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Ben Garvin
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Client workfor Macalester CollegeSt. Paul, Minnesota

A scripted campus tour video for Macalester College (eleven minutes!)

Students with no on-camera experience, a lot of takes, and an outtake at the end worth the whole shoot.

A scripted campus tour video for Macalester College (eleven minutes!)Watch on YouTube ↗
Take nine. Energy over polish, every time.

Most of my work is documentary, meaning I show up and find the story. This was the other thing: a scripted, eleven-minute campus tour for Macalester College, walking prospective students through the Observatory, the residence halls, the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, Kagin Commons and the athletic fields.

The student guides had very little on-camera experience, which meant many takes and a lot of patience from everyone. What they had instead was energy, and energy is what an admissions video needs. My favorite moment is an outtake we left at the very end. Watch for it.

I enjoy scripted projects more than I expected to. They scratch a different itch: planning, blocking, directing performance. If your college or company needs a long-form explainer or tour, I can direct and shoot it, and keep it from feeling like a corporate video.

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