Take a look at this cringe-inducing recruitment video made by Waltham, Mass.- based Hart-Boillot.  Because it intros with strangely serious drums and awkward text animation I kept expecting an SNL-style skit cooked up by a couple of Mudders for a class project, but no.

[pro-player width='583' height='278.3' type='video' image='http://pitzeruncovered.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Picture-42.png']http://pitzeruncovered.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Hart_Boillot_Building_brands_one_story_at_a_time_higherEd_claremont_full.mov[/pro-player]

If the player doesn't work click here.

The thing that strikes me is how they somehow make the 5C's seem both boring and impersonal.  The production notes state that the Hart-Boillot people "traveled to California to film and capture actual student thoughts, ideas and experiences."

That endeavor is a big fail.  None of the students are allowed to say their name, their favorite class, main non-academic interest.  The scripted "I will be" and "I am" lines are annoying and poorly edited, and let you know NOTHING about who these kids are, what they're interested in, or why they are interesting.   They tell you that 2500 courses are available but don't name a single one, although, inexplicably they mention kickboxing and scuba diving classes.  They stress that each college has its own students, professors, "feel flavor and traditions", but don't explain what those are.  Not until 9 full minutes into the video do the students get to say anything that might differentiate them from one another.

There are also factual inaccuracies.  Claremont is named "one of the country's best college towns... This is the heart of Southern California, one of the most stimulating and diverse cities in the world."  Double fail.

Other random annoyances:

• The CMC dude who says he wants to be a financial analyst will also be an "agent for change".  Really?
• The cheeezy generic background music.
• The tag team of the over-enunciating, nasally male narrator, and the robotic, soporific female narrator.

I can't imagine the soulless androids who would respond positively to this drivel.  Pitzer NEVER would have made something like this in-house.  I hope we're not going to pay for this, let alone use it!

Note:  Lately I've been posting a lot about new student resources and stuff on the web, but once we start classes I'm focusing on student life and student institutions.

Take a look at this cringe-inducing recruitment video made by Waltham, Mass.- based Hart-Boillot.  Because it intros with strangely serious drums and awkward text animation I kept expecting an SNL-style skit cooked up by a couple of Mudders for a class project, but no.

[pro-player width='583' height='278.3' type='video' image='http://pitzeruncovered.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Picture-42.png']http://pitzeruncovered.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Hart_Boillot_Building_brands_one_story_at_a_time_higherEd_claremont_full.mov[/pro-player]

If the player doesn't work click here.

The thing that strikes me is how they somehow make the 5C's seem both boring and impersonal.  The production notes state that the Hart-Boillot people "traveled to California to film and capture actual student thoughts, ideas and experiences."

That endeavor is a big fail.  None of the students are allowed to say their name, their favorite class, main non-academic interest.  The scripted "I will be" and "I am" lines are annoying and poorly edited, and let you know NOTHING about who these kids are, what they're interested in, or why they are interesting.   They tell you that 2500 courses are available but don't name a single one, although, inexplicably they mention kickboxing and scuba diving classes.  They stress that each college has its own students, professors, "feel flavor and traditions", but don't explain what those are.  Not until 9 full minutes into the video do the students get to say anything that might differentiate them from one another.

There are also factual inaccuracies.  Claremont is named "one of the country's best college towns... This is the heart of Southern California, one of the most stimulating and diverse cities in the world."  Double fail.

Other random annoyances:

• The CMC dude who says he wants to be a financial analyst will also be an "agent for change".  Really?
• The cheeezy generic background music.
• The tag team of the over-enunciating, nasally male narrator, and the robotic, soporific female narrator.

I can't imagine the soulless androids who would respond positively to this drivel.  Pitzer NEVER would have made something like this in-house.  I hope we're not going to pay for this, let alone use it!

Note:  Lately I've been posting a lot about new student resources and stuff on the web, but once we start classes I'm focusing on student life and student institutions.