Freshman
filmmakers put on an iShow
Drew Stewart, posted Dec. 7, 2006
“Can
I get a drum roll from the Comedy Wars guys?” asked
Mike Hall, Mizzou graduate and current ESPN employee, as his
face was being streamed over the Internet and onto the enormous
projector screen in Bush auditorium. Many students waited
on the edge of their seats, hoping to hear their name announced
by the far-removed Mizzou alumni. Not since the Wizard of
Oz has a giant head caused so much suspense.
What brought
this massive crowd was Mizzou’s third-annual Freshman
iLife Challenge, held in Bush auditorium in Cornell Hall on
Nov. 28. The event was hosted by the local improv troupe,
Comedy Wars. Sponsored by Apple and TigerTech, the iLife Challenge
encouraged freshmen, from various freshman interest groups
(FIGs), to create their own five-minute videos using Apple
technology on the MU campus.
“The
Freshman iLife Challenge is a way to get students familiar
with technology as soon as they get to campus,” said
Mark Jarvis, MU systems support analyst.
More than
a hundred teams, having three-to-four members each, submitted
videos for the final competition, Jarvis said. To narrow down
the selection, videos were judged in the categories of advertising,
arts and culture, freshman experience, MU life, news and sports.
The first place winners in each category then competed for
the grand prize of a 30-Gigabyte Sony Video IPod for each
group member.
One of
the groups aiming for the top spot was “The Ill-Mannered
Underwater Trampoline Squad formerly known as Chuck Norris
and the Roundhouse Kicks.” Aside from a unique name,
the group, consisting of MU freshmen Patrick Inlow, Matt Davis
and Steven Robertson, had something that all the others didn’t:
singing. Titled “Life the Musical,” the film worked
through the lives of new MU students, all set against a montage
of original music written by the group members.
At first,
they weren’t sure how a Mizzou musical extravaganza
would go over.
“I
was scared to death,” Inlow said. “Musicals aren’t
very widely accepted nowadays.”
Another
group shooting for the grand prize was “Bamf’s
of Cramer,” consisting of MU freshmen Alisha Bailey,
Lish Hammer, Katie Borges and Katherine Vicari. Their video,
“Add Sheet: a documentary,” pictured a day in
life of add sheet workers as they went to extreme lengths
to get their paper out to MU students. One example, included
replacing a student’s laundry with, you guessed it,
add sheets.
The girls
of “Bamf’s of Cramer” also felt some tension
in their bid for the top spot at this year’s challenge.
“We’re
shocked,” said Vicari. “We had no idea we’d
even be considered.”
This leads
us back to the giant talking head. Filled to the brim, Bush
auditorium grew silent as Hall reached for a small, white
index card on his desk. Slowly, he pulled it to his face,
paused and announced the winner.
“‘Life
is a Musical’ by the Ill-Mannered Underwater Trampoline
Squad formerly known as Chuck Norris and the Roundhouse Kicks!”
Hall shouted.
The crowd
applauded as Inlow, Davis and Robertson made their way down
to center stage to receive their IPods. Afterwards, the freshmen
acknowledged all the hard work that went into fleshing out
their prize-winning project.
“We
all gave 200 percent,” Robertson said. “By the
time we were halfway done with [our video], we had the feeling
that it was going to be great.”
Yet, according
to some contestants, taking home a shiny new IPod may not
have been the greatest reward from competing in the iLife
Challenge.
“What
I got the most out of it was definitely friendship,”
Davis said. “Before we made the video, I didn’t
know any of these guys at all.”
Yet every
student who’s competed in the Freshman iLife Challenge
knows that they only get one shot at it. Perhaps all they
can do now is give their iLife advice to a new batch of freshmen
that will soon follow.
“Just
have fun and don’t stress about it,” Vicari said.
“Because, more than anything, it’s just fun.”
