I filmed this to demonstrate what is possible even using the most basic of audio-visual technology – in this case the camera in my phone! The picture quality and sound are not going to win an award at Cannes, but the film still shows an interesting part of student life.

When we launch on November 19th, you will be able to upload your own videos about student life– whether you’re using the most expensive broadcast-quality equipment, or just your mobile phone. Your inventiveness and imagination have no limits, so share them with us!

Soul Of Athens, created by over 50 students and faculty at the Ohio University School of Visual Communication, is a great repository of documentary shorts about Athens County, Ohio. We really love their collaborative approach, and the way in which they use a short format to create an online montage about a place. In addition, their interactive photography pieces, such as “Soles of Athens” demonstrate the informative, evocative power of simple photographs of a single part of human life– in this case shoes.

Soul of Athens features several great short films touching on student life:

• Rolling Thunder is about the annual quad rugby tournament, which is hosted at Ohio University School of Physical Therapy. Quad rugby is played in wheelchairs.
• Palmer Fest.This year’s annual Palmer Fest started peacefully and then turned ugly by nightfall, as some of the student revelers clashed with Athens police.
• Community Soul. From the college-aged youth living in a co-op house in town to the secluded culture of people living in the hollers – people create the divergent and funky soul of this place.
• Freezin’ for a Reason. Annually, members of the Ohio University and Athens communities shiver together to brave the near-freezing conditions of Dow Lake at Strouds Run State Park. Their “plunge” raises money for the Special Olympics of Ohio.
• Anointed Praise. For the 25 Ohio University students who form the choral group Anointed Praise, gospel music provides a connection to God, to the Athens community and to each other.
• Hip Hop Congress. Appalachian Ohio seems an unlikely place to find elements of hip hop. But at Ohio University, the Hip Hop Congress promotes the culture in a way that adds to the richness and diversity of the Athens community.