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Valencia, CA — August 13, 2003 — Reality TV on the campus of a Christian College? No it’s not the next big thing to land in a million living rooms this fall. But for the few thousand moms and dads who consider The Master’s College for their son or daughter each year, it’s a great way to experience campus life for themselves. For producer Joel Miller, chief storyteller at Media Soup, it was one of the most challenging projects he’s ever tackled … and it was his idea. “For years, the college made these short recruiting videos and the reaction was always the same. ‘They’re good, but they don’t capture the heart and soul of who we are,’” Miller said. “The only way you’re going to do that is to go long—let people watch something for an extended period. Let them grab onto some characters. So I pitched the idea to them.” The concept was to take a camera crew and follow a couple of prospective students around campus for a few days and capture them discovering everything Master’s has to offer. Wherever interested families might live, the college could then bring the campus to them. “Whenever the college gets people on campus for a recruiting session, the success rate of having those students actually come to the college is really high. So we decided to give them College View Weekend on video.” The college selected a pair of students from among the next batch of campus visitors while Miller assembled his crew. Then it was time to roll … and hustle. Miller and his crew of four followed the students everywhere. Sporting events, chapel and class. The dorms, the dining commons and the library. Ultimate Frisbee tournament? Miller and his crew were there. A day trip to Los Angeles? The Media Soup crew started packing. “One of the goals was to let prospective students to feel the campus, feel the community of the place. That’s what’s going to sell it for them,” Miller said. “We shot about 40 hours of footage over a five-day period. It was a massive job.” Even more massive, says Miller, was the job of editing everything down to the hour-long final version. Miller spent about 500 hours at the editing bay. Obviously, what he was producing went beyond simple reality. He was producing reality TV, yes, but this was reality with a purpose. “The story isn’t really about the two students. The real story is about the college,” he says. “You have to ask, who’s the buyer here? The student has to say yes, but the buyer is mom and dad. You want to show them why this is the college for their child.” As for the video’s length, Miller says the college was skeptical at first. Who’s got an hour to watch a promotional video? Not many people, perhaps. But if anybody does, it’s the parent weighing his or her child’s educational options. “If you’re thinking about spending $100,000 on your child’s education, wouldn’t you watch something for an hour. You’d watch something for 10 hours,” said Miller. “And an hour is what you need to tell the real story. Most video promos are like watching everybody get dolled up for the prom. But in an hour you can really show them the college.” The video was an instant hit. Since its debut two years ago, the college has gone through several batches and continues to order more. Parents across the country, meanwhile, continue to visit the campus, even if they never actually leave home. About Media Soup |
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