Images from the ‘Straight Talk’ set

I recently worked with Horizon Intertainment as 1st AD (First Assistant Director) on the another installment in the ‘Straight Talk’ series of educational videos. The first episode was shot last August and covered the topic of STD education and prevention. The latest one is about Teen Pregnancy. These are difficult subjects to cover, requiring that a great deal of factual information comes across without being seen as a joke by a teenage audience and without losing their interest by being too dry.

Director Jared Bentley and the producers at Horizon Intertainment, JC Pohl and Erahm Christopher, have developed a take on the traditional educational video that worked really well the first time around and going by what I saw on the set, I expect the second to be even better. They have a knack for finding and casting talented young actors and combine that with an experienced crew that has worked together for years. Using a mix of reality and documentary styles the result is an engaging and dramatic take on the educational video.

Working a 1st AD on a film set can be one of the most grueling and demanding jobs in the film industry. Responsible for every logistical aspect of the shoot, the 1st AD is the one running the set and keeping the entire crew (even the director) on schedule. The 1st AD is the first to arrive and the last to leave every day, makes sure everyone knows where they need to be the following day and is the one person who keeps track of every minute of the shooting day. It sounds rough, right? And it can with an inexperienced crew. But this crew has been working together for years and the second shoot was even smoother than the first.

Here are some images from the set: