Ball State University's Student Academy Award-winning writer and director has put a new spin on university promotions with a video that will teach the fight song to incoming freshmen using the rich environment we attend classes in.
Jaron Henrie-McCrea, along with the rest of the crew responsible for the production of the award-winning short film "Knock Knock," has produced a video targeted toward freshmen at the request of University Communications.
"It's my first movie gig," Henrie-McCrea said. "I like doing good work and making the client happy, and that client is Ball State."
The video, "Ball State: Front to Back," cycles through a series of people and locations in and around the Ball State campus as a way of familiarizing new students with their new setting.
"The university wanted to do a Letterman-style top ten," Henrie-McCrea said, "but I didn't want to ride his coattails."
Shooting for the video began shortly after the crew arrived back in Muncie after attending the Student Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. From there, the crew saw a different set of challenges than they had previously encountered working on "Knock Knock."
"It was a lot crazier, a lot more difficult," Henrie-McCrea said. "There were more locations, more people, and we had just arrived back from the awards ceremony, so it's kind of hard getting back to it. [This video] demanded a lot more visually."
Some of those visual demands included shooting a swimmer underwater, coordinating large groups of people and shooting outside -- something the crew had not done much of during the production of "Knock Knock."
Jared Simmons, the film's sound engineer, said that while they were presented with some difficulties in shooting, it wasn't anything the experienced crew wasn't prepared for.
"For this, there were two indoor shots. It was primarily outside -- it was a big change because we hadn't worked outside before," Simmons said. "But I had a good time working with the crew. We tried to stay professional, so that keeps arguments to a minimum."
Lighting Designer Luke Amos said that even though the crew had accomplished a feat in the production of "Knock Knock," it is still a first for many of them to be shooting for pay.
"It's really cool that Ball State trusted us to shoot a promotional piece," Amos said. "They've always used ad agencies and serious professionals, but they saw that Jaron has clear, crisp, fresh and creative ideas that maybe you couldn't get from an ad company."
However, it's not just any student who could be taken on for such a large project. Simmons said that they had been given the opportunity because of the crew's great track record working on films for the school, as well as Henrie-McCrea's creativity and dedication.
"This is Jaron's project. We had already proven ourselves to him and the school working on 'Knock Knock.' The opportunity is there for students, but you have to have good writing -- without that, you're dead in the water," Simmons said. "The school has great equipment that students can use, but the writing just has to be good enough."
"It's a very fun video, a very unique way of looking at the fight song," Amos said. "There's a lot of people who don't know the fight song -- we found ourselves learning it for the first time, after we graduated. By putting images to these words, I think it will really help students remember the fight song and really encourage school pride."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
