You Have Exactly 30 Seconds

Have you ever seen a commercial you really liked? Have you ever stopped to think why you liked it?  Was it funny? Did it move you? Was it so visually stunning you forgot you were watching a 30 second ad?

As part of our class discussion in my Video Camera and Lighting Techniques class, we shared links to our favorite commercials and discussed why we liked them. We replayed the commercials and analyzed the shots. We tried to figure out why things were shot a certain way to emphasize the story that was being told.

This discussion led to our next topic and our first assignment: creating a storyboard. Our task is to create a storyboard based on a TV commercial script. The storyboard is going to have several panels, which will include a rough sketch of what the shot will look like, camera directions, and dialogue. I think the biggest challenge creating a commercial is that you have exactly 30 seconds, no more, no less, to tell your story.

What’s cool about this assignment is that we’ll actually get to film it as well. I’m very interested to see how my classmates have interpreted the script, and what camera directions they decide to follow. I imagine we’ll all have different ideas even though we’re working off the same script, and we’ll learn from everyone’s creativity.

How to be a Successful Student Club or Student Organization on Campus

Being part of a student club in college can be a very memorable and rewarding experience, but it can also be a frustrating one. You want your club to be successful, you want lots of members, you want to do great things; but, you’re not sure how to recruit new members, your meetings are disorganized, and you can’t seem to accomplish anything.

I’ve been involved in lots of clubs, and I’ve even led some of them. I’ve been part of some really successful clubs, and I’ve learned what works. I’ve also learned what doesn’t work by making mistakes.

CLUB PITFALLS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM 

Here are some pitfalls many clubs fall into and how to avoid them:

Pitfall: Assuming your club is too small to do great things.

Small clubs can spend (and usually waste) a lot of time trying to figure out recruitment strategies. When you focus too much on recruitment, you don’t accomplish much of anything else. Your club has a purpose and that purpose is not to acquire more members than any other club on campus.

How to Avoid It: Value your current and active members.

Use your current and active members’ talents. Even if you have as many members as you can count on one hand, each person has special abilities and knowledge. Get to know your members well and find out what they bring to the table. Do you have a graphic designer in the group? Does one of your members know a lot about business? There are plenty of great things your club can do that don’t require a small army. Generate event ideas for your current members. If you want to plan an event that requires a lot of hands, team up with other student organizations. The Web Developer Club I’ve been a member of at MPTC has teamed up with the Graphics Club in the past so we could go to a convention in Chicago.

Pitfall: Spending lots of time planning but nothing gets done.

It’s really easy to spend an hour discussing an idea and tabling it for the next meeting to discuss further. It’s also really easy to accomplish nothing this way. Oftentimes no clear decisions are made. Nobody knows who is supposed to do what and when it’s supposed to get done.

How to Avoid It: Create tasks, set deadlines, and ask for volunteers.

First, vote on decisions so everyone is in agreement and on the same page. Break down the idea into smaller, specific tasks and attach deadlines to them. It’s very important to have these in your meeting minutes. Ask for volunteers to complete the tasks. If nobody volunteers, ask a member you feel would do a good job with the task based on his or her talents or background. Divide the tasks evenly. 

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL STUDENT CLUB

Now you know what not to do, here are some recommendations that will help your club to be a success:

Create a club identity.

Design a logo, come up with a motto, and put them on shirts. It will make members feel like they belong (and you’ll be advertising your club). I’ve seen students walk down the hall wearing something really cool or really funny and thought, hey, I’d like one of those shirts. It may even spark conversations with non-members.

Write a club mission statement.

Make your club mission statement clear enough for outsiders to understand. Determine the purpose of your club (educational, recreational, hobby, etc.) For example, the Web Developer Club has chosen the purpose of our club to be an educational, peer-taught club. We take turns each meeting presenting information we have learned outside of class. I know a lot about art, so I gave a presentation about what makes websites aesthetically pleasing.

Communicate clearly.

Explain when, where, for how long, and if people need to bring anything to a meeting or event. It seems obvious to share this information with others, but communication is a big problem in many organizations. Distribute your agenda and meeting minutes to everyone.

Designate someone to be in charge of paperwork.

Most colleges require student clubs to fill out paperwork in order to be recognized as a club. In some cases paperwork needs to be filled out at the beginning and the end of the academic year in order to receive a stipend for your club’s account. I’m not sure how they do it in other clubs, but as the secretary of the Web Developer Club, I was in charge of making sure we had all the forms we needed, that we met the requirements, and turned them in by the deadlines. Talk to your student life advisor to make sure you have everything you need.

Take advantage of field trips and conferences.

For some potential members, the notion of going to new places and doing things outside campus is enticing. I’m all grown up, but I still get excited about field trips. If your club is part of a larger regional or national organization, find out if there are conferences you can attend as a group.

Don’t forget to mix it up.

If you’re an academic-based organization, make sure you include one or two purely social activities during the year. In both the Web Club and Student Senate, we’ve gone out to a restaurant for lunch or dinner. You could have a bowling night, see a movie, go to a sports game, or do something else members like to do.

BONUS TIP: Recruitment

As I said before, don’t spend so much time recruiting that you forget your purpose as a student organization. If you follow the suggestions above, you should be drawing people into your club (as well as retaining members) naturally. But since this is something every struggling club is interested in (I’m not going to lie, I’ve Googled the topic in the past), I do have a few tips I’ve picked up on from experience:

• Ask your club advisor and class instructors to promote your club. Our Web Club advisor has done an excellent job promoting our club to other students. He makes an announcement at the beginning of each semester to his classes to let them know what we do, when and where we meet, and the benefits of joining our club. It’s a two-minute spiel and it has gotten us the exposure we needed to reach people who are most likely to be interested in joining our club.
• Be visible on campus. If other students see you doing awesome things and getting involved on campus, you'll attract attention and possibly new members. Go to Student Senate meetings. At MPTC, each club is required to send a representative to these meetings. You’ll get to share what your group is planning, and then other students at the meeting might be interested in attending your upcoming event.
• Explain specific benefits. Why would someone want to join your club? What’s in it for them? You should ask yourself these questions before speaking with perspective members. Most, if not all, clubs are great for networking and resume building. One thing that I think makes the Web Club appealing is that it is peer-led education. Members are not required to do anything more than come to the meetings and listen to other members. When I talk to someone who’s interested in our club, I explain to them it’s like taking an academic class for free.

If you have any suggestions for turning a student club or organization into a successful one, please share them in the comments!

First Day of Class, First Day of Filming

My first grade picture

I never saw a professional video camera up-close before, so when I walked up to the front of the room with my other classmates, I was surprised to see so many buttons and switches. Our instructor was explaining all the settings on the camera and was letting us take turns changing settings and putting in the battery as he explained what everything did.

Later on, we were put into groups so we could practice some camera moves. We did a tilt, pan, follow, and rack focus. My group decided to film some figurines in the graphics lab. It was even more fun when we decided to put together a storyline.

Even though it was a four-hour class, it went by really quickly. During our next class, we’ll be setting up lighting. This is something I have no experience in. When I’ve filmed things in the past, I just waited until the lighting outside was good. It’ll be nice knowing how to set up proper lighting.

Before class that day, I got to campus after work to eat my dinner in the cafeteria, and I had the opportunity to meet our new Student Involvement Specialist. I think it’s going to be a really exciting year for Student Senate. If you get the chance, come to the Student Senate meetings. It’s a great way to meet people. You can either be involved in the political side of campus, the event planning side, or both!

How was your first week of class? Did you learn anything this past week you didn’t know before?