Settle down now and let me tell you a tale, there might even be a few points to take away from all this!
I started college last year and I was super excited to collaborate with other creative people! "I run a YouTube Channel" I gleefully announced to myself, "surely everyone else does too!". I was surprise then to find that almost no one had a YouTube Channel, at least not one that they regularly posted to nor were very public about. Not only that but as far as I was aware there was not a single active society in the college that regularly met up and did things.
So I practically lost consciousness and awoke to find that I had started up a Video Production Society in the college, Bantar Box.
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| Collage of Bantar Box's Shenanigans Last Year! |
I'm not really exaggerating when I say that. With my sheer will to have such a society exist, it just sorta happened.
At least, that is how it feels looking back on it. In reality I had to ask people for advice, get all the paper work I needed and built up some interest as well as a team to help me pull it off. It wasn't going to happen without a good bit of effort but I was focused, determined and I rarely thought twice about it. I guess that's why it seems like a blur in retrospect...
I was in a media campus and I was definitely going to make sure that I took full advantage of the facilities!
The thought about how exactly I set up "Bantar Box" came to me recently because I have been asked by several people in multiple campuses (or campi perhaps?) about how to set such a society up. Really the answer that I keep arriving at is... just do it. Unfortunately that sentence has lost a bit of 'umph' from the Nike Corporations and the Shia LaBeoufs of the world but it still rings true for those of us who want something done.
If you don't know what to do first, find someone who can help you. Be it a student rep, your boss, a colleague, the cat. If you need the go ahead from someone in the student union, your lectures, the cat or someone who is "higher up the chain" pick the nearest being and arrange a meeting! At the very least, they can point you to the next person who is up a few links!
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| Bantar Box's Logo - White on Black is the new Black. |
Bantar Box was a group effort so it really wasn't too hard to get rolling once I started pushing and it wouldn't be nearly as good without the input of everyone in the society! Even Bantar Box's name and logo was community made! Great things happen in groups but at the same time don't underestimate the importance of the one who makes it happen. That's not me trying to increase my hat size I'm just trying to say that if you have an idea it could be you who starts something great!
Try not to be too afraid of being the one who gets things moving!
Last year we (Bantar Box) started planning a music video for a local band. For one of the scenes we decided it should take place in a restaurant or cafe with the camera looking through the window.
This meant I had to ask around for permission to film in a local business and ...well, honestly that idea scared me and I kinda put off doing that for some time...
Eventually it came very close to when we were going to start filming. I was very much expecting a 'no'. I mean there could have been insurance reasons or something, so it wouldn't just be the owners acting cruel or anything. However, I needed to be able to go back to the society and at least say I tried.
So I bit my lip, swallowed my pride and walked into the cafe we wanted to film in the most. I went up to cashier, told them why I was here, asked for the manager and... they were in a different cafe...
Feeling I just completed a level of Super Mario Bros I marched onto stage two. I bit my sore lip, swallowed my pride again and walked into the second cafe. I met the manager and I asked the question while I over explained myself, "it is a non-profit student film", "we can wait until closing hours", "I'm Richard by the way...".
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| Screen Shot from "Reckless" - Music Video |
Do you know what she said next? "Yes, of course".
It was a bit of shock because her answer was so much shorter then my question, I'm pretty sure my next word was "REALLY?". On the day the staff were lovely, super helpful and they even seemed a little bit impressed by our efforts.
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| Screen Shot from "Reckless" - Music Video |
Moral of the Story, the worst they could say is "no" and in the grand scheme of things, that two letter word isn't so scary. Great things can happen if you just have the courage to ask!
The world needs more Doers, there are plenty of By-Standards already.
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| Bringing some of the new folks at Bantar Box up to speed on what we did and could do yet! |
Bantar Box now has a reputation for being a fun thing to do on a Thursday night with the added bonus of having produced something, while at the same time, learning by doing. Even those who don't come love that it exists as an outlet for creative people to do something bigger then one's own self!
In the space of a single academic year in between college, work, life in general, we did Podcasts, Photography, Music Videos ... it all sprouted from one little thought "hay, 'ja' know what would be cool to do".
This year so far, which was just one term, we've done more Video Skits, Podcasts, Photography, Fundraisers, Special Effects Makeup, Planning some of next terms big projects... and we have much greater things in store! So stay tuned!
Bantar Box is now defined as a "Media Production Society" to open up more possibilities!
With plenty of returning folks and fresh new faces on board there is no telling what we'll have achieved by the end of the year, but its going to be great!
Personally, the whole process so far has been very rewarding! It is something that I can take pride in and it gives me the ability to say to myself that I did a good job. And yes, some days its easier to say that then most but its helped me see what I am capable of, its character building, and that makes it all worth it.
We shall 'shlaters',
Richard.