Since MTV launched Aug. 1, 1981, teens and music videos have gone together like peanut butter and jelly. On Friday, a music video for the song “Indiana Weekend,” featuring local teenagers, will premiere in the Warsaw Community High School auditorium. The doors open and the red carpet will roll out beginning at 7:30 p.m., with the screening of the video at 8 p.m. The red carpet to the semi-formal affair will be open to the public so anyone can have their photo taken on it. After the video screening, there will be a question-and-answer session with the four main actors and representatives of the film crew. Actors include WCHS seniors Madison Hart, Bailey Harmon and Kameron Reiter and 19-year-old WCHS graduate Shelby Miller. Crew scheduled to attend include Bryce Fritzel, cinematographer; Jessica Hardy and Brent Kado, producers, Flow Feel Films; and Marsha Carey, Kosciusko Cares coordinator. Hardy wrote the lyrics for “Indiana Weekend,” which was composed and sung for the video by Matt Geiler, Los Angeles, Calif. “Kosciusko Cares wanted to provide an opportunity to local teens, and they wanted it to be all-inclusive, so they hired Flow Feel Films to produce an all-teen cast music video,” said Hardy in an interview Sunday afternoon. “The message is to be willing to accept everything about yourself and others. And there also was a mission to include the background and beauty of Indiana.” The video was shot at Wawasee High School, Fribley Field, some private residences and locations in North Webster. It took a total of two 12-hour days and another half day to shoot the music video. “The crew was local, and we were also hoping to find someone young with an interest in doing something like this, and Bryce reached out to us. He’s 19 and just graduated Warsaw,” Hardy said. She also said, “Kosciusko Cares, in general, is trying to be on the forefront of digital media this year. This was the first of a series of projects in the works showing the power and benefits of using video to communicate and connect with the community in an exponential way. They’re hoping the music video – though shot in Kosciusko County – will be a relatable video to teens across Indiana, and (Kosciusko Cares) will use this to launch its YouTube video channel. It will launch the day after the music video premiere, as will other special videos that people will see at the premiere.” Hart said she wanted to be a part of the music video because she has an interest in and love for acting. She’s done some work in films before and enjoyed the experience so she wanted to continue that. Having never been in a music video before, this was an opportunity to put that on her resume. “It was so much fun,” she said during the Sunday interview. “I think filming is a lot different than what people just viewing it would understand it to be. Shots are filmed multiple times so it really is work. I find it really rewarding to see the final product.” As for the realistic portrayal of teen issues, Hart said, “I think its portrayal of the weekend and us going on the pier, on the lake and having the bonfire was realistic to Indiana, especially in Kosciusko County where we have 100 lakes. I think in the school setting, it had to be portrayed in a way that was going on in a three-minute time span, so in a way it was more played up. “I do think people do struggle with whether or not they can express their true selves before they feel pressure to fit in a certain group or have a certain image and that dictates a lot that goes on in high school.” Hardy said it was important to note that the video does not mean to simplify teen issues. Issues for teens are complicated and are different for each one. Having only seen a bit of the final video, Hart said she is excited to see the finished product on Friday. “Based on what I saw so far, it looks really good,” she said. A short preview of the music video will be shown on “Experience Michiana” with Gordy Young on WNIT this week. Hardy and Hart are traveling to South Bend today to film the interview segment for the show. Kosciusko Cares is a sponsored project of the Bowen Center, Hardy