Young San Ramon Valley Filmmakers Honored

Lights!! Camera!! Awards!!!

Eighteen aspiring filmmakers from San Ramon Valley middle schools had their films premiered on Thursday, May 28, at the 10th Annual Street Smarts “Be Reel!” Video Contest Premiere and Awards Ceremony. Two students from Pine Valley Middle School walked away with the first place prize, while a student from Iron Horse Middle School came in second place.

The “Be Reel” Video Contest encourages middle school students to work in teams of up to four students to create 60-second public service announcement videos on a traffic safety theme. The fall theme was “Texting While Walking: It’s a No Brainer,” and the spring theme was “See Beyond the Windshield: How to Drive with Respect.” Street Smarts received 76 video submissions from 186 students this school year. Of the 76 videos submitted, 10 were chosen as finalists.

On Thursday, May 28, the 10 finalist videos were premiered at the Danville Village Theatre. Danville Mayor Mike Doyle emceed the event, with the help of San Ramon Mayor Bill Clarkson, Contra Costa County Supervisor Candace Andersen, and Rachael Hurd, San Ramon Valley Unified School District, School Board Member. The filmmakers, after watching their videos with the rest of the audience, were invited on stage to answer questions about their work. Then the first and second place videos were announced.

The first place video, “The Distraction,” was created by Jonathan Chan and Calvin Kamson of Pine Valley Middle School. Their video used humor and great camera shots to show how dangerous it can be to text and walk. The student in the video trips, hits his head on a pole and ultimately comes face to face with a car, all while texting. The second place award went to a video called “The Phoney Game” by David Hefter of Iron Horse Middle School. This student created an animated video game to illustrate the dangers of texting while walking by having the player run into a tree, light post, another person and ultimately lost the game when being hit by a car.

The first and second place winners walked away with the pride of making a video that will positively impact others, along with a cash prize: each member of the first place team won a $100 Visa gift card, and each second place team member received a $50 Visa gift card. All the finalists’ videos, including the first and second place winners, will be aired on Contra Costa Television (CCTV) on Friday, June 5 at 11:00 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., Saturday, June 6 at 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Friday, June 12 at 11:00 a.m. 8:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 13 at 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. In addition, the first place video will be shown on CCTV throughout the year as a public service announcement. Links to all the finalist videos can be found on the Street Smarts website at http://www.street-smarts.com/programs/video_contest.htm.

The “Be Reel” Video Contest is just one of the many programs offered by Street Smarts, a traffic safety education program serving the San Ramon Valley. Funded in part by a federal Safe Routes to School grant, Street Smarts is a collaborative effort by the City of San Ramon, the Town of Danville, the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, and the County of Contra Costa. Each year, the program holds contests, presentations, and hands-on activities at elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools in the San Ramon Valley. The program’s mission is to change driver, bicyclist, and pedestrian behavior. For more information, visit www.street-smarts.com.

Photo Caption and Credit: Jonathan Chan and Calvin Kamson, First place winners and David Hefter, Second place winner

Photo Credit: Lara George