Guilford College’s radio station, WQFS, has a new video series that lets you get lost in space with original music and stars on the walls. The series, entitled Lost in Space, is a student-run program that produces short videos of recorded performances by local artists in outer space settings. Lost in Space was created by senior Amelia Hall, the social media manager for WQFS, and junior Jacob Fetzer, a music manager.

Inspired by NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts, Lost in Space is a new project that Hall and Fetzer dreamed up this past summer in order to promote WQFS and the work of local musicians. Hall and Fetzer decided to focus on showcasing local talent through special video performances that would be uploaded onto WQFS social media sites.

“Me and Amelia were just talking about ways we could get people engaging with the WQFS social media more, and really just ways that we could showcase the music that we were listening to and people in the area that we were excited about,” said Fetzer.

The title of the program came from Fetzer and Hall’s idea to have the theme of the series be connected to outer space. That is why the first Lost in Space session, which featured the band Elbows, was filmed on the roof of the Frank Family Science Center in the observatory.

“We wanted to do something where the setting was inspired by space,” said Fetzer.

Recently, Brandon Walker, a Greensboro native and first-year who majors in classical guitar, performed for the second Lost in Space session. The performance took place in front of a handful of students on Wednesday, Nov. 15, in Dana Auditorium.

Walker played a 20-minute set, during which he alternated between an electric guitar and a keyboard. He played the instruments over different beats he had created using a software on his computer. This was the first time Walker was able to perform this kind of material for an audience.

“I’d definitely do it again. It was cooler than I thought it would be,” said Walker. “I didn’t have many expectations, but it was fun. I’d never (played over my music in front of others before), and even just doing it now, there’s definitely some stuff I would go back and change. So, it was definitely a learning experience. I like playing in more dim lighting, so I’m glad there weren’t lights flashing in my face. It was kind of relaxing.”

Senior Chance Mashburn, who helped record the latest Lost in Space video, believes that funding and more student involvement would help Lost in Space projects in the future.

“I think WQFS should invest funds into Lost in Space, because they haven’t,” said Mashburn. “This is all just two students who created it, and they put their own money together. But if there (was funding from WQFS), I believe the decorations and the set-up would be a whole lot better.”

Mashburn said that creating Lost in Space is an experience he would recommend to any student wanting to learn more about local musicians and filming live music, but stresses that it does have difficulties.

“I loved it. I think it’s a great opportunity for students to invest and learn aspects of how the underlying factors of the music industry works,” said Mashburn. “I know it’s a small set up but you get to learn how to plan, find an event, find a space, find the right decorations, find the right artists for the theme you’re trying to convey. It is overall very detailed and a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Finding independent local artists is more challenging than you would think.”

Along with getting students involved in the process of creating Lost in Space, Walker said that allowing student musicians to showcase their work is beneficial.

“I think school should be an output for artists to get themselves out there, especially if they’re going (to school) for art,” said Walker. “Definitely for me, I don’t even post my music or anything. I don’t have anything to promote yet, but it’s kind of cool to be able to create something for people to see, because a lot of this stuff I do behind-the-scenes in my bedroom, so it was cool to perform it.”

The video of Walker’s performance is in the process of being edited and will be posted on the WQFS Facebook page soon. As of now, there are no official Lost in Space lineups ready to be announced due to the upcoming break, but the series will be continued in the spring. Because this is a new program, potential changes are being considered, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

“I would just say to keep listening to WQFS,” said Fetzer. “We’ve had some really exciting shows this semester. We’re going to have some exciting new merchandise coming out soon, but there will be concerts later in the year and definitely some events.”