In this video clip, Ang Li, a Kent State University hospitality
and tourism management graduate student from China, talks
about life at Kent State and all the wonderful opportunities
that are available to students.

TeleProductions is taking a cultural journey with the Office of Global Education to produce recruitment videos for international students. Creating these videos seems like just another normal project for the production company, but it is much more.

TeleProductions will be making 16 videos for four different regions: China, Brazil, the Middle East and India. Each of the videos will be in the country's native language, which poses an interesting challenge to Producer/Director Shane Roach.

"We've never produced a video like this before," Roach says. "It's a very different experience."

Roach will have to script, shoot and edit the recruitment videos all without fully understanding the country's language or culture. To ensure the project's success, Roach will be working with the Office of Global Education to create a video that appeals to students enveloped in a totally different culture.

"The advisors will conduct the interview, and then TeleProductions will do the editing and introductions – but it's really a collaborative process between the advisors and the production team," says Jessica Cohen, marketing coordinator for the Office of Global Education.

One of the advisors collaborating with TeleProductions is Christina Stanek, who has been working with the production team to ensure a positive message will be sent to Brazil.

"My knowledge of Portuguese was required in order to properly edit the videos," Stanek explains.
"Additionally, my familiarity with Brazilian culture helped us to select which aspects of Kent State we wanted to highlight for that particular audience."

Along with Stanek, TeleProductions worker Le Su is also helping to break the language barrier.
Because of her childhood in China, Su provides an insightful advantage while editing the Chinese recruitment video. She understands the language, culture and video production through her hands-on training with TeleProductions.

When Su makes her final edit, the video will be formatted to play specifically on the iPad, so it can be easily accessed during events like international recruitment fairs.

"The videos are a great personalized tool to tell the story of Kent State through the eyes of each of these cultural lenses," Cohen says. “Since these students don't get the regular college tour, watching the videos is the only opportunity for them to catch a glimpse at campus life.”

Through working with the Office of Global Education, TeleProductions has stepped out of its comfort zone to help take the positive message of Kent State University and the College of Communication and Information international.

"The TeleProductions team is very responsive and very organized," Cohen says. "They have been so helpful with the advisors, explaining this is the process you move through, and just making sure it's been easy."