NUIT A&RT NUAMPS was recently commissioned by University Relations to write and produce two commercials for Northwestern, to be aired during televised sports events and shown on the web. Today was our first day of shooting for those commercials, and our set was Welsh-Ryan arena with a cast of Willie the Wildcat, Northwestern men’s basketball team players, including Michael “Juice” Thompson and Alex Marcotullio, and students and staff, decked out in NU spirit gear, cheering in the stands.
Our video team has taken a big step forward on this production in terms of cinematic visuals, using our Canon 5D Mark II cameras and our arsenal of great Canon lenses to create stunning 24p HD video with dramatic depth of field and a real filmic feel.
Today’s shoot went off incredibly smoothly for a first day on set. Our actors were great, our crew was on top of its game, and our co-producers at UR did a great job of wrangling extras up to the arena on a rainy day late in the quarter. As a director, I couldn’t have asked for better, and I am very excited as we prepare for our next shoot date, May 26, here on campus in Evanston. We’ll be out on the lake fill, in front of the Arch, in the Deering Reading Room, and in a lab in Tech. Keep an eye out– we’ll be the ones with the Wildcat.
Update: If you’re a NU student (or staff or faculty member) and you would like to be an extra in one of the scenes we’ll be shooting on May 26 around campus, log in to Facebook and sign up here!
