Samiya Hassan, Class of 2014, was just as passionate about film production during her time at Mulgrave as she is now studying Media Theory Production at Western University. Working as a First Year Associate Producer for Western TV, she helped film and edit original content for the university’s student body. Always a go-getter, Samiya directed and produced a lip dub with the residence on her floor at Western, which garnered over 410,000 views on YouTube. Find out how she pulled off this incredible production, what she’s doing now, and what she has planned for the future.
Q&A Hassan SAMIYA
Mulgrave School Class of 2014 | Interviewed by Michelle Noble | Sept. 2015
When looking back on your time at Mulgrave, what were some of your highlights? Some of my favourite memories are from my final year at Mulgrave. I graduated with an amazing group of people and we had a lot of fun together. For me, our Christmas Tree Sale, Grad Sleepover, Grad Kidnap, and Pie-a-Grad are some of my favourite memories from the year. Going on the Kenya trip and participating in Zoom Fest each year are also unforgettable experiences.
After leaving such a tight knit community at Mulgrave, how have you adjusted to living across the country and attending such a large school? Have you been able to stay in touch with anyone from Mulgrave? As I mentioned, my grad class is really close so it hasn’t been too difficult to stay in touch with my Mulgrave classmates . When people are back home for the holidays or the summer, we make an effort to see each other again. Even though we are all spread out at different universities and are doing various things, a lot of us have stayed
ABOVE Samiya and her first year roommate, Elena, outside Saugeen.
close. Last Thanksgiving, about 20 of us met up in Montreal to celebrate together. Even though leaving such a great group of people was hard, they are never too far away, and I think that is what made moving across the country a lot easier for me. During your first year at Western, you produced a lip dub with your residence floor that garnered over 410,000 views. How did you go about coordinating this?
the video. We spent about 15 hours the week we filmed to organise the props, choreography, casting and other small details. We rehearsed the night before, so when it came time to film, it only took three takes to get it right. Once we finished the video, it started showing up all over Western and eventually it was even talked about in newspapers, on the radio and featured on CP24, Breakfast TV, CBC and in the Huffington Post Canada.
“The biggest challenge was the size of our group. There were around 30 people Wow, what an accomplishment! involved in the video and it What was the biggest challenge you faced pulling off this was filmed in one shot.” project?
My floor wanted something that we’d all be able to take away from our first year experience and look back on to remember living together. Filming a lip dub seemed like a great way for us to capture the spirit of our floor. When we were planning the lip dub, everyone was on board and shared their ideas and what they wanted to see incorporated in
We didn’t face too many challenges because we were all so excited about it and that helped us to stay focussed. The biggest challenge was the size of our group. There were around 30 people involved in the video and it was filmed in one shot, so it was challenging to make sure everyone knew their cues and where to hide when they continued on next page...
My only piece of advice would be to come to Western! Choosing Western is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Although London is far from Vancouver, the university does an amazing job of making everyone feel at home. Western really focusses on student experience and has created so many ways to get involved. In addition to attending Western University, you have also been working as First Year Associate Producer for Western TV. How have you been able to balance your school work/personal life? Balancing life and academics is always a challenge, but working with Western TV was a way for me to combine the two, and it was a highlight of my year. I had the opportunity to learn so much and worked with a great group of people. I gained a lot of experience working alongside them and had a lot fun, too. What inspired you to pursue an education and career in Media Theory Production? What is your dream job? ABOVE Samiya with fellow Mulgravian grads, Abigail Korbin, Annika Lee.
weren’t meant to be on camera. Has this lip dub project opened any doors for you? After the lip dub received attention online, I got an email from Behaviour, an experiential marketing company in Toronto. They saw the video and asked if I would be interested in spending the summer working for them. Congratulations, Samiya! Do you have any advice for high school students who are exploring Western University as an option for their post-secondary education?
I’ve always taken an interest in film, but after participating in Zoom Fest in Grade 7 and every year after, I realised that film and media were subjects I’d like to pursue. Ms. Anson made an effort to expose our class to film outside of the classroom by taking students to the BC Student Film Festival and Vancouver International Film Festival. In the future, I would love to pursue film and TV production, but I am also interested in marketing. Western’s programme offers students the opportunity to learn about media and society, but also to get hands-on experience in TV Production. Since I’m unsure of the career path I’d like to pursue at this point, this programme allows me to explore both options and keeps doors open.
TOP Samiya with her class on the last day of school. BOTTOM Western TV lip dub cast and crew.
Did you have a chance to relax over the summer? How did you spend it? For most of the summer I worked in Toronto with Behaviour. At the end of the summer, I went back to Vancouver to catch up with my friends and see my family before going back for second year at university. Samiya Hassan, September 2015
ABOVE Samiya with classmates, Anisha, Connor, Buzz and MJ.