• Alan Wong

    Executive Producer

    Alan Wong oversees a team of video producers who create video content for BU's online editorial publications and social media channels. He has produced more than 300 videos for Boston University, shuffling through a number of countries in the process: Australia, Argentina, Peru, Ireland, China, and Cambodia. He has also bored audiences in Atlanta and Boston giving talks on video for higher ed. Profile

Comments & Discussion

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There are 54 comments on The New LipDub: Better Than the Old LipDub?

  1. Too planned. Poor song choice. Can this even be considered a LipDub? There wasn’t a continous line of people singing, just there to look rediculous. This is more of a, “Let’s show off the brand-new BU facilities!”
    The video about shooting the LipDub was much better and entertaining! What a dissapointment.

  2. This is a prestigious school renowned for it’s academic excellence and dedication to pursuing the answers to the mysteries of humanity that have boggled our minds for millennia. Why, then, WHY does it begin with one of the most mindlessly profane and irresponsible excuses for music possibly EVER produced by a similarly pathetic excuse for a respectable human being?

    I’ll brush my teeth with a toothbrush, thank you very much. And I’ll be doing it after throwing up from hearing some of the music in this video.

    By the way, I’m a student. Not some high and mighty professor. Gaga works, she’s about fun. Kesha is a pedestal for immorality.

  3. This was probably academically successful – because it felt like a reasonably lame commercial with none of the spark of the previous lipdub.

    I don’t plan to share this on facebook and I wouldn’t highlight this on my film student resume – but I’m not a student, just a middle-aged IT geek who is amazed someone was able to make so many BU students appear plastic and bored.

  4. Old one was better. I dislike the choice of Kesha too. Using her song (and especially the props) is not following the idea of pursuing excellence. The five seconds of “I’m shipping up to Boston” is also greatly disappointing.

  5. I am disappointed overall, especially by the song choice, the representation of “partying” by BU students… and the administration’s apparent stamp of approval on all this irresponsible behavior in a residence hall? What is up with that? Overall, the first one was more enjoyable to watch and I think it represented BU students much better.

  6. I would like to commend the students who worked hard to put this video together.

    However I did have high hopes for this video and unfortunately, it was not as good as the Michael Jackson lip dub done last year.

    The faces are so fuzzy I don’t get to see the students themselves, which is what makes a lip dub so good… facial expressions and acting!

    I didn’t like all the beer and jack daniels references.

    Also the shoot went too fast to appreciate all the little details that went into the filming. At one point leading up to the final pool scene pool jump, the camera actually gets knocked!

    What happened to the pirates you were casting? And the kesha/lady gaga impersonators could have been better. The one person who was great was the lady gaga in red dancing by the pool in the final pool scene.

    to sum it up:*sigh.

  7. I think one of the reasons the previous LipDub was so amazing was because of its insane coordination of close-ups from student-to-student. You saw faces every couple feet, they each had a couple lines, it was so much more evenly spaced out. It felt like so many more people were involved, and that it was really representing BU.

    This one was kind of disappointing because there were only a few people lip syncing whole verses…with groups jumping around in the background. I also think Kesha’s song was in bad taste. You can’t compare that to Michael Jackson. They should have had more Dropkick Murphy’s as well. And I think they tried to cover too much ground location-wise.

    These people worked so hard on this though, and I’m sure coordination with all the facilities took ages. So props to them for their dedication. Maybe just for next time..pick more tasteful songs, and focus on having more consistent close-ups the ENTIRE time…with much more people singing the songs. That’s why the idea is so awesome.

  8. This is terrible. I’m a BU student, and this doesn’t show the BU I know. Sure, I know BU students like to have a good time, but that’s not what the school is about. The songs were awful – I don’t mind Lady Gaga, but Ke$sha? Come on. The video essentially pushed that all anyone at BU does is get wasted and dance. I’m surprised the Administration was so gung-ho about this. I’m sure intentions were pure, but man, the camera went way too fast, and everything was blurry. You couldn’t even tell if people were singing. This felt like a poorly made commercial for StuVi2 and Fitrec.

    BU should be much prouder to show off the Michael Jackson lipdub – it was much more enthusiastic, well done, and ultimately, more BU.

