A team of Vista Ridge High School storytellers are on a path to national recognition for a public safety message they wrote, filmed, directed and produced and submitted to the Streets, Art, SAFE Film Competition.
The challenge: Create a public safety announcement that raises awareness of dangerous driving habits.
Enter: Samuel Thibodeaux, Kingston Cruz and Micah Keplar, the students behind the film. Together, taking on the role of director, editor and actor, they rose to the challenge with a production that combined creativity, emotion and technical skill.
The result: An award-winning film they titled “Woke Up On the Wrong Side of the Windshield.”
Over several weeks, the students balanced long filming nights, last-minute rewrites and extensive post-production work to bring their vision to life. “This PSA presented more challenges than other A/V projects I’ve directed,” Thibodeaux said. “Although we ran into some logistical roadblocks, the experience was very rewarding.”
The experience mirrored the kind of collaboration and problem-solving found in professional filming environments. Cruz, who took on the role of editor for the project, says the skills learned in class were also essential to producing the final product. “In A/V, I’ve learned about the importance of color grading,” Cruz said. “This particular film required a lot of color grading to get the desired effect.”
When the group submitted their film to the competition, they hoped their hard work would stand out. A few weeks later, they learned they had been selected as one of five finalists in the Missouri-Texas region.
Then came the surprise announcement: The film earned first place in the competition, and representatives from organizations AAA, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Allie’s Way visited Vista Ridge to present the students’ awards in person. The students also earned a monetary prize for the film crew and their school’s A/V program.
Judges praised the students’ film for its impact and creativity, earning them the Best PSA Gold Award recognition.
The win marks the first time that a film submitted by Vista Ridge High School’s A/V program placed in the first ranks of any competition. “This is a massive win not only for the program, but also for the hardworking students who produced this PSA, showing them that they are capable of creating works that are worthy of recognition and that such hard work can pay off,” said Tyler Jackson, Vista Ridge audio/video teacher.
Next, the film will advance to the national competition, where another top finish could earn the team a trip to New York later this year for the national awards ceremony.
For the students behind the film, the experience became more than just participating in a competition for a class project. It opened up a door of possibilities for the future.
“My time in the A/V program has impacted my plans for the future greatly,” Kepler said. “At first my plan was to join the navy and become a public affairs specialist, but now, I want to become a professional in the film industry. Whether it’s directing films or cinematography, I love the art of A/V.”
