Student project broadcast on local television, radio

By: Mike Sergi

Published: Friday, November 17, 2006

To be able to apply what is learned in the classroom to real-world projects — especially  local radio and television — is a valuable experience.

That is exactly what took place when Savannah College of Art and Design students from the advertising design and photography departments teamed up to work on the “Read It Loud! Savannah” campaign. Intended to encourage parents and caregivers to read to preschool children, the program offers a way to teach values, stimulate brain development, develop language skills, build vocabulary and encourage imagination.

The public service project, created by Wally “Famous” Amos, founder of Famous Amos Cookie Company, is sponsored by the Chip & Cookie Reading Aloud Foundation in association with the United Way and SCAD. Amos has served as the national spokesman for the Literary Volunteers of America and also is a board member of the National Center for Family Literacy and Communities in Schools. He has been promoting adult literacy since 1979.

For the last two years, Amos has been working with SCAD to promote reading to children. Students in advertising design, broadcast design and motion graphics, graphic design and photography have worked together over the past two years to help promote the initiative. The project to publicize the “Read It Loud! Savannah” program began in August.

“The teamwork between advertising design and photography on the ‘Montage’ television commercial was particularly gratifying to me,” said SCAD advertising design professor Art Novak. He served as art director for the project, which consisted of five television and five radio public service ads.

Advertising design graduate student Jennifer Reis and senior Alex Cortani worked with Novak to produce the concepts and script spots.

Photography graduate students Trystan Mackendrick and Shana D’Attilio went to Marshpoint Elementary School on Whitemarsh Island to shoot black-and-white portraits of second- and third-graders for commercial spots. They even set up a full studio in the classroom.

“We spent a lot of time with the students, and we found it to be a very enjoyable experience,” said Mackendrick.

The commercials were shot and edited by Kurt Hetager and Jay Adair of WJCL-TV, the Savannah ABC affiliate.

Local television stations WJCL, WTGS, WSAV, WTOC and Comcast agreed to run the PSAs. Local Cumulus Broadcasting affiliated stations agreed to run the radio PSAs, which also were sent to other radio groups in town, such as Adventure Radio Group and WRHQ, Q105.3.

For students, being able to work on major projects is an excellent learning opportunity as it gives them a chance to work with people from other disciplines, just like in the “real world.”

“The obvious positive value of this program makes it a rewarding one for both students and faculty,” said Novak.

Sergi is the wellness coordinator for the department of student recreation and fitness.