As part of BlackBerry’s Campus Perks contest, engineering student Chris Eldracher put together Carleton’s first lip dub Nov. 21, after only two weeks of planning.
A lip dub is a music video that combines lip synching and audio dubbing. The University of British Columbia’s campus-wide lip dub filmed in March has over one million views on YouTube.
The videos are generally made in one continuous shot and can involve thousands of people.
About 25 Carleton students ran up and down flights of stairs in the Unicentre, ducked in and out of offices and climbed sculptures, all while mouthing along to Katy Perry and Lady Gaga lyrics.
“It went extremely well, I mean we only had two weeks to plan it and I got out as many people as possible and everyone who did it was amazing,” Eldracher said.
Every year, BlackBerry selects representatives from each school across Canada and asks them to prove why their school is the best.
Over the school year, BlackBerry assigns the representatives a series of challenges to determine who has the most school spirit.
“Carleton’s an awesome school, we’ve got awesome spirit and we can definitely show up every other school that’s done a lip dub so far,” Eldracher said. “If you challenge us to anything, we’re ready, no matter what.”
Eldracher said BlackBerry chose him after hearing about his “Cool2BU” initiative, which focuses on breaking social stereotypes and being true to oneself while raising school spirit.
“People nowadays feel they have to live a certain way and they have to act a certain way because people tell them that’s the stereotype they fit,” he said.
“Everyone’s unique, everyone’s beautiful, everyone’s the way they are because that’s who they are. ‘Cool2BU’ is all about breaking those social stereotypes, living the way you want to live and not letting others tell you the way you should live.”
Eldracher said he chose Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” and Katy Perry’s “Firework” to fit into his theme of self-acceptance.
First-year master’s student Courtney Constable came dressed up as Lady Gaga — face prosthetics and all.
“Anytime I can dress up and put on ridiculous costumes and makeup and dance around is definitely good for me,” Constable said.
Events like these leave no doubt that Carleton has the most spirit, she said. They’re also integral to uniting the Carleton community.
“I think it brings students together [who] wouldn’t otherwise have met each other. Same as with the flash mob that went on last year,” Constable said.
Carleton student Graeme Owens organized a flash mob on the Rideau Canal in February for BlackBerry’s ‘The Best Life’ contest.
“I think it’s really great and just kind of uniting the Carleton community and making new friends,” Constable said.
Eldracher said he plans on organizing an even bigger lip dub in April.
And looking at what he managed to assemble in just two weeks, Eldracher said he’s just imagining what he could do in four months.
