Southwestern University is home to one of the most beautiful campuses in Texas– in our humble opinion, of course. Besides being an educational space for students and staff, our campus has also evolved into a dynamic stage for storytelling. Southwestern is only one of the many academic institutions that allows commercial photography and filming on campus. As such, our humble home away from home has hosted TV commercials, feature films, still photography, and even the HBO original Temple Grandin. All these projects have to be approved by Sally Cameron’s office, the Office of Conference Events & Sales, before they can grace our grounds.
The most recent project was a television commercial for Honda, featuring the Cullen parking lot by the Southwestern arch, and various portions of the academic mall. During the shoot, the school experienced various closures in respective locations such as the Southwestern arch and academic mall. These closures were announced two days in advance, giving students, faculty, and staff time to prepare. These disruptions are usually brief, and they’re worth it when you realize that they’re part of something that extends the beauty and charm of Southwestern to the wider world. This is largely thanks to Southwestern’s own office of Conference Events & Sales, who ensures everything runs smoothly – both for the shoot and Southwestern students.
The Megaphone had the opportunity to speak with Sally Cameron, Assistant Vice President of Conference and Event Sales. For all the long title, her job is one of “many hats” she wears, the most prominent of them being inviting events and commercials on campus as a form of auxiliary revenue. Auxiliary revenue can be defined as any money gained from goods or services other than the company’s primary offering. In our case, that translates to charging fees to those who wish to film or have events on campus, adding to revenue made from student tuition. In the case of any project, from weddings to summer camps to commercials like Honda’s, the view of the Conference Events & Sales team is simple – students come first. According to Cameron, she has to wait until campus-based groups like clubs and sororities make claims on certain areas before booking any events. The intention behind this is to keep student life running as smoothly as possible. In the case of the Honda commercial, it is a marked outlier in the usual proceedings. While many events are able to be arranged on weekends, commercials work on a much shorter timeline, therefore causing the closure of certain areas students saw earlier this semester.
While filming may be a small impediment to some student life activities, it is apparent that Southwestern staff take every opportunity to make the filming process painless for all those involved. Although some students and staff may feel inconvenienced by the closures and disruption, filming like this presents a unique opportunity to encourage creativity, support business, and share the campus we get to enjoy each day. After all, how often do you get to say, “Hey, that’s my school!” while watching a commercial on TV?
If you are interested in getting involved or helping with Conference Events & Sales, they are always open to student worker PAs and possibly even some extras!