This June, the Gatehouse was turned into a kitchen, the bookstore was turned into a convenience store and a graduation that didn’t happen was filmed in front of McInnis and Walton. Actors and actresses came from places like New York and the Philadelphia area and were escorted from 30th Street Station to campus.
But this was not for a big-budget movie, nor one filmed on a shoestring. All of this was done to create a television advertisement for a rolling walker.
On June 15th and 16th, the Hugo Walker commercial was filmed on Eastern’s campus. The Hugo company produces walkers that turn into storage sources and seats used by the elderly or those who have difficulty walking.
The film agents made generous donations to the Student Aid Fund. Numerous resident students and summer staff had the opportunity to participate in the shooting as extras and production assistants.
Summer residents Richard “Figs” Figueroa, Rebekah Cofer and Karen Gelzhiser were in the commercial. Communications office staff members Patti Singleton, graphic designer; Quincy Adam, graphic designer and Web manager; Kelly Van Der Aa, of the alumni office; and Eastern University bookstore manager Frank Martinez were also part of the commercial.
Diana Hirtzel, production coordinator in the communications office, and Meggin Capers, director of conferences, helped with logistics, coordination and production.
Security maintained order while the shootings were taking place and also made sure that the filming sites were clear before the filming days.
The advertising company in charge of filming the commercial chose Eastern over other locations because it had all of the sites they needed in one place.
Besides the buildings used for the shoot, parts of the grounds were used as well. The path by the soccer field and the path near the waterwheel were used for motion shots, and the soccer field for a game shot.
One of the biggest benefits from the shooting at the university was the monetary support granted to the Student Aid Fund, which helps provide scholarships. This money was dispersed into many offices of the school by Student Development, including to Financial Aid.
According to Janet Long, the sum allows the financial aid office to continue to grant scholarship awards and aide to qualified students. It also helps all offices perform and function properly.
Such money may even go toward making improvements to the campus, or keeping tuition costs down.
“Overall,” Long said, “the monetary addition will help the school reach its budgetary goals.”
Another benefit to Eastern from the Hugo commercial is that it gives Eastern some exposure, as parts of the campus are recognizable in the short clip. Also, some Eastern participants were paid for their contributions.
The TV commercial is currently running on cable channels. It will be played on campus for all Eastern University residents in McInnis Learning Center and the Dining Commons televisions on a continuous commercial cycle, on September 20th and 21st.