Who Is the Real World Student?

The ‘Now You Know’ team: Isabelle Jones, Celia Hubard, Cody Brotter, David Valbuena and Chandler Lynn.

… And how does a COM student get to be a Real World student?

Students have to apply for acceptance into Real World Productions (FT505). To do that, undergraduates must have a 3.0 GPA and graduate students, a 3.2 GPA.

Second, students must have taken Production 1 (FT353 or FT707).

Real World students must be dedicated and really good at teamwork. Since Real World clients are usually organizations that cannot afford a polished video by a professional video production company, this is the next best thing. Usually clients are thrilled with the final product so it works for everyone.

Third, Real World Productions is a class that operates as a student run, client-driven production company. As such, we work with clients in the community on projects such as PSA’s, fundraising videos and mini-documentaries.

“As an alum of BU and Hothouse, it was such a pleasure to work with the students. I was blown away by their professionalism, their talent, and their dedication to the projects. They produced high-quality, creative work and managed to do it under a challenging deadline. I was so pleased and so impressed by the final product.”Nicole Savini, Advisor to “FTD: Love is Out There”, BU Alum, and Co-Executive Producer, Paramount+ “Tooning Out the News”

Briefly, here’s how Real World works for the student and the client.

  1. Client and students meet to discuss the direction, needs and issues of the project.
  2. Client pays a $500 equipment fee for the production. If additional project-specific funds are needed, students create a budget which the client must approve before providing monies.
  3. Student roles are assigned – producer, shooter, editor, etc.
  4. At every step of the production process, the client and students communicate about the project. Remember, the client pays for this production.
HH Jump
“I was extremely pleased with the results, which were above and beyond my expectations. What I especially liked was the students’ enthusiasm for the projects and the efficiency that they worked with in getting things done, especially in getting so many quality shots in such a short time frame. Hollywood could take some pointers from them!”Frank Hsieh, Director, Beantown Swing Orchestra

Clients do not pay for the hours the students put in as shooters, editors, writers, and producers. However, there may be expenses such as travel, location fees, meals and actors, as well as other items the client may request. Those will all be factored into the budget which the client, upon approval, must fund. If you have questions, please write to Professor Sitomer at ssitomer@bu.edu