Following in the footsteps of Ferris alumni Brandon Owczarzak and Sam Sanders, Ferris State senior in television and digital media production Michael King is surprising unexpecting people on camera.
The graduates’ Ferris Trolls video series – a prank video show of our very own – caused a ruckus around campus. King is taking a more benevolent approach than his predecessors with his new segment, Random Delivery.
“Random Delivery started because Brandon Owczarzak and Sam Sanders started Ferris Trolls a while back, and we decided that Ferris Trolls was a little overdone and needed a break,” King said. “So we came up with a new idea similar to it, but in a nicer way.”
That idea is Random Delivery. During each weekly Random Delivery segment, host and professional golf management sophomore David “DJ” Aben surprises people, much like the Ferris Trolls did. This time, though, they’re handing out treats instead of tricks.
“Instead of trolling people and making them feel bad, we give them nice things and make them feel good about themselves and have a good day,” King said.
In the most recent installment, Aben runs around campus giving people small Jimmy Johns subs – in offices, during classes, and from atop the Woodbridge Ferris statue.
“We don’t really have a plan each week” Aben said. “It’s completly random. We just walk around and talk to each other and come up with ideas on the spot. Just do it.”
They get the treats as donations from local businesses, which do so “as long as we throw a shoutout to them.”
Beyond the videos being fun, they’re also for classes.
“TDMP senior students in my advanced producing and directing class develop segments every semester that are broadcast collectively in a half-hour show titled ‘Ferris In Focus,’ and stream independently,” explained Professor Glenn Okonoski, who teaches the Television and Digital Media Production class. “Students work on various segments weekly towards the creation of the half-hour show in two person teams – one student serves as the producer, the other as the camera operator and editor. The idea is that the students produce content that furthers their ability as storytellers, while also having broad appeal and/or benefit to our audiences.”
Okonoski expressed great optimism for the new segment and its positive spin. King explained why.
“The goal of Random Delivery is to surprise people, but in a nice way,” said King. “It’s more surprising people in a happy way, and they generally smile and are happy about it. But they’re still confused.”
Random Delivery segments are releasee every Tuesday and are available for stream at youtube.com/FerrisStateTDMP. The series can also be found on the Random Delivery Facebook page.