Reel8 Productions creates social media videos featuring content that speaks to the interests, lifestyles and commonalities of Northwestern students, according to Co-Founder and Executive Director of reel8 and Medill senior Judy Zeng.<\/span><\/p>\n Inspired by channels like Jubilee and Cut, the founding members of the unscripted video production club wanted to create similar videos with a \u201ccampus spin.\u201d The co-founders met while working in North by Northwestern\u2019s Multimedia section and created a video called, \u201cCan these Marriage Pact matches fall in love?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n After producing the video together, they were inspired to make user-generated content on YouTube, leading to the creation of reel8.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Cut and Jubilee sometimes can feel very spectacle-oriented because they want to try to get viral\u00a0\u2014 because at the end of the day, they\u2019re profit-generating companies,\u201d said Communication senior Jessie Chen, co-founder and executive producer of reel8. \u201cBut with reel8, one of the things that differentiates it from that is we\u2019re more community-oriented and focused on highlighting the Northwestern community.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Each quarter, reel8 creates two videos based on pitches from members of the club that are then whittled down through a vote, Chen said. Currently, they have videos on a myriad of topics, from setting NU students up on blind dates to their \u201clineup series,\u201d where students guess facts about others, such as their home state.<\/span><\/p>\n This quarter, the club worked on two videos: \u201c3 Dancers, 1 Song\u201d and \u201cGuess the major by their backpack.\u201d The first video brought three student dancers from different campus dance groups to take on the challenge of choreographing 30 seconds of a song in 25 minutes. The second video is part of the lineup series, where two students guess participants\u2019 majors based on their backpacks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The club\u2019s digital and communications trainee and next quarter\u2019s executive director, Communication junior Iris Chai, said the reel8 community is \u201copen-minded\u201d and aims to stay true to its name, which sounds similar to \u201crelate.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI come up with some whack ideas sometimes, and I\u2019m not afraid to get feedback either,\u201d Chai said. \u201cNo one says no to things immediately. It\u2019s like, \u2018We can try this out and see how it goes.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She added that creating videos for reel8 has made her more curious about how to \u201cunderstand others better\u201d and build relatable content, which she has been experimenting with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For Zeng, who has been leading the club since Fall Quarter, her goals have changed from gaining more followers on social media to making sure the club continues after she graduates.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs long as people, more students, continue to be interested in this and have the training and understanding and passion for reel8 year after year, that\u2019s better than I could have ever hoped for,\u201d she said. \u201cSustainability and survival is so important because the club, at the end of the day, is about developing students, pre-professionally.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With this quarter being her last as executive director, Zeng said she hopes to see students continuing to gain leadership, collaboration and communication skills while \u201cworking on a fun project\u201d to produce content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With the lack of creative spaces on campus and the rising popularity of content creation, reel8 is a place where people are able to explore that interest, Zeng said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn some ways, it reminds me of a startup,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have our Garage\u00a0\u2014 tech spaces, textile spaces on campus \u2014 but we don\u2019t. It\u2019s rare to see spaces outside of tech spaces where things are new and things are emerging. Reel8 is a place to come and experiment and be a part of that team.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Chai said she hopes to continue reel8\u2019s goal to help students learn technical skills of film production, marketing, finances and creating social content, while developing their unique brand identity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a relatively new organization, Zeng and Chai said reel8 is a flexible space where members can shape the club\u2019s culture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor reel8, one of the big things for me is experimenting more and taking more risks of all kinds of content we produce, and trying to find our niche,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want people to mistake us for \u2018the Northwestern Jubilee\u2019 or \u2018Northwestern Cut.\u2019 We want to be reel8 from Northwestern.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Email:<\/b> [email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n X:<\/b> @ina_choe<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Related Stories:<\/b><\/p>\n \u2014 <\/span>ASG allocates over $13,700 in funding to 10 student organizations<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 <\/span>Student vloggers capture their college experience on video<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n