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| January 2007
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ALUMNI NEWS |
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SOC
Public Service Announcements Air Nationwide Ben Connors, SOC/BA ’06, and Chris Kosek, SPA/BA ’06, submitted a script to the WRI’s PSA contest. In 2005, they were told that their PSA script, “Stress Making You Blue?” would be produced and shown in movie theaters across the country. The two were flown out to Los Angeles to see the making of their PSA, which stars Jim Henson’s Muppets and Desperate Housewives actress, Teri Hatcher. This teen stress spot aired in theatres last summer and is currently airing on about 500 television stations nationwide. "It was a thrill to work with American University from start to finish," says Todd Vradenburg, executive director of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation. “In over 20 years of making public service announcements, Ben and Chris wrote the best script we've ever had.” Last year, SOC Professor Maggie Stogner produced a PSA for the National Geographic Channel with her students, shot at Smokey Glen Farm in Gaithersburg, Md. The spot addresses cultural and geographic issues to prepare children for their future in a global environment. “I learned a lot from the shoot, from the planning of the shots and how much pre-production is needed for a professional shot,” says undergraduate senior Nick Tiernan. “It was interesting to see different people from different companies able to work together and make a successful shot.” SOC’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking created a new PSA called, Save Rainforest, Save Lives, which ties together human and rainforest health. SOC professor and CEF Director Chris Palmer was the executive producer, alongside Professor Sandy Cannon-Brown, who produced and directed the PSA. Professor Larry Engel was the director of photography, and an SOC MFA graduate student, Olivia Yeo, edited the spot. They shot the PSA on location in Ecuador and Washington, D.C., and it, too, is now airing nationwide. -Tara Shlimowitz ‘08 |
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