{"id":258137,"date":"2026-04-08T20:36:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T20:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/258137\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T20:36:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T20:36:07","slug":"brand-video-ucm-oakland-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/258137\/","title":{"rendered":"Brand video – Ucm – Oakland University"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students, staff and faculty recently contributed their talents and expertise to a video for an Oakland University graduate brand campaign aimed at inspiring students to be leaders and innovators in their fields.<\/p>\n

Led by Oakland University\u2019s Department of Communications and Marketing (UCM), the “What\u2019s Your Reason?\u201d<\/a> video was produced in collaboration with students from the School of Music, Theatre and Dance (SMTD).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s exciting to be able to partner with OU students, particularly the SMTD students for a number of reasons,\u201d said Jon-Paul Bakaric, UCM director of photography. \u201cFor one, it brings an authenticity to the project that we couldn’t get from outside talent, especially on projects where students are both the feature and the storyteller. We\u2019ve had the pleasure of working with many over the years and always manage to find very talented students who are eager and willing to contribute to the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gavin<\/p>\n

Gavin Carcamo<\/p>\n

Gavin Carcamo, a junior in OU\u2019s acting BFA program<\/a>, contributed to the video\u2019s voiceover, striking an inspirational tone to accentuate the on-screen storytelling.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things an actor must have in their tool kit is a strong voice that isn\u2019t afraid to be heard,\u201d said Carcamo. \u201cThe voiceover is a major part of what is produced, and the message has to be said in a certain way to bring out emotion \u2013 to bring the video to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carcamo credits Lynnae Lehfeldt, SMTD professor of voice and movement, with helping him develop his voice acting skills. He says that working on OU brand videos has allowed him to build his skillset in preparation for future career opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so many different paths you can take as far as what kind of actor you want to be. Whether you\u2019re a film actor, a theatre actor or a voice actor, it takes a lot of vulnerability and experience, and working on these videos gives me a jump on the voice acting part of my career,\u201d Carcamo said. \u201cI get to experiment with my voice, learn about different technical aspects and also make connections along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jon-Paul<\/p>\n

Jon-Paul Bakaric<\/p>\n

Recognizing the value of a fresh set of eyes, Bakaric sought feedback on the video from Adam Gould, associate professor of film studies and production, in the Department of English, Creative Writing and Film.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love gathering feedback from as many creatives and artists as I can \u2013 inside and outside of OU \u2013 on large projects, and I have tremendous respect for Professor Gould’s creative opinion and perspective,\u201d said Bakaric, a graduate of OU\u2019s film program. \u201cEvery now and then I connect with him to discuss film concepts, see what they are doing in the department and gather feedback on major projects like \u2018What’s Your Reason?\u2019 I’m always learning and believe that is a fundamental part of being a creative.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Bakaric and Carcamo, having a personal connection to OU makes working on brand videos all the more meaningful.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to showcase OU\u2019s excellence, and the many opportunities it gives for all its students of different backgrounds, is a true honor,\u201d said Carcamo. \u201cThere is something beautiful about the process, where I can see all the different puzzle pieces being put together, and I\u2019m so glad to be a part of that in whatever way I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bakaric agreed, saying he takes pride in using his Oakland education to help elevate the university\u2019s brand.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s exciting to be able to make videos that promote the university, especially when I have learned so much going to school here and have been employed here for so long,\u201d he said. \u201cI work hard on these projects because I care about the message, I believe in the value of education, and also, because I’m extremely passionate about filmmaking and storytelling \u2013 there are so many interesting and inspiring stories here at OU to be told.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Students, staff and faculty recently contributed their talents and expertise to a video for an Oakland University graduate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-258137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}