To promote upcoming activities and events, the Student Union is creating a new form of promotion that aims to appeal to students using YouTube.
Under the direction of Ellen John, assistant director for the Union’s Marketing Department, digital art sophomores Hunter Esmon and Andy Thompson created “Union Time,” an Internet series that informs students of Union activities and events like Free Art Fridays and the University’s Juried Student Art Show.
Esmon and Thompson ask students three questions partially related to the event they want to promote.
One promoted production, rock opera “Vox Lumiere – The Phantom of the Opera,” will premiere March 3 in the Union Theater.
“Vox Lumiere” is a mix of silent theater and a live rock concert.
Derek Bonvillain, graphic design junior, was interviewed Monday for “Union Time” and said the videos are a neat way to interact with students.
“I didn’t even know about [‘Vox Lumiere’],” Bonvillain said. “I would go; it sounds cool.”
For their upcoming video, which will be released Thursday, Esmon and Thompson asked students what kind of masked superhero they want to be, as well as the craziest thing they have ever done for love.
Typically, the Union will advertise activities through AxisTV screen advertisements, posters and bulletin boards. “Union Time” is a new concept and only a few videos have been released.
“We want students to know what we have going on in a fun way,” John said. “I wanted to do videos, and we came together in a collaborative effort.”
John said the videos have been effective, but the show needs time to grow and become more popular with the student body.
Esmon and Thompson have been best friends since they met at freshman orientation. Now, the duo have been able to expand their digital media skills into a marketing job at the Union.
“Union Time” is produced every two weeks, after Esmon and Thompson have spent the weekend brainstorming their next idea. With Adobe software, they devote 10 hours to creating each episode, which includes shooting and editing in postproduction.
“One of our videos was about the Compact Art Show,” Esmon said. “We usually have eight or 10 questions that we come up with, and we pick the best three.”
Originally, the show was going to be called “Hunter and Andy’s Excellent Union Adventure Time Show.” Some ideas were to show parkour, a form of freerunning, in the Union and have the interviewee use a stun gun on Esmon.
Because “Union Time” is a new idea and few videos have been made, Esmon and Thompson have been working on informing students about the videos. John said there will be a link on the Union website where students can view the videos, but it has not been set up yet. For now, videos are available on YouTube and the Union’s Facebook page, LSU Student Union.
“We’re still trying to promote it,” Esmon said. “We’re going to make T-shirts and posters.”
Esmon said he enjoys hearing students are being recognized from the videos. Thompson agreed and said he likes meeting new people through the videos.
“The most interesting thing is observing people who are interested in answering the questions,” Thompson said. “If people see that [‘Union Time’] is legitimate, people will like it.”
 
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Contact Raylea Barrow at [email protected]