By looking at these photos you could be forgiven for thinking these students really have been mummified! But no – these second-year students studying the Bachelor of Multimedia studies at CQU Mackay have simply been wrapped in toilet paper during their Digital Movie Making class this week.

The tutorial with CQU lecturer Martin Francis required the group of students to produce a 30-second commercial. The students had to develop the script, prepare the ‘actors’ and then film them.

"This inventive class decided to make a toilet paper commercial with an ‘American Beauty’ flavour,” said Martin. “The plot was about this guy who has a fetish about toilet paper - their concept not mine".

According to Martin, “The students parodied the scene from the movie ‘American Beauty’ where Mena Suvari is lying on the bed of rose petals, and instead of rose petals the students used sheets of toilet paper".

The toilet-papered ‘star’ student and apparently brilliant Arnold Swarzenagger impersonator is Glenn Penridge.

“It was quite hilarious at the time, but it was probably one of those ‘had to be there’ moments”, said Sue Ilich, Administrator with Informatics and Communication who took the photos.

The students can use their experience in this tutorial to assist in their digital movie making assessment piece, which requires the students to produce an individual 5-minute movie of their choice and genre.

“Five minutes is actually quite a long time to capture an audience’s attention,” said Martin. “I’m looking forward to seeing the students’ short films and if this tutorial was anything to go by, they should be quite entertaining".

Photo (left): CQU lecturer Martin Francis helps put the finishing touches to mummified star student, Glenn Penridge.

Photo caption (above): CQU Mackay students John Nucifora and Glenn Penridge (the toilet-papered one) in fits of laughter during the filming of their toilet paper commercial.