A “lip dub” is a musical video that is filmed in one continuous shot as the camera travels through a location, capturing the members of a community in the act of performing to a piece of music.
Fessenden’s ‘Lip Dub’ has become an eagerly anticipated annual event that involves every member of the community – students, teachers, administrators, staff, and even the occasional visiting alum – joining together for an hour simply to have fun. The project is carefully planned by a small, dedicated contingent of faculty and administrators who plot the route of the camera, assign locations to students, and choose music that will create the energetic results that we’ve enjoyed in each of the videos created thus far.
Fessenden is not the inventor of this curious event. Dozens of examples of other school’s lip dubs can be viewed on YouTube. Some are incredibly elaborate and intricately choreographed, others simple and unrehearsed. The musical choices are varied; the camera technique unpredictable. At Fessenden, the lip dub project is less about performance and more about capturing the spirit of this unique community, something that all of the previous videos have clearly accomplished.
The first all-school video was filmed four years ago as part of a program called the “PK-9 Team” activity. Each month we gathered students together in mixed grade teams, led by a ninth grade student, to accomplish an assigned task. One of our tasks was to film a video that showed each team performing a dance that they had planned to be filmed in a corner of the Crocker-Monrad Gym. “The Fessenden Gratitude Dance” was a version of a viral video that showed a young man doing his unique dance, joining together with people from every corner of the globe. Our version showed our own global community coming together, dancing with the Fessy Bear. It was a great success.
The following year, we conceived our first lip dub. Once again we used our PK-9 teams to organize students in performance to the song “Let’s Get it Started,” by The Black Eyed Peas. The creativity of the faculty and students was even more evident, and the video was viewed hundreds of times. Our follow-up the next year was to the hugely popular hit song, “Happy,” chosen well before the song became known, and once again the energy and talent of the community was on display.
Last year, organized by homerooms and advisor groups, the school gathered once again to film a video to the inspirational anthem “Wavin’ Flag.” The tune captured perfectly the feeling of Fessenden as an international brotherhood, and the excitement of the students in the closing seconds is further evidence of the powerful emotions that are expressed when we come together. Frankly, it’s been fun.
Fessy Lip Dups
2013: “Let’s Get it Started”
2014: “Happy”
2015: “Wavin’ Flag”
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