New SNC Heritage Video Unreal
Chris Denu
Issue date: 10/20/08 Section: Opinion
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"We had three goals with this video: to help people understand life at St. Norbert College, how the school was started by Abbot Pennings and his goal for the college and how we continue to live the values the campus was founded upon." Fostner said.
Fostner explained how several companies offered to make the video for more than $80,000, so he chose to use local help and the college shot the video itself.
Knowing this, I was expecting poor quality when the video began playing, but I was pleasantly surprised. The production values were very high. Shots that looked right out of a History Channel special were frequent, and needless to say, I was impressed with how good it looked.
While watching the video I tried to keep in mind all of the things that Fostner had explained they were trying to accomplish with the video. There is certainly a lot of historical information on Norbert of Xanten and how his life and values helped shape the college. The founding of the college and the goals Pennings had for it are also explained very well.
The video also does a reasonably good job at describing how various aspects of campus life relate to the same values the college was founded on. From service trips to the week of welcome, the Norbertine dedication to community and service is shown as being an integral part of campus.
If I had a problem with the video it would be this: it didn't feel real. One of the goals Fostner stated was for people to understand life at St. Norbert College. I just didn't get the feeling that what was shown on the video was the true St. Norbert College. Maybe I'm just jaded. Maybe every individual has their own version of the "true" St. Norbert College, but what was shown didn't feel like my idea of St. Norbert College.
Service and community are a major part of this campus. However, the video made it seem as if the emphasis on service, community, liberal arts, and Catholic values was a very in-your-face aspect of the college. They are certainly important aspects of the college, but they are so in a much more subtle way, which I think is more special.
The subtler, less obvious aspects of the college are what make it the place it is. When I was looking at schools to attend, I was attracted to how everything on the St. Norbert college campus blended together, and nothing was in your face and obvious.
In the end, I was impressed with the production values and overall tone of the video. But I just seem have an aversion to videos and programs that only exist to toot their own horn. I know that this is something that you just can't get around in this day and age, but that doesn't mean I have to like it very much.
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