easy to store, as other students and classes will use the studio, said Scott Hodgson, “Studio D” executive producer and journalism associate professor.

Students also will have to design a set that will help convey the message of the show.

“We would like [students] to interpret the spirit of the show and find an expression of the artist,” said Hans-Peter Wachter, interior design associate professor. “There’s a concept to try to get across.”

Interior design junior Meredith Majors said she is excited about the program.

To get inspiration, interior design students met with Burkhart on Monday afternoon to hear his ideas, see the studio space where they will work, and to interview the show’s first featured artist — local musician Sherree Chamberlain.

“Mainstream artists already have a place on television,” Burkhart said. “There are all kinds of programming already done on a higher level. We want to focus on Oklahoma artists, those people that are right on the underground.”

Burkhart said he hopes his new project will be more in-depth by focusing more on the artists.

“After you watch it, not only will you know what you need to know about the artist, you will know what [Chamberlain’s] songs are about, you will know what she’s about ... things that are important to her,” Burkhart said.

He said he wants to achieve this by interviewing the artists, having them discuss and perform their songs, and allowing the audience to ask the artists questions.

Burkhart also said he wants to make the show look valuable by using top-of-the-line equipment, such as HD cameras and surround sound.

Burkhart said he wants to film the show in early April and have a screening before the end of the semester.