To see what the group worked on, check out Turner Classic Movies on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Seven students received the career experience of a lifetime this summer with an immersive learning class that partnered with Turner Classic Movies.
Students had to create original content for a social media campaign the company was developing for the month of September. The campaign, called Let’s Movie, was focused around slapstick comedy. However, TCM also wanted to specifically reach younger audiences, making Ball State the perfect fit.
The project began because of a contact the instructor, Rich Edwards, had at the company. He had done work for TCM before but had never found an opportunity to get students involved until this project came along.
“The most exciting thing about this project for me was giving talented Ball State students an option and seeing how they would deliver. I am very proud of my students,” Edwards said.
The most challenging thing about the project was the timespan. The course took place during Summer I and was only five weeks long. Nicole Lehrman, a senior at Ball State and lead video editor on the project, explained that there were so many tasks to fit into such a short time period.
“In five weeks, we had to understand the brand, understand what the client wanted from us, brainstorm, come up with a proof of concepts, discuss our ideas with the actual TCM marketing team, and then turn around and create six weeks’ worth of content in about three weeks," Lehrman said. "It was a super huge time crunch, but TCM understood our short time frame.”
After the students worked for weeks to prepare the social media plan, they were flown out to the Turner Classic Movies headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, to present their work. The trip allowed them a first-hand look at the company, as well as individual time with company executives to learn about the industry.
“I did not expect the amount of work and cooperation with TCM that we had,” said Henry Tegeler, a sophomore video editor on the project. “I was not expecting most of the people to take time out of their day to come and listen to us and talk to us. They tried to treat us as much as possible, like any other agency they would work with, while also giving us advice along the way.”
Sara Beth Loyd, a second year graduate student who was project manager during the course, appreciated the opportunity to ask questions of executives in the field.
“My favorite part of the Atlanta trip was getting to talk to Jennifer Dorian, the general manager at Turner, about how it was to balance being a mother in a top position in the field. I was able to have a conversation with her about something personal to me and she was more than happy to talk.”
Though the trip was exciting, it was also intimidating to present to such a large group of executives.
“I teach public speaking, Comm 210, here at Ball State, and I was still nervous to present,” said Loyd. “It was nerve-wracking because these are important people and you’re delivering them what you worked so hard on the past few weeks, and you’re just hoping they like it.”
The presentation went well, and TCM is adopting the social media plan the students created.
However, each student took away more than a job well done or a resume builder.
“I was able to expand my horizons and jump onto a new project with people I didn’t know. I got to work in a different environment, and it really showed me all the possibilities available,” said Lehrman.
Loyd said she felt her trepidation about going out into the real world after graduation this fall was eased through this experience.
“I’m about to graduate and go out into the real world. Loyd said. "Yes, I can write papers and take tests, but this was my first real test to see if I could do something for a client. And then I thought, 'Yes, I can.' I can actually create something and put it out there for a client. I feel much better about going out into the real world.”
Additionally, the video team was asked to come back out to Atlanta after the project had finished to continue shooting content. Tegeler appreciated the opportunity to talk to "real life" executives
“On the second trip, we got to go to a studio and meet a lot of people who are working in the business we would like to work in," he said. "I was able to discuss with them about the best strategies to get jobs and also talk to Turner about internships.”
Edwards feels that the relationship between Ball State and Turner Classic Movies is growing and that future collaborations between the two are possible.
The content produced during the course can be found on any of Turner’s social media websites during the month of September.
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