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A local house becomes the backdrop for a public service announcement about the dangers of teen drug and alcohol use.
By MATTHEW WAITE
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 20, 2001
ARIPEKA -- Over a weekend, Rick West had a sheriff's deputy come to his door with news a teenage driver was killed in a drunken driving accident, then a party breaks out the next night where another teen dies of a drug overdose in his shower.
And he's got it all on tape.
Not to worry. Everyone's alive again when a director yells "Cut!"
West opened his Briarwoods home to a volunteer cast and crew to film two public service announcements last weekend. The PSAs are a project of the Tampa chapter of the Florida Motion Picture and Television Association, a non-profit group that promotes its industry throughout the state.
One of the 60-second spots to be delivered to area schools and state and national television stations is about teen drinking, the other about the dangers of drugs.
"Every room is being used," West said Saturday, as cameramen, lighting technicians, extras, actors and horde of others made a mess of a sound stage of his house. "Price I've got to pay, I guess."
Makeup and wardrobe is the garage. A folding table passes as a makeup counter. Out back, the pool is the green room, where actors and extras wait for the scene to be shot. The rest of the house is where the party scene and the drug overdose are shot.
What West, owner of Thunder and Lighting Film Productions, and Chris Leidenfrost, the director, have envisioned for the anti-drug commercial is a first person point of view -- the camera becomes the main character's eyes. The character goes to a rave party -- to be shot later this month in Tampa -- and buys some drugs.
Later that night, at the house party shot Sunday in West's house, the character takes the drugs. Moments later, those drugs and the alcohol start to take effect.
Two actors will "drag" the character up a flight of stairs, or so it will look, and into an upstairs bathroom. Once in the shower, the water will spill down on the character as images from the night flash into view. Eventually, a paramedic will arrive, try and revive the character, and when the screen goes blank, a voice will come on, cursing that they lost another teen.
"We're trying to do an in-your-face kind of thing to compete with the barrage of things kids see in the media," Leidenfrost said. "If it wasn't in-your-face, it might not grab them enough."
Jeanina Schipman, 16, of Lakeland is one of the principal actors and a type of consultant. She said she's been to rave parties and seen kids do drugs only to get carried away by paramedics.
She said she's acting in the public service announcement to help her resume, but the chance to help people to avoid a bad situation also appealed to her. And, she said the anti-drug messages need updating.
"Say No to Drugs' is a little old," she said about the anti-drug campaign begun before she was born. "That crime buster dog is old. People make fun of that now."
Cast and crew said they have been paying particular attention to detail -- clothing and music for instance -- to be sure the message is delivered to a teen level.
"It's got to get through to them how dangerous and how stupid this is," said Russ Wilkinson, who is doing the music for the two PSAs.
West said the whole production -- editing and all -- should be done by April.
"We're doing this because we know it needs to be done immediately," he said. "Our mission is to save lives."
- Staff writer Matthew Waite can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6247 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6247. His e-mail address is waite@sptimes.com.