Getting the message across
Lafayette student national finalist in safety video contest
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| Rick Graefe photo/ Lafayette High senior-to-be Danny Dianora of Wildwood is one of 10 finalists from more than 600 entries nationwide in the Bridgestone Firestone Safety Scholars video contest, in which young drivers create short videos about auto safety. |
See his video and commentary from Dianora on creating a video short by clicking here.
But that's what's happening to the senior-to-be.Danny, a Wildwood resident, has been selected as a top 10 finalist in the 2008 Bridgestone Firestone Safety Scholars video contest, a national competition in which 16- to-21-year old drivers create short auto-safety-theme videos.
Danny's video was chosen from 620 entries received by Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC.
In his "Stop the Beep" video, Danny encourages teenagers to wear their seat belts by showing what happens to a teen who temporarily doesn't buckle up.
The entry was an afterthought; the video itself was produced months before Danny discovered the contest.
"It was a project in my DVD yearbook class at Lafayette last fall," said Danny, 17. "I produced the video with the help of Miya Norfleet-Aiken, who graduated this year, and Garrett Tripp, who'll also be a senior this school year."
Originally, the 30-second project of making a public safety announcement was meant to introduce students to the use of video cameras, software and other equipment by journalism teacher and publications adviser Nancy Smith, Danny said.
"Before anybody knew about this contest, we planned to address the public-safety issue of using seatbelts," he said. "There are facts and statistics that support using them, but we wanted a creative way to get people's attention. We thought about what's the most annoying thing about not wearing a seatbelt - and it's the beeping. We'd never seen that addressed in a public service announcement."
They also decided on the topic "because so many teenagers act like they're too cool to wear one," Danny said.
"They need to know that's a very dangerous choice," he said.
Garrett, who has acted in a number of Lafayette plays, portrayed the major actor in the video.
"He's the one who starts the car and gets annoyed with the beeping," Danny said. "I edited the video and played a supporting role, sitting at a table in a classroom when Garrett is there. And Miya did the camera angles and the lighting and set up the shots."
It was fun to edit down the footage, over about five hours, to fit it within the time frame and to make the story properly flow, Danny said.
The video was created at Lafayette, using an Adobe Premiere Elements software program and school cameras, tripods and other equipment.
Filming last September took place over a number of days on the weekends in an empty classroom, in the halls and on the parking lot.
"And some filming was done at my house, on the driveway," Danny said.
A Honda Civic used by his sister, Kate, portrayed the beeping car.
"It was a really fun experience," Danny said. "And it was a great way to learn to operate all the equipment."
The Rockwood School District presented him with a superintendent's certificate for the project. He already had received a Kastner award from the district for another project he had done in Philadelphia last year as part of a National Scholastic Press Association/Journalism Education Association workshop.
Danny thought that would be the end of it.
"But I've been using a Web site, www.fastwebs.com, which is a scholarship search-engine site, and I found this contest in April," Danny said. "I thought to myself, 'I've got something that could work for that.' "
He got Miya's and Garrett's approval to enter the contest in June.
"I found out in early July I was a finalist," he said. "I was only half-surprised. The video also had won best in show in a St. Louis-based high school journalism video conference, which is why I got the Rockwood superintendent certificate."
His dad and mom, Bob and Pat of Garden Valley Farms subdivision, are, respectively, a retail and service industry executive and a bookseller at Barnes & Noble in Chesterfield.
Danny also works part time in receiving at Barnes and Noble in Chesterfield.
"They also know about the contest and have voted for Danny," Pat said.
Danny has a brother, Robbie, 21, a student at Southeast Missouri State University. Kate, 19, is a student at Missouri State University.
As a finalist, Danny is now eligible to win a $5,000 scholarship and a chance to have his video used as a public service commercial for Bridgestone Firestone.
He plans to study cinematography when he goes to college, though he's not sure where yet.
A panel of judges selected the top 10 videos based on how well they compel viewers to be more safety-conscious, including topics such as seat-belt usage, tire safety and avoiding in-vehicle distractions, plus how effectively and creatively they communicate their message. All top 10 videos, less than one minute in length, are eligible to be among three grand-prize winners, which will be announced Aug. 8, based on voting results.
WHO DOES THE VOTING?
"I've been networking with all my friends to tell them to vote," Danny said. "And I just went to a journalism camp at Kansas University, and my instructor, the CEO of Ncompass Media, contacted his network to ask people to vote."
"It's great to see how he's advancing this interest in video," Bob said. "Robbie also is interested in video. There must be something in the water here."
Kate is interested in marketing and advertising, Pat said.
"So maybe all three kids will create the Dianora Production Company," Pat joked. "As it is, our driveway and basketball hoop and Kate's car are being seen online all over the country."
To make the finalists' videos accessible to young drivers across the country, they also are posted on YouTube and MySpace.
Once the grand-prize winners are selected, each will have the opportunity to have their video broadcast as a public service commercial for Bridgestone Firestone.
The top three winners will receive a $5,000 college scholarship and a trip to the 2009 Chicago Auto Show, where they will showcase their videos to automotive journalists from around the country.
Each of the 10 finalists also will receive a new set of Bridgestone or Firestone tires.
"Whichever of my parents' cars needs the tires most will get them," Danny said. "I'm still looking online for video contests to enter, for this video or another one I could make."
The videos convey a vital message.
"More than 20 young drivers are involved in fatal collisions every day, so we want to make sure our safety-education initiatives aimed at young drivers are compelling to them," said Christine Karbowiak, vice president of community and corporate relations for Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. "This is a competition driven by the teens themselves, and the contestants continue to amaze us with their originality. Their videos are not only informative, but fun to watch as well."
She said Bridgestone Firestone developed the Safety Scholars initiative in 2006 in the form of an essay contest, which received more than 20,000 submissions.
At the time, $2,500 scholarships were awarded to three top winners.
Last year, the competition became video-based and the scholarships increased to $5,000 each. The program was introduced to promote driver safety and education among America's youth.
In addition to Safety Scholars, Bridgestone Firestone has invested in other driving- and tire-safety education initiatives specifically targeted at young drivers. For instance, the Bridgestone brand serves as presenting national sponsor of Driver's Edge, a hands-on safe-driving course that is offered free to teens in selected cities.
The company also has aired a series of tire-safety public service announcements featuring former racing great Mario Andretti, a Firestone spokesman.
Danny will be DVD yearbook editor for the 2008-2009 school year and has five of his stories appearing in the DVD accompanying the 2008 Lafayette yearbook. He said the video has had a more direct impact on his life.
"It's ironic because three weeks ago, I was rear-ended while driving - and wearing a seatbelt," he said. "Then, two weeks ago, Garrett also was in a car accident - and was wearing a seatbelt, so we were both OK. We know firsthand that wearing seatbelts will save lives."
You can contact Mary Shapiro at mshapiro@yourjournal.com.
Safety Scholars Facts:
-- The Safety Scholars Web site has received more than 47,000 hits to date.
-- There have been more than 60,000 Safety Scholars viewings on YouTube.com.
-- Last year, 8,000 people voted online for the 2007 contest winners.
To see the finalist videos, including that of Danny Dianora of Wildwood, visit www.safetyscholars.com.
See video of Danny in action, visit http://westcountyjournal.stltoday.com/.
(Information courtesy of Bridgestone Firestone)
