Carly Port

At a school where Greek life is so dominant, how intriguing would it be to explore deep beneath the surface of what it means to be a sorority sister. Now, imagine what it’s like to capture the moment of a girl accepting her bid – to some the highlight of their semester – and celebrating with all of her new sisters in an outrageous display of jubilation, clad with chanting, screaming, dancing, crying, hugging, singing – you name it, it’s going down. To make this experience that much better, the sorority in mention, Alpha Chi Omega, is making its debut appearance as a sorority on Syracuse University’s campus after over a decade of banishment. All female members of Greek Life have been invited (well over 3,000 women) to take part in welcoming the sorority back on campus. This will be a celebration for the books, and a display of raw human emotion unparalleled.

My opening scene will place the camera at an average human height, between 5’4 and 5’10. The bid day celebration will occur in a large, open space, Walnut Park. There will be humans both close and far from the camera, a huge flock of excited young women covering the area. There will be a good deal of movement by the subjects, but very little movement of the camera. There will be movement both close and far away from the camera.

The lighting will rely solely on daylight as it is an outdoor setting. The event will take place in later afternoon, hopefully being captured before the sun goes down.

I plan to lace the natural audio with a lulled musical number that captures the mood of the scene. The audio recorded by Tascams should be pretty incredible – girls cheering, singing, screaming and laughing.

I want viewers to experience the jubilance of the bid day celebration. These girls are beginning their journey in the Greek community, and the feeling is one of the most natural highs one may experience. Greek life is misunderstood in many communities and among many students here at SU, so I believe this experience will shed more of an accurate light on what this group stands for. I think it will elicit a happy feeling for someone else participating in this experience, in this particular place and time. Had someone felt rejected from the community, or had a negative experience with Greek life, this may bring up past unpleasant memories. However, this particular event tells a specific and unique story, one unencumbered by the Greek fraternities and sororities already established on campus.

The subject of the story is the women that have just received their bids and are entering this massive celebration in their honor, rejoicing in the fact that they are beginning their stories within this organization. They are collegiate women – freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. They are excited, slightly anxious, overwhelmingly smiley and PUMPED. The shots will progress as the celebration progresses, opening up from just the new members to the founders, and then all of the Greek Life sorority members that have come from various organizations to celebrate this evening. I want to capture raw emotion, specifically in audio, exemplifying the crying of joy and happy screams, to keep the viewer’s focus on the new members. I think it’s important that people see what Alpha Chi Omega’s vision will be, and experience what they hope to give to a handful of expectant young women. As a new organization, it’s important to get your message across about what you stand for, and I think it is important for others to experience this event so they can understand it in their own right. This experience will allow the recipients to understand what it means to find where you belong, and find your home away from home. The sorority was disbanded from Syracuse’s campus years and years ago, so it will be moving and emotionally jerking to experience what it feels like to be back, and to arrive with a huge explosion of a celebration.

I want to put someone right in the middle of Walnut Park, so they can experience what it’s like to be a part of the celebration rather than a bystander. The experiencer is standing, participating in all of the commotion. They are smack in the middle, they will experience what it feels like to be a newly welcomed member. I will position the rig in the center of Walnut Park, secured via the tripod. There is no reason for me to be in the scene, the scene will play out for itself and the experience will be best presented if put into effect by the authentic participants. However, as a member of a sorority myself, if I am to appear in the images it would not seem out of place, as members of my organization will be in attendance and celebrating as well.

I will position the rig close to a tree and position myself by the tree so as not to disturb the shot, yet not endanger the equipment. I will not be hiding, I will have my eye on the equipment at all times. I plan to get permission from the founder of the sorority so that all people involved understand what my purpose is in filming the celebration and I will not frighten any participants.