Student films show ‘reel’ life at Temple

The films, located on the Admissions Web site, give prospective students a new perspective

Student filmmaker Jessica Walker captures the typical dorm life of sophomore Samantha Davis for the new “Reel” World Temple feature on the undergraduate admissions Web site.

Thanks to the help of some student filmmakers, prospective Temple students are getting an inside look at University life through e-technology.

The idea started a year ago with an e-mail from a potential student who wanted to know what it’s really like to be a student at Temple.

The Admissions and the film and media arts departments joined forces last year to produce short films about the lives of Temple students that can be streamed on their Web site.

“I like that Temple is thinking outside the box and offering a chance for Temple students to film other Temple students doing things that make the school as diverse as it is,” said Josh Rothstein, one of the students featured in the films. “The nice thing that people will get from seeing these short films is that Temple students have extremely different interests but it’s those interests that distinguish it apart from other schools.”

'Reel' World Temple

Like most schools, Temple sends out lots of glossy brochures showing students studying, laughing and having a great time. While this scenario is true for many students, there’s a lot of time spent just hanging out, pulling all-nighters and keeping on top of assignments.

“We decided that we wanted to show some of our students in their own world. Follow them around and see what they do: the exciting, the mundane, and anything in between,” said Mary Beth Kurilko, assistant director of admissions. “But we wanted to keep it real, so we contacted [professor] Mike Kuetemeyer in our F.M.A. department. His videography class has a great reputation, and we thought they would like a chance to get their stuff on the Web.”

Kuetemeyer said he liked the idea from the very beginning and decided that his students would pair up and work with a student to document a typical day in his or her life. The project was filmed during the fall semester, with the entire filming process taking place outside the classroom. Each student pair shot, edited and produced a two-to three-minute film.

After months of researching the latest inventions in e-recruitment (the use of technology to recruit students) Kurilko said she and publications specialist Bob Frawley came up with the idea for “Reel” World Temple.

“Over the past few years, [Temple] has been trying to think about how we can reach students online, because that is the medium they are accessing the most,” Kurilko said. “It’s my job to always be thinking a few steps ahead at how we can use the Internet and Web site to get attention.”

In the past, Kurilko said, Temple has hired professional advertising agencies to shoot highly produced films as marketing pieces, but none had ever succeeded at showing the true atmosphere of student life.

Although most admissions staff members were supportive of the project, there were a few worries that the student filmmakers would get a little too “real.”

“We didn’t really give the kids a lot of guidelines about what they could and couldn’t shoot,” Kurilko said. “In order to be real, we had to allow the students a good deal of freedom.”


Soul-searching and soft pretzels

Since its launch in August, the Web site has had more than 700 visitors and a handful of e-mails providing positive feedback, Kurilko reported.

Cash prizes were awarded for the top three videos, selected by a committee of admissions personnel and communication professors. The only requirements given to the students were that they had to be less than three minutes and portray Temple and their subjects in a positive light, Kuetemeyer said.

The grand prize went to Tyler Kinney and Joe Maggio for their film “Julia, Julia,” a whimsical, animated look at one Tyler student’s experience in getting to know herself at college.

“Julia, Julia,” which features art student Julia Davis, has been streamed by 300 visitors to the site.

“I’m definitely proud to have been a part of the [“Reel” World Temple] project because these films are a lot more effective than getting a viewbook in the mail or reading pre-rehearsed quotes from students,” Davis said. “These films actually have potential at getting a student’s attention and making them learn more about what the school has to offer.”

“Beyond Broad Street,” by filmmakers Katie McCrory and Rosalie Yurasits took second prize.

McCrory and Yurasits followed student Josh Rothstein as a resident assistant in the dorms, taking midnight pretzel orders.

“[The filmmakers] thought it would be a unique idea to follow me on one of my midnight trips to get pretzels for students in my dorm, because it’s a great way to show the advantages of living in Philadelphia,” Rothstein explained.

“The project actually worked in two different ways,” Kuetemeyer said. “It helped the admissions Web site become a little more creative, and it also provided a real-world, on-the-job experience of working for a client. It allowed the film students understand that if they want to sell their work, they will have to meet client requirements and give up complete creative control.”

Kinney agreed that the project provided a helpful bridge from academic to professional filmmaking.

“I knew Joe and I needed some kind of gimmick or cute angle to grab people’s attention because, after all, this is still a promotional video for Temple,” Kinney said. “It’s informative but also silly at the same time, so a [prospective student] can have fun watching the film again and again.”

Plans are being discussed by admissions staff and Kuetemeyer to make the “Reel” World Temple project a biannual spring semester assignment for the videography course, according to Kurilko.

The top three films are currently being streamed on the undergraduate admissions Web site. Kurilko said the site will stream four new films each semester until the project is completed again in the fall of 2007.

“These films are something that isn’t slick or overproduced by adults who are out of touch with high school students,” Kurilko said. “These are films by college students that have a better grasp of what things attract high school students to a school.”

- By Karen Shuey

Visit the undergraduate admissions Web site to see the top three 'Reel' World Temple films.