SVP was founded in the fall of 1981. The group was originally called "Windfall," then changed its name to "Student Video Producers" the following year, and finally became "Student Video Productions" in 1985.
The group's membership grew from 20 students in 1982, to 85 at its peak in 2000. Its mission statement consistently emphasized SVP's purpose "to provide students with experience in video production and broadcast management, and to provide quality student-produced programming to the Iowa City area at large."
Numerous shows came and went as producers graduated and moved on. Many of the shows have gravitated around comedy, music, and news themes over the years. UITV's approval of the shows has also varied, from its view in the past that SVP is "sophomoric" and "unwholesome," to its more recent optimism and support of the programming.
SVP sponsored a RiverFest scavenger hunt in 1998 and recorded the Dance Marathon events from 2000 to 2007. It produced a program for Associated Residence Halls in exchange for funding in 1987, the same year that cable hookups were installed in the dorms.
SVP has had close connections with KRUI, the campus radio station, since its early days. Members shared workspace with KRUI in 1985 until SVP moved into a new office in the IMU. Today SVP produces a show called "KRUI-TV" that features music videos.
Due to IMU renovations, SVP moved to a new location in the Communications Center in November 2005.
In March 2006, SVP received the Hawkeye Award for Outstanding Student Organization of 2005. Click here to see a picture of the staff at the award ceremony and read more.
SVP celebrated its 25th anniversary in Oct 2006.
During the Fall 2006 semester, SVP produced an original short film entitled "The Unfortunate Gift of Mowley Benton," which was accepted at the Cedar Rapids Film Festival the following year. "Mowley Benton" is SVP's first production shot on high-definition cameras and involved a cast and crew of around 35 members, whose hard work earned them the Hawkeye Award for Outstanding Program of the Year in February 2007.