Clemson students rap about energy conservation

Published: February 22, 2011

By Alex Urban

CLEMSON — Clemson University's YouTube channel now features a rap video created by five Clemson students for university housing as part of a project for their English 314 class. The video tells how electricity is brought to Clemson and ways students can conserve energy and help with the sustainability efforts on campus.

The video, created by students Amy Burka, Cameron Duncan, Tyler La Cross, Jake Martin and Taylor Newton, is titled "You're Invisible to Me" and was produced for a technical writing class taught by Mike Pulley. Gary Gaulin, associate director of sustainability for university housing, was their client-based customer for the project.

"We used the video as a promotional kickoff for a new living-learning community called LIEF (Leading and Innovating for our Environment and our Future) that will support students taking leadership in environmental innovation," Gaulin said.

In the video, Duncan raps about the origin of energy and the importance of turning off light switches and contributing to the sustainability effort on campus.

"What is unique about this video is it conveys a message to conserve energy and is done in such a way that students will not only catch that message, but will want to view it again and again," Gaulin said.

While the idea for the video first seemed out of reach and even a joke to the group members, La Cross said they realized they needed to create something unlike what anyone else in the class.

"The video is a testament to what students can accomplish when they work together and set high goals," Pulley said. "The work also demonstrates the power of service-learning. A team of students can become highly engaged and motivated to produce professional-quality communications when they are given a real-world client and a problem-solving situation."

Amy Burka joins Duncan in the video to sing the chorus and Jake Martin is the student in the video being taught about sustainability and electricity.

Duncan wrote the creative lyrics and the beat was created by his brother, a senior at Lugoff-Elgin High School.

"As for writing the lyrics, that was my favorite part," Duncan said. "I do a good bit of songwriting for Clemson's comedy improv troupe Mock Turtle Soup, so writing lyrics wasn't that new."

"We probably spent 11 hours on-location shooting footage," said La Cross, the director of the video.

To make the video as professional as possible, the students used the Multimedia Authoring Teaching and Research Facility (MATRF) in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities and was able to use an expensive camera that Pulley checked out because it's not available to undergraduates.

"I didn't want to use the cheaper camera, when the professional camera was sitting idle in the MATRF equipment cabinet," La Cross said. "We definitely owe the high production value of our video to him."

Duncan said La Cross' direction was vital to the project and he use many special filming techniques, such as the use of a green screen, adjusting frame rates to achieve smooth slow motion and a dolly rigged to a skateboard for smooth moving shots.

"The students' video placed them right in the middle of an important workplace development," Pulley said. "This is the world these students are going to work in, and I think this experience will give them a leg up on those around them."

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