Rivals Reconcile Over Reality Premiere

                                                                          Byung Jun Kang (left) and Alex Landry (right)

The pilot episode of Life at G-Hall, a reality show created by the students of Gerard Hall at Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, premiered on Wednesday at 8:15 pm in Gerard’s main lounge. It was directed, filmed and edited by Byung Jun Kang, fourth-year Honours Community Design student and 11^th floor Residence Assistant.

“None of it was scripted,” said Kang during his opening speech. “It was all real.”

Episode One, “Being Inclusive”, is both a daring expose of inter-floor rivalry and a touching tribute to friendship, tolerance and line dancing. When Landry, a third-year Engineering student, began neglecting his neighbors from close-knit, lively 11 in favor of the more sedate 12, he was branded as a traitor. He faced ostracism, slanders in the Eleventh Daily, and an ambush in the bathroom involving toilet paper and an ominous rattling door. Without giving away spoilers, viewers will be both amused and satisfied by the ending.

Before the screening, Kang called Landry up to the front of the room. Landry, who moved to the LeMarchant Building in January, thanked the director for his hard work. The former neighbors appeared to be on friendly terms, especially since some of the conflict may have been influenced by the filming after all.

“I gave them a little nudge in the right direction,” said Kang during the post-screening celebration.

“The slap was fake,” said Landry. “But the tying-up was real.”

Justin Clouthier, a 12^th floor resident who plays a cameo role in the episode, called it “a great show of community spirit” and the filming experience “spur-of-the-moment … a lot of fun”.

Asked whether he thought his floor was fairly represented despite the rivalry, he said: “Yeah, I do. I did think it was more of a focus on the 11^th floor, but then he [Kang] is the 11^th floor RA.”

The film, despite technical difficulties with the sound system in the beginning, was a great success with the audience. Roars of laughter followed such lines as “Have you seen the weather network? Storm’s comin’ … ” or “I hope your next Tinder date is ugly!” Tinder is a dating site in which participants rate each other by their photographs.

Scene cuts, soundtrack choices (notably a theme from The Magnificent Seven underscoring a solemn walk to the dining hall), and camera work were excellently done. During scenes were the dialogue was difficult to hear, such as one of the notorious false fire alarms that plagued Gerard Hall in the fall semester of 2014, subtitles were provided.

“It took six months,” said Kang on the subject of production delays. “It should have taken one month, but we’re all so busy with class and midterms and stuff.”

“I think it’s a great way to memorize life,” said Lily Xu, a first-year Engineering student who attended the premiere. “When you go back home, you can show this to your parents.”

Watch the episode here.