A video filled with personal accounts and flairs of creativity is the potential product of the You Plus TCU video contest.

The video “Life in a Day,” produced by Ridley Scott, inspired the Department of University Advancement to create the contest. The department sought a way to represent people impacted by the Campaign for TCU, senior director of advancement communication Dee Dodson, said.

The Campaign for TCU will end in May, Dodson said. A final video, including footage from the video contest, will celebrate its closing.

Red Productions, a media production company started by a university graduate, is running and judging the video contest, Dodson said.

The contest poses five questions for people to answer, including questions about their experiences on campus and descriptions of the university. Some of the prizes include the use of a luxury box for a home football game next season, a Canon T3 camera and a pair of Nocona TCU boots.

Erin Ostenson, account director for Red Productions and a TCU graduate, said students do not have to be filmmakers to be involved. Students could even shoot the video on their iPhones, she said.

Ostenson said submissions should be creative and unexpected. They wanted everyone to be involved and not feel intimidated by the task.

Ostenson said connecting the videos together would be a challenge because Red Productions had never done anything similar before. However, she said the company wanted the video to be texturally different and representative of real life.

“We shoot a lot of footage; we take those pieces and weave them together to tell a really cool story,” Ostenson said.

The five questions will be a consistent factor throughout the videos, she said.

Dodson said the contest gives people a chance to consider why TCU is special to them.

Sam Ryan, a senior film-television-digital media major, said he interned for Red Productions a year ago and enjoyed working in the professional environment it provided. Finding out that Red Productions was involved from the You Plus TCU contest promo video caught his eye, he said.

Ryan said the luxury football box is an enticing prize, but that he had not thought about submitting a video.

If he did create a video, Ryan said he would either use dramatic, meaningful narration with beauty shots of the campus or work with friends to create a more humorous piece.
Roxy Eguia, a sophomore film-television-digital media major, said she would create something for the contest because she loved creating film projects.

Dodson said she was excited to see a unique video that was representative of the university’s student body.

Your You Plus TCU video should answer these five questions:
1. What about TCU makes you the most proud?
2. What photo or item best represents your experience at TCU?
3. My time at TCU has helped me ____________.
4. In a single word, describe TCU.
5. The most impactful change I’ve seen on campus is __________.

Prizes:
First Prize: Grand TCU Luxury Box
Second Prize: Canon T3 Camera
Third Prize: Grab Bag/TCU Boots

Deadline for submissions: March 30.