  9. It’s a shame, they promote out this took an entire semester to plan but it’s just not that good. I was in it and when I got there the staff was all over the place and very disorganized. And WHY wasn’t there more Shipping Up to Boston? The last lipdub was great because it felt as if we were all there for the love of our school. This one feels like we’re trying to hard to look cool and get views. Too bad…so much potential.

  10. I was expecting more from this second LipDub. This was most definitely a downgrade. First of all, this was shot on a Friday morning. Why not on the weekend? More students would’ve definitely joined in! Secondly, it wasn’t a smooth transition like in the GSU; a steady cam was even used this time, so I was hoping for something more!

    I also heard the students who created this didn’t even know what they were doing! Apparently many of them were just as lost as the participants when they were asked where to go or what to do!

    I was sad that not much of Shipping Up to Boston was used either! =[

    Third time’s a charm?!

  11. Like most of the comments below, the new one was very disappointing in its editing, song choices, lip syncing coordinations and portrayal of BU kids. It made it seem like all we do is party and get drunk to chill out from finals and papers. I know it was meant to be fun but it came off wrong, plus the “singing” didn’t match up at times, was fuzzy and I didn’t get why rhett couldn’t just go in the back way to agganis to make it faster instead of the speed walk down agganis way which was also silly. The Lady Gaga girls did a good job, and some of the choreographed dancing but as far as lipdub, the MJ one was a million times better. I know everyone worked very hard on this though so props to them but it shouldn’t be proclaimed as the best or heavily promoted as much.

    Next lipdub should try and get some popular proffesors involved or hit a classroom for fun, maybe a dining hall. FIt rec and Agg could have been much better utilized instead of mindless lumps of people with blurry faces pretending to lip sync with kooky costumes.

  12. I know alot of work must have gone into this, and I really appreciate that you were trying to show more of BU and pick “Top charting” songs, but I think by trying to please more people the end product was just a failed attempt. The song should’ve been a more classic song so that when BU terriers watch this years from now they won’t think “Who’s Ke$ha?!?”. Also the mash-up of song just didn’t work out they way I think it was supposed to. Also the fact that there were alot of parts where no one was singing took ALOT away from the fact that it was supposed to be a lipdub. I think the work you guys put into promoting it and choreographing parts was great, but the overall product was distastefully representing BU. I liked the original lipdub better!

  13. I think that the production looked excellent. They weren’t exactly filming an episode of Lost, but those long walking shots take a ton of coordination to pull off, even if they did some editing (did they?). I’m not a prude, but did they really have to make BU look like such a party school? I think that even an SEC school would shy away from an image of a student dancing around with an empty bottle of Jack.

  14. You can easily tell that this new lipdub is just a marketing ploy to get prospective students excited about BU. The original was much more sincere and actually showed a bunch of kids having a good time.
    The intro was way too long and corny. The scenes with Dean Elmore and Rhett were just painful to watch.
    The song choice was terrible. I would not want BU to be associated with Kesha or Lady Gaga.
    If I were an incoming freshmen and saw this video, it would deter me from ever coming to BU.

  15. You can easily tell that this new lipdub is just a marketing ploy to get prospective students excited about BU. The original was much more sincere and actually showed a bunch of kids having a good time.
    The intro was way too long and corny. The scenes with Dean Elmore and Rhett were just painful to watch.
    The song choice was terrible. I would not want BU to be associated with Kesha or Lady Gaga.
    If I were an incoming freshmen and saw this video, it would deter me from ever coming to BU.

  16. I know alot of work must have gone into this, and I really appreciate that you were trying to show more of BU and pick “Top charting” songs, but I think by trying to please more people the end product was just a failed attempt. The song should’ve been a more classic song so that when BU terriers watch this years from now they won’t think “Who’s Ke$ha?!?”. Also the mash-up of song just didn’t work out they way I think it was supposed to. Also the fact that there were alot of parts where no one was singing took ALOT away from the fact that it was supposed to be a lipdub. I think the work you guys put into promoting it and choreographing parts was great, but the overall product was distastefully representing BU. I liked the original lipdub better!

  17. Oh, that’s right… college is about getting girls drunk. I forgot.

    I chose Boston University because I thought it had class. If I wanted Lady Gaga I could have stayed in my home town. Booooooo.

  18. I am also disappointed by this new LipDub after everyone made such a big deal out of it. I admire all the people that put a lot of efforts into it, but this is not a LipDub. More people should have been singing instead of having only 4 people covering the whole songs. This is just too staged and missing in spontaneity. Only kuddos is for the steady cam, but it’s still surprisingly blurry.

    First one definitely sticks better with the spirit of what a Lipdub is supposed to be and also really shows the school’s spirit.

    Also gotta to agree with everyone that the choice in songs was not so great and the image reflecting from this is not the best.

  19. Seriously guys. Calm down. It’s not that bad. It’s fun, diverse and interesting. This lip dub brought together whole bunch of different groups: Greek, sport teams, cultural groups and much more. We don’t do enough as a community on this campus and this was a great example of a community event. I’m sorry Programming Council felt left out of this one, but you guys had your chance and it was great, but stop pretending your the only group on campus who has a say in our entertainment. Most students don’t even know what you do.

  20. sooo Dean Elmore thinks the best way to end depression from the weather and the finals is to DRINK?? Grab your whiskey, play some beer pong, and once you’re good and drunk, go swimming! Great…

  21. Not even close…last year over this year hands down. Last year seemed fun and you could take it for what it is worth…college kids spoofing school while representing BU (loved the BC wrong and BU right part). This years seemed to be trying to be something it shouldn’t be…a dime a dozen college where drinking , partying and pop culture rules the day. I wouldn’t look back or be excited to show anyone this years.

  22. I hope this communications professor uses this video as a teachable moment – specifically that good marketing involves more than a clever gimmick. The content has to be there too, otherwise nobody will care – or worse, it will have an adverse effect on the audience!

  23. It seems as though the class did a great job with handling all of the background work, but the final product? Trashy much? In my opinion, this is not something I want to see on BUtoday.

  24. I think Jo O’Connor should be removed from COM and BU. Every production/public event I have seen her do, especially speaking to RAs during our August training, is embarrassing and unprofessional. Whiskey and beer pong does not define Boston University. Its a shame if this is the only impression incoming freshman receiving.

  25. Just dance? Just stop.

    No seriously please stop.

    The reason this failed is pretty much the music choice, this would have been much better if you had gone with Shipping Up to Boston. I mean come on, what were you thinking? What could possibly represent this school more than the song that’s played at every sporting event? Who made the decision to go with Lady Gaga? Glad to know that you think drunken partying represents this school more than our hard-working sports teams and their dedicated fans.

  26. I’m sorry, has anyone on here seen a lipdub? The partying scenes aren’t meant to define the university, just be a fun aspect of the video – and they’ve been in nearly every single video except the last BU one. Calm down!

    Great work guys, I know you had a lot of obstacles in getting this out and your hard work shows.

    It’d be nice if the BU community did more than just complain about every single aspect of their own university.

  27. Wow. It’s impressive how many people are upset by this new video. And rightfully so. Obviously Mozart or Even Andrea Bocelli would have been much better song choices that would have shown the depth and intellect that this fine institution is known for! How dare you children have fun with a creative assignment! Shame! Drinking? Partying? Unimaginable. These comments are clearly either from Programming Council or from the group that made the first lipdub. Get over it people. It was a fun video. Are you really going to chastise a bunch of students who worked so hard to plan and organize this event? They went with two popular and fun songs. It wasn’t meant to be a representation of the University as a whole. It was meant to be a fun assignment. Control your misguided anger. Yes, the song choices were not ideal. The Jackson 5 was a very safe bet and worked well. But if you are really offended by the content of the new lipdub, you need to get out more or buy a TV. Great effort by the students.

  28. I think the partying scenes are a bit concerning not because they depict young people partying but because they depict young people passed out in a completely trashed StuVi 2. If you juxtapose this with BU’s policies in the lifebook, you have two very different images.

    If I were an incoming student, I would definitely have very conflicting thoughts about how BU handles binge drinking behavior after seeing this video and reading university policy.

  29. As a parent of a potential BU student, I would choose another college/university if I solely went by this video. It depicted the school as a potential safety/health hazard, unmanaged students, and unprofessional staff and faculty. I would not put my kids in this “educational environment” if I ever expected them to achieve anything. I’m shocked that this was approved for public consumption by the Dean, let alone him being a part of it. My opinion of BU and the COM were quite high until I saw this. Now I’m hoping that these students fail this part of their course, and the faculty teaching it gets their pink slip.

  30. Mr./Mrs. “As a Parent”

    Please don’t send your child here because clearly your view of society within the 21st century is still bound by close-mindedness and literal,conservative interpretation.. If you’ve seen the Lip-Dub, you’d obviously be able to see that our amazing Dean was trying to appeal to his students. Again, if you had known anything about most colleges these days, you would understand that the average college student sympathizes with partying, and heaven forbid having fun and letting loose. Oh, and as far as those professors who gave their students the ability to participate in a multifaceted project with many different applications within the School of Communications..they should totally get pink slips for allowing their students to be open-minded and try something new and inventive. Maybe instead of sitting in front of blogs all day online, you should try experiencing the world from somewhere other than in front of a computer screen. Get a life…

  31. It’s quite obvious that you are a current BC or NU student because you guys always come onto our pages pretending to be more important than you are. Keep the rivalry on the ice…where we will continue to crush you all the time. kthanks. <3

  32. “Keep the rivalry on the ice…where we will continue to crush you all the time.”

    Hmm. I can’t blame you for deliberately blocking the first few months of 2010 from your memory, but you might want to see a doctor about that.

  33. Now you are dismissing us by saying we are from the Programing Council, rival colleges, or closed-minded stuck ups. Attack the argument, not the person.

    How about some well-reasoned arguments defending the video? The only decent point I can nod is intention of fun. I can also understand (for those to worked on this) you guys worked hard on this project. I can also understand that many people do relax by partying a little and having a good number of drinks. Telling us to “get a life” is not how you’ll modify what I am thinking about this video nor anyone else.

    However, also take note that drinking and partying itself is not the problem, but alot of things are associated with it. Like reckless vandalism, lack of self-awareness, and tendency to do nothing but party (never anything productive or beneficial to the self or anyone else).

    Think of that vapid, drunk girl with a spoiled and unlikable personality. That’s the image partying is associated with. Many students here, are more than that. That video creates a picture that is who we are.

    Take note that those on this side have not dismissed you by just saying you guys are the guys from the video and offended by our comments.

    Once again, the problem I find with the video is all it represent is a single aspect. The first one shows many more different types of people and cultures. This one just presents one with many negative connotations.

    @Student who said “I’m sorry, has anyone on here seen a lipdub?” Google lipdub and look up the Wikipedia page for it. In the bottom is a bunch of links of the biggest videos. Tell me how many of them have drinking and partying as the focus. Most have school spirit and the school’s culture as the focus. BTW, this also means that this video is presenting our school culture as only partying.

  34. I am shocked by the way that a prospective parent was treated on this forum. Shame on all of you for admonishing someone for considering all points of view representative of our university community…..

  35. It’s pretty clear that there are some people who believe that all the negativity is coming from people/groups who are “jealous” or “closeminded.” Unfortunately that is not the case. It’s not so much the drinking that bothers me but the lack of soul that the second lipdub has. The first, although it was rough, had spirit and a vitality that the second couldn’t match. On top of this is the shaky camerawork (they had a steadycam but really, could anyone tell?) and the execution (not a great choice to have chosen only a few to sing).

    Those who are bashing people at the university need to calm down, on both sides. This is not the end of the world. Yes, maybe it reflects badly upon BU but people will move on. And you guys who are on a witch hunt for those who have negative things to say about the lipdub, maybe you need to realize that the video is not a success with the intended audience. No one is out to get you, we just don’t enjoy the video.

  36. Compare the cinematography and production of the BU Today commercial and the same in the actual LipDub; it is a perfect parallel for what has happened on here.

    A concept that is supposed to be zero budget and student run (the LipDub, which has a long, international tradition) was hijacked by interfering administrative propaganda (no creative tradition).

    OG LipDub 1 Foolish facade 0

  37. I guess watching people dancing in their underwear and having fun for six minutes can be fun – but how about telling a story. BU has great writing programs – playwriting even – wrap those studnets into the next effort and make the whole thing a little less silly and a little more meaningful. Then you’ll have something.

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