Two Students Put UD Twist On Youtube Video, Attract Thousands Of Viewers
Frank Stanko - Staff Writer
October 05, 2009
Add Jim Cosgrove and Mark Anderson to the list of viral video stars.
Cosgrove, a fifth-year majoring in biology, and Anderson, who graduated last spring from UD with a degree in mechanical engineering technology, spent last summer as neighbors in Marycrest Hall.
Both saw the popular YouTube video "Where the Hell is Matt?" and decided to make a UD edition.
"We made a list of 100 locations; then it got cut down to 60," said Cosgrove, who filmed himself dancing with Anderson at sites on and off UD's campus.
Filming lasted for around a month, with Cosgrove and Anderson meeting two to three times a week, usually after getting out of work.
One exception was the final day of shooting, which occurred in the early morning, and included locations like Cousin Vinny's.
"It was raining, and it was the day before I left [for home]," Anderson said.
Once home, Anderson went to work editing the film.
Anderson and Cosgrove introduced their video "Where the hell is Matt UD Edition" on YouTube on Sept. 16. In less than two weeks, the video has received over 6,000 hits.
And it's not just current students who've been watching it. The video has been posted and shared on Facebook and other sites, allowing alumni the chance to watch, share memories and make suggestions.
"We kept getting asked, 'Well, where's Tim's?,'" Cosgrove said. "But Tim's can't be captured on any kind of film."
Someone who could be captured was Bro. Tom Pieper, who knew both Cosgrove and Anderson from their experience with a summer program in the Appalachian Mountains.
"All three of us watched the movie on 'Matt' at different times and just happened to be talking about it one evening," Pieper said.
When Anderson came by his Marianist community house one day in May, Pieper agreed to dance in front of the house, and then later at the UD rock at ArtStreet, something Anderson said Pieper came up with himself.
"It was just a lot of fun to do," Pieper said.
Anderson and Cosgrove were also impressed with the many dancing extras in the video. They asked "just about everybody ... summer tour guides, on-campus students, lunch ladies who'd gotten off work," Cosgrove said.
"There were plenty of random people," Cosgrove said. "We'd say, 'Hey, you wanna be in a movie?' A lot of them were good sports. Some kept walking."
With Anderson doing volunteer work in Kentucky, and Cosgrove preoccupied with his final year at UD, neither is planning a sequel video.
Both are grateful, however, for the experience and what their video meant to its viewers.
"It's real cool it touched so many people from UD and beyond," Cosgrove said.
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