More than a dozen students gathered in the Little Circle to be recorded by a drone for a music video being produced by the Media Production Center on Friday, May 5. Josh Wallace, a BYU-Hawaii alumnus from California and intern at the MPC, is the head of the project and said they are trying to do two things in one: “The main thing is to get a drone shot of students in the Little Circle for a campaign that will be used for Admissions and also to shoot a music video for the ‘WE ARE LAIE' project. [In the video], we want people from all over the world to represent each country and show BYUH’s diversity.”
The “WE ARE LAIE” project consists of music videos and original songs from community members, said Wallace. “We ask them to write songs of their choice, record their piece, and interview them about it,” he said.
The Little Circle footage was for the song “Genuine Gold” by Mossi Watene, the former supervisor of the MPC. Wallace and his wife, Kei, were the performers of the official version of the song. “The song ‘Genuine Gold’ talks about us as students and what it takes to be genuine gold, a leader, and a friend. Despite our differences, we are actually beautiful,” said Wallace.
Elena Nanney, a senior majoring in political science from Michigan, said she was excited to be in the music video. “It is a way to leave a mark on the school and support the school.”
When asked about the song, Nanney said, “Aside from a catchy beat, I like that they put in the actual quote about being genuine gold, which made it more special.”
Louell Lorzano, a BYUH alumna from the Philippines, said she felt privileged to be part of the project. “I myself am a product of this university. We are the genuine gold President McKay prophesied about, and I am excited to take on this challenge to go forth and serve.”
Lorzano added, “Although I did not get to hear the entire song, I think it was well composed with inspiration and I hope it will capture a lot of hearts.”
Jerry Chiang, a business management freshman from Taiwan, said the song depicted the oneness of the students. “Through this activity, the students had the chance to interact with each other and represent BYUH’s diversity.”
The “WE ARE LAIE” project will be released in July while the video won’t be posted until Fall Semester. Wallace will no longer be head of the project; he and his wife moved to California on May 10.