'I Am Central' competition videos show campus from student perspective
If someone asked you to make a video about what Central Michigan University means to you, how would you respond?
Flint senior Glenn Bronson responded with a video about his trip to Australia in 2007.
Grass Lake sophomore Colin Hennessy's video was on a campus-wide dance.
Monroe junior Chris Slat included college life in a rap song.
The three films were part of the "I Am Central" video competition last fall, which gave a handful of students the opportunity to tell CMU what their experience at the university has been like.
Tim O'Brien, an assistant director with public relations and marketing, fathered the idea of the video competition to give students a creative chance to showcase their experience with CMU.
The videos for the competition have recently been posted on the university Web site.
"When I was a student, I had been in various competitions," O'Brien said. "It encourages students to participate in friendly competition. It also allows the public to see their work."
The prizes included an iPod, but competitors instead preferred gift certificates for the CMU Bookstore in the Bovee University Center.
O'Brien said about $1,000 was awarded in gift certificates.
Slat made a music video with rap lyrics that described the life and activities of CMU students. The video earned first place.
"I'm kind of an English-minded person," Slat said. "I'm pretty good at putting lines together."
Bronson, who placed third in the competition, said making the movie was a great experience for him.
"It kind of encompassed my experience because I went to CMU," he said. "It allowed me to go to another country."
Bronson's trip in July of 2007 was to the edge of the Australian Outback. He talked about the adjustments the group made during the trip.
"It was a different experience because we stayed in that truck for five days," he said. "My favorite part of the trip was going through the mountains."
Hennessy's video, "CMU's Got the Funk," was a creative view of the way students can have fun at Central.
The two-minute video shows Hennessy and his friend, Grass Lake High School senior Stefan Hitchcock, dancing to a 1990s instructional video-type song.
Dance moves were performed at different locations across campus, including a racquetball court and the student section of a CMU football game, among other places.
O'Brien said in the future he hopes to incorporate different themes. He said he has been thinking of a seasonal theme, extracurricular activities and athletics. O'Brien said editing and videography is not important to him - it's about entertainment.
"I wouldn't have cared if the videos were even taken with a cell phone," O'Brien said. "It might motivate them to go above and beyond something they would do for a grade."
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