This video shows students and professors in six different classes, showcasing the Brandeis liberal arts curriculum as well as what campus life looks like during the current worldwide pandemic.
The first sequence of shots shows students inside a lab, students in online classes and students in an outdoors class. Each student is wearing a mask, classrooms have fewer than usual students, and it demonstrates the university's dedication to social distancing during this time.
The screen fades up from black concurrently with a medium tempo music track that begins to build and continues to play throughout the majority of the video.
The first shot slowly zooms out on a student wearing a ‘Brandeis University’ sweatshirt while working in a Brandeis lab.
A montage with the same music continues in the background featuring close up shots of different students in various classes, inside and out, wearing different masks while studying and/or working on their craft.
A close-up shot of a student’s mask while painting outdoors reads: “Today is about me and my hunny …”
Similar shots proceed of students in their own element on campus receiving their education while practicing social distancing.
In the next shot, Neil Swidey and his students discuss storytelling and Journalism in a Brandeis lecture hall. The seats are numbered in order to follow necessary protocols and inform students where it is safe to sit.
Students sit outside sharing notes and conversing (safely) on campus.
Anushka Ghosh ’21 speaks on-camera: “I did not expect Brandeis to show up like this but they did.”
A montage of shots demonstrating campus life during this time continue to ensue.
Noah McNerney ’21 speaks on camera: “It’s really nice and reassuring to tell people that I get tested twice a week.”
Anushka speaks on camera: “It kind of just shows, like, yeah, they do care about their students.
Dip to black acts as a transition to a clip where a professor is teaching in an Arts classroom outdoors outside the Maurice Pollack Fine Arts Teaching Center. It then shifts to students learning on their computers in the Mandel Quad.
Anushka continues to speak on camera: “Like, I don’t think any other university has done what Brandeis did.”
Neil Swidey speaks on camera: “We’re living through an experiment – all of the students, and faculty and staff here.”
Screen cuts to a person working with clay outside of the Fine Arts Building. Screen cuts again to a video outside the Brandeis Admissions Building with a banner with an arrow pointing “COVID-19 Testing” and students walking towards it.
Neil continues: “So, there’s a lot of improvisation going on based on a lot of hard work and planning that went into this so that we can fine tune and try to learn from and improve it – from the previous experiments.”
B-roll footage highlights Lance’s lab work, students working in the art studio, in a lecture hall, and in a hybrid class demonstrate what Brandeis looks like at this time.
Neil speaks off camera: “But what we do know is the essential skills for success in the future are our adaptability and curiosity – continuous innovation in pursuit of improving this world that we live in.”
Campus footage of students enjoying the outdoors is showcased.
Javier: “I think that the approach here is to entice them with a mystery. And then let them pursue it by themselves. I'm just here to strive to place in front of them challenges and let them discover the ways in which they can contend with the challenge. I think that that's the best way to learn.”
Slow Motion shot of lens flare of campus that dips to white.
Producer speaks off-camera: “And anything else you want to add?”
Lance: “I mean, I think Brandeis has done a fantastic job at opening back up. It's done it very responsibly."
B-roll of the community working in and outside of classes interplays with Lance’s commentary.
Lance: "And our community is very much on the same page, for the most part, and that’s unlike many other schools. So, really, I feel like not only from the top down there's been good directives but also from the bottom up. We’ve had a lot of communities that have come together and really worked towards this communal effort. And that’s not only unique to the pandemic that’s just kind of unique to what Brandeis is."
A wide shot of a student continues towards her next goal on campus.
End credits:
The screen dips to white. With a white background a message appears in the Brandeis blue font color reading: “A special thanks to the faculty and students who participated in this video.”
The video ends with a series of cameos that includes their titles and/or subjects of study.
The on-screen text reads:
Anushka Ghosh ’21
Major: Biology
Minors: Chemistry, Studio Art
Anushka speaks on camera while looking at her classmate (off-camera): “To get such robust testing for us and, like, to make sure that we can actually attend campus and feel safe.”
The screen cuts to an over the shoulder shot of Noah painting in his studio while listening to music on his headphones.
The on-screen text reads:
Noah McNerney ’21
Major: Studio Art
Noah speaks on camera in a wide shot featuring his studio in artwork behind him: “I had some origami pieces that I put in – that I made in person. Yeah. And it’s also, like, one of my first few times messing with abstraction, so ...”
The screen cuts to a sped up shot of one student organizing his art materials before painting on campus.
The on-screen text reads:
Neil Swidey
Professor of the Practice and Director of the Journalism Program
Neil speaks on camera: “But what we’re finding is that we don’t need to take shortcuts. The world is fascinating and complicating and interesting.”
The screen cuts to a student on the Brandeis campus walking past the Admission’s building outfitted in mask and backpack.
The on-screen text reads:
Javier Urcid
Professor, Anthropology Department
Jane’s Chair Professor of Latin American Studies
Javier speaks on-camera: “I’ve tried different kinds of masks. Uh, maybe I need one that has like a mohawk (laughter). Keeping itself right along the midline.”
The screen cuts to an out of focus shot of Lance working in the lab.
Lance begins to speak off camera.
The on-screen text reads:
Lance Babcock ’21
Majors: Biochemistry, Neuroscience
Minors: Chemistry, Psychology
Lance: “My mom and grandma came to Brandeis so that’s how I figured out about it in the first place. Then I just learned more about, like, its values and how those kind of matched up with my values. And then, I got pretty good financial aid. There’s a lot of opportunities at Brandeis. It just seemed like the overall best kind of fit.”
The screen cuts to a fast motion scene of a student organizing their painting supplies during Susan Lichtman’s Fine Arts class.
Susan Lichtman appears in her cameo. She is demonstrating paint brush strokes to her students.
The on-screen text reads:
Susan Lichtman
Professor of Fine Arts
The screen cuts to a shot of a group of students skipping down a campus path and having a go at it.
One student walks towards the camera on campus towards her next class. The lower right of the screen reads: “Produced by Tarah Llewellyn.”
The screen dips to white. The on-screen text reads: “Let us continue to the well-being of our community with deliberation, creativity and agility.”
The text fades and The Brandeis logo appears. The screen fades as well as the music bringing the video to an end.