With wild dance moves and dynamic school pride, students will put their best lip-synching skills forward to capture the spirit of the Ithaca College community — in less than four minutes.
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This Sunday, students will come together for IC Lip Dub Part II, a follow-up to last May’s version. A lip dub is a video that features participants lip-synching to a pre-selected song.
In the original version at the college, about 150 students lip-synched to a medley of ’90s songs while running all the way from IC Square to the statue above Textor Hall. The creative team behind Lip Dub II is striving to outdo their efforts from last spring.
Junior Rob Flaherty, executive producer of the project, said he feels the original lip synch captured school spirit and enthusiasm, but did not reflect the creators’ ideal vision. The long route, for example, made the campus seem somewhat empty, and the video ran for a lengthy eight minutes.
“There’s a capacity for Ithaca to do so much better,” he said.
This Lip Dub will benefit from fresh talent: a new director, junior Joe Killeen, and a creative contributor, senior Jimmy Knowles.
Killeen said he believes the larger staff will impact the final product in a positive way.
“When you have more people at the table, more things are being thrown around, more things can get done, and better ideas are always born from it,” he said.
The video will feature “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness. It runs just over three and a half minutes. Killeen said he is excited about taking on the song.
“It’s an upbeat song, easy to infuse with energy and excitement,” he said.
The lip dub will also incorporate a narrative. As the lyrics express growing affection, a prospective student, played by sophomore Dylan Van Arsdale, will be shown exploring areas of the college.
“[He] is infatuated and ultimately falls in love with all that this campus has to offer,” Killeen said.
This Lip Dub will be done in four shots: the Dillingham fountains, the TC Lounge, the new Athletics and Events Center and Muller Chapel. The first Lip Dub was done in one unedited shot. Knowles said the new spots will enhance the video’s appeal.
“Those four areas kind of highlight our campus the best and really show it off to a percent of students, to alumni,” Knowles said. “It’s going to be something that people are going to want to see.”
The Lib Dub staff hopes to attract a significant percentage of the student body. Unlike the original, which was scheduled the week before finals, this lip synch occurs only weeks into the semester, a time the producers see as prime for students eager to embrace a sense of school pride. Senior Sheraz Iqbal, a contributing member of the Lip Dub staff, said he enjoys the enthusiastic atmosphere.
“I love doing it because everyone has so much energy and it’s just a crazy fun environment that everyone wants to be in,” he said.
This time around, there will be no prior rehearsals. Instead, participants can expect a brief run-through when they arrive before jumping into the action.
“It’s an opportunity for students to come out, show off how much they love this school, to have fun — to be a part of something that they may not be a part of [otherwise],” Flaherty said.
Sophomore Samantha Giraud participated in the IC Lip Dub last spring, and urged fellow students to join in the excitement.
“Bring your school spirit,” she said. “Wear yellow and blue, or a crazy costume. Don’t be afraid to act crazy — it’s all part of the fun.”
Lip Dub II films noon Sunday at Textor Ball.