The UofL Happy Video

Watch the original UofL Happy Video 6 min. (extended version below)

Join our UofL Social Swat Team on Facebook (or email your name, phone & email to [email protected] use Subject: Social SWAT), if you would like to participate in one of our future social/viral videos or other online activities.

The Extended UofL “Happy” Video (8.5 min.)

What started as a simple Facebook post by Karen Freberg, a UofL Social Media professor, turned into hundreds of students, faculty, staff and friends all participating in a remake of Pharrell’s “Happy” video.

We had so many participants that we couldn’t fit them all in the six minute version of the song (already extended beyond the original 4 min. video). So we created an extended version which includes all of the original participants plus the groups of people who were to shy to go solo or had a group dance they wanted to do. The extended version also includes clips from the raiseRED dance marathon, while they were playing the happy song.

We hope you enjoy both versions!

Video Stats

Six minute version
UofL Faculty, staff & friends = 158
Dentist (student) = 1
Miss UofL (she was when shot) = 1
Cardinal Bird = 1
Black Diamond Choir = 24 in choir + choir director
University President (Ramsey) = 1
Librarians = 5
Russdiculous = 1
Senior Women’s Basketball Stars = 3
Mark Hebert = There can be only one!
TOTAL 197
Editing time: 2.75 hours (everyone in this has full time jobs or school, most of the work was done between 11pm-2am)
Videos shot: 264

Extended Video Stats

Eight minute version
300+ – raiseRED dance marathoners
226 – UofL Faculty, staff & friends
1 – Dentist (student)
2 – Miss UofL, both the former and current Miss UofL
1 – Cardinal Bird
25 – Black Diamond Choir = 24 in choir + choir director
1 – University President (Ramsey)
5 – Librarians
1 – Russdiculous
3 – Senior Women’s Basketball Stars
1 – Mark Hebert, there can be only one!

TOTAL: over 610
Editing time: 3.5 hours (everyone in this has full time jobs or school, most of the work was done between 11pm-2am)
Videos shot: 264

Special Thanks

• Pharrell Williams for making a perfect song for viral videos
• Karen Freberg for suggesting it
• Our three “Pharrell” candidates: Shawntez Taylor (“Pharrell”), Konrad Davis and Amelia Gandara.
• Brad & Randy – UofL’s videographers, producers, editors and just awesome dudes.
• The Black Diamond Choir for having so much fun with the video
• The SWAT Team (organizers) – Leondra Gully, Terri Holtze, Mark Lynn & Amber Robinson, Stephanie Weldy, Glypie Jones, Chris Davis & Tyler Mattingly, Nick Stover, Meagan West, Brian Buford, Amelia Gandara & the Miss UofL folks, Julie Heflin, Jill Scoggins, Tiffany Robinson & Melissa Schreck, Sally Evans and Dave Coyne
• UofL President, James Ramsey for taking 94.3 seconds to be in the video and have fun with it.
• UofL students, faculty, staff and friends for having so much fun. I’m convinced I could have asked 94.37% of the participants to dance for an hour straigt and they all would have done it…and KILLED IT.
• Russ Smith for showing up for an “interview” in sweat pants and a t-shirt (he’s wearing my coat and scarf to stay warm) only to find out he was supposed to dance for a video he had never seen. He was a great sport and contrary to the video, he has great rhythm, just not first thing in the morning, in 17-degree weather to a video he had never seen and without warning that he would have to dance. We LOVE YOU RUSS!
• Diet Mountain Dew – because that’s what you do when you have a full-time job and try to pull this off

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