#32 - Telling BIGGER Stories - How One College Went All In On Their Iconic Coach w/ Jen Porter of Rochester University

Higher Ed Storytelling University

My guest today is Jen Porter, Director of Alumni Relations at Rochester University in Michigan. We discuss the full-length documentary film they produced about Garth Pleasant, their former basketball coach

About the Film:

• Garth Pleasant coached basketball at RU for over 40 years and is the winningest college basketball coach in Michigan
• The film is called "Coach, Make the Big Time Where You're At" and explores Garth's story and impact on RU and the community
• It's 36 minutes long and was funded by a donor who wanted to showcase Garth's legacy
• Includes interviews with Garth, Oakland University coach Greg Kampe, Milwaukee Bucks alum John Horst who played for Garth, and more

Key Topics In This Episode:

• Garth's humble roots and how he built an incredible program with few resources ([00:02:00])
• World premiere event at a movie theater and other screening events ([00:12:00])
• Behind the scenes of production - coordinating interviews, filming, post-production ([00:27:00])
• Measuring return on investment from an emotional storytelling project like this ([00:37:00])
• Building a pipeline for finding and telling stories at your institution ([00:41:00])
• The value of investing in b-roll footage for future video projects ([00:44:00])

Links:

Connect with Jen: [e-mail]
Watch the trailer for COACH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wwSxKMTa20
Check back in winter 2023 to view the full film: https://rochesteru.edu/coach/

Connect with John on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnazoni/

Learn about UNVEILD’s work: https://unveild.tv

Download:

Video Subscription Pricing Guide: http://pricing.unveild.tv

3-part storytelling framework: http://unveild.tv/studenttestimonials