WVHS student-produced commercials give local businesses holiday retail boost

Students in Mr. Dan Cecconie’s Video Production class have been busy producing commercials for some of Warwick’s local businesses. The commercials received their first screenings during a special classroom event on Tuesday, December 7. All together, the students filmed seven commercials for businesses offering a wide variety of products, including handmade jewelry, homemade pies, and more.

“This is the fifth year that we’ve done this project, but it is the first time we’ve prepared the commercials in time to run during the busy shopping season,” said Mr. Cecconie. “We wanted to give business owners right here in our community something to help boost sales around the holidays. As I shared with them at Tuesday’s screening, $100 spent at a local business equates to $68 that stays in our community. Spend that same $100 at a big-box retailer, and only $48 of it stays here.”

The production process included a first step of students visiting their locations for research. They gained a better understanding of the shops, met the owners, and began looking at the possibilities of each retail environment.

“I had a nice time interviewing Rachel [Bertoni], and figuring how to tell her shop’s backstory,” said Jarrett Mulqueen about his work with Bertoni Gallery.

After a period of creative brainstorming, conceptualizing and writing, the next step was for student producers to present their scripts and storyboards for client approval.

“Brendan was very accommodating. He got our vision and our brand from the get-go,” said Kally Padilla, of Kaliada Jewelry. “It was a great collaboration!”

Shooting was done on location amidst some of the season’s busiest shopping days so far.

“It was a challenge working with the bustling holiday crowd,” said student producer Arianna Cruz, “but I really enjoyed getting the shots.”

Client Leslie Noble, of Noble Pies, said, “Erin came in to shoot on one of our busiest days, and it was like she wasn’t even there. She was very flexible. The whole experience was great.”

Students then edited their own footage, adding music beds and narration. Commercials were produced for the following local businesses:

Nobel Pies
Client: Leslie Noble   |   Producer: Erin De La Mota

Bertoni Gallery
Client: Rachel Bertoni   |   Producer: Jarrett Mulqueen

Kaliada Jewelry & Socially Conscious Boutique
Client: Kally Padilla   |   Producer: Brendan Rink

Warwick Board & Brush
Clients: Christine Russell/Theresa Episcopio   |   Producer: Arianna Cruz

Greenwood Lake Garden Center
Client: Stacy Gogdonn   |   Producer: Connor O’Regan

Fetch
Client: Adam Powers   |   Producer: Riley Cupo

Forever Jewelers
Client: Moshe Schwartzberg   |   Producer: Matt Doherty

Students look forward to this annual project, and enjoy the challenging opportunity to use the skills and talents they’ve learned.

“I always assure the students, ‘you don’t know how much you already know until you do it,’” said Mr. Cecconie. “And when they get in there with the client, all of their learning and creativity takes over and these great spots are the result.”

The participating businesses were asked to make a charitable donation to the Career and Technical Scholarship fund to assist the students in their future educational endeavors.

Please check out the commercials at the Warwick Valley Television YouTube channel.