By Emanne Johnson
Editor-in-Chief
A touch of Hollywood has come to Southfield High.
The school’s Social Circle club is producing a public service video with Weber Shandwick Public Relations about concussion awareness.
The 60-second video, which is expected to air in movie theaters, aims to get the message out that concussions are serious matters for all athletes, not just football players.
Familiar faces such as senior Patricia Forbes, Girls’ Basketball Coach Jamie Glinz, sophomore Tyra Lee and junior Tiffany Harris will be featured as actors in the video.
“(This video will) show how dangerous concussions are,” says Lee. “You shouldn’t just shake them off.”
The video aims to encourage young people to sign a pledge that says they will tell someone when they have hurt their head and they will avoid returning to a game until the symptoms are gone.
The Social Circle members are producing the video for Safe Kids, a global nonprofit organization, in conjunction with C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
Safe Kids’ mission, according to Social Circle liaison Amanda Koons, is to provide parents and care-givers with the knowledge and tools to keep their kids safe. The focus on issues of concussions, child passenger seat safety, and sports safety.
“(Safe Kids) loved the idea of having students work on a video that would essentially help students,” says Koons. “As a nonprofit organization, they have a lower budget and they are benefiting from Southfield High School doing this (video) for them.”
Lee is no stranger to the work that goes into making an informational video. As a member of the ‘field Zone, a recreational center for Southfield teens, Lee has worked behind the camera on various commercials promoting membership to the facility. “I will be playing a basketball player (in the video) because I know how to work a camera already, so being in front of the camera is a different experience,” says Lee.
Social Circle member Claire Burnside, who is a senior, admits to being camera shy and will instead be working with the camera crew. “I don’t like being photographed or recorded,” says Burnside, “and I think it would be cool to work with the camera.”
For both Lee and Burnside, this experience will be one that is beneficial to their futures. They have an interest in public relations and have met several members of the Weber Shandwick Public Relations agency through their Social Circle meetings.
Lee says, “It gives me a chance to see what they do and be more prepared for a future career.”