When Blake Buell began taking videos of his college experience during his freshman year, he never expected they would turn into a mash-up shared more than 2,000 times on Facebook.
Buell, a telecommunications 2016 graduate, has been filming since he was a little kid. He began the project after making the decision to make the best of each day.
“My best friend passed away before my freshman year [of college],” Buell said. “I realized how valuable each day was.”
The idea to put the videos together was developed in Buell’s sophomore year after creating a recap video. He thought about creating a video of his four years of college, capturing his entire college career.
Article continues after video.
Rockstar Energy also had a part to play in the video’s creation. Buell worked with campus representatives, eventually signing on with the company as a brand ambassador.
Rockstar contributed to the video by supplying Buell with gear.
Buell actually submitted the finished video to Total Frat Move, a website featuring college stories and humor. The video was only up on TFM for a couple of days before Buell saw it on University Primetime, a college news and entertainment site. He thinks those in charge at TFM turned the video over to UP.
Buell never thought the project, which he made mostly for himself, would accumulate this much success.
“I’ve received an unreal amount of support for [the video],” Buell said. “All the attention is very flattering; I didn’t expect it to get this amount of hype.”
The video contains clips of all-around college shenanigans: there are snapshots of Buell’s fraternity house, different trips he took, Ball State’s campus and activities, and various parties. Buell’s favorite parts of the video are those that involve surfing.
“Surfing is my favorite thing to do,” Buell said. “To be able to [film and surf] at the same time was my favorite part of the whole [video].”
Originally, the video was called “4 Years of College in 6 Minutes.” However, Buell likes the title UP gave his work: “The most EPIC Video.”
“The video is like a highlight reel of what a fun college experience should be,” Buell said. “TFM said it perfectly captures the college experience in four years. I’m proud of it for sure.”
Although credited for the project as a whole on the internet, he knows he couldn’t have done it without his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers. Austin Fellows, Beckett Rawlings and Saxton Barnes were his right-hand men, helping with equipment, he said. However, he gives credit to all his brothers for making the video such a success.
Currently, Buell is on a job excursion in California. His goal is to network while enjoying the luxury of California, he said.
“I’d really like to join a major film crew,” Buell said. “I want something along the lines of video, either working the camera or editing.”
Read More
Center for Peace offers academic opportunities
By Meghan Braddy and Grayson Joslin / 16 minutes agoOver the years, the center has offered a peace studies minor, conflict resolution training and grant funding.
The eyes and ears of the David Owsley Museum of Art
By Madelyn Bracken / 16 minutes agoThe David Owsley Museum of Art (DOMA) doesn’t only house art. For many Ball State University students, it houses opportunity. Graduate and social media assistant, and former DOMA intern and guard, Taylor Hamblin spent the past two years working at the museum surrounded with possibilities to further her career while at Ball State.
AP: New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction
By Staff Reports / 25 minutes agoNew York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case, according to the Associated Press (AP).
