When Red Productions was commissioned by the TCU Chancellor’s office to create a documentary based on three incoming freshmen in 2019, there was no way of knowing what was looming.
Only a few months later, the world would be upside down confronting a global pandemic. The outbreak of COVID-19 became the unscripted backdrop that permeates a soon-to-be-released film titled “TCU 150: Class of 2023.”
The full documentary will be released at special events this fall. The trailer can be viewed here.
“When we started this in 2019, we never could have anticipated what would unfold over the next four years,” Alyssa Vaught, producer and vice president of production at Red Productions told a TCU publication. “Obviously, the pandemic was a huge factor in this story, but each student had their own journey and challenges to face throughout their experience. What we have is an honest but hopeful look at the last four years at TCU through the eyes of our students.”
Production on the documentary began in the fall of 2019 in preparation for the school’s sesquicentennial celebration in 2023. The film consists of a series of candid interviews that chronicle three incoming students over four years up to and including graduation. The unforeseen variable would come with the outbreak of COVID-19.
Production continued, despite the circumstances that followed the pandemic, and now that the footage has been compiled, those who were involved in the making of this doc are pleased.
The admissions team helped identify potential students to spotlight, and the final cut zooms in on three Horned Frogs from the class of 2023, including John Freeny, Thien An Nguyen, and Olivia Fannon.
“The three students we followed through their four years have really showcased the TCU experience … while also showing the challenges our students face as they grow and develop,” said Brad Thompson, director of Student Activities.
When the initial invitations to participate were emailed, some students assumed it was a scam, TCU reports.
“I got this strange email at the very beginning of my freshman year asking to interview me about my life, so I thought there was no way it was real,” says Freeny, a native of Fort Smith, Arkansas, who double majored in marketing and entrepreneurship. “However, I thought about how cool it would be to do something like this, so I agreed anyway. I felt like I was being [cast] for ‘The Office’ with these interviews.”
According to the production team, each student scheduled interviews with the crew a couple of times a semester. Some were conducted via Zoom because of pandemic protocols and some were in person. Yet, whatever challenges he had to face, Freeny said his involvement in the film project helped him appreciate his college experience more.
“It made me analyze my life and reflect on it as I lived it, and that is something I will cherish forever,” said Freeny, who accepted a job at DaVita in Denver as an analyst doing change management.
Nguyen, a Fort Worth native who is attending Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at TCU after earning an undergraduate degree in biology, also initially thought the emailed invite was a prank or scam, but she replied “yes” on the off chance it was real.
“I was not sure what the project would entail, but I just felt so lucky and honored to even be considered,” she said. “I remember sprinting from the Commons after watching the ‘Welcome Week’ fireworks show to film for the first time and to meet the other students. We were all babbling away about how cool it would be to see this four years down the line.”
After watching a preview of the documentary recently, Nguyen could hardly recognize the anxious yet reserved young woman on screen.
“The memories of freshman year struggles came flooding back. It was a very humbling moment to remember how different I was coming into college. I was much more timid and unsure of myself,” she says. “It was incredible seeing my character morph over the years into someone more confident. Being constantly surrounded by people who uplift me, I have become more comfortable being myself here at TCU. Watching this transition in a 30-minute documentary was touching, and it makes me proud of my experience and memories over the years.”
For Fannon, who is originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, the interviews with the Red Productions team inspired her to be as honest as she could be as a way of helping others who might feel the same way she did during her years at TCU.
“When I considered how honest I should be, I would always choose completely honest and vulnerable because what if someone who sees the documentary is going through the same thing?” she noted. “I hope that viewers see that college is fun and hard. It is a time to learn the most and spend the most time with people you love, doing stuff you’ll probably never have the guts to do again.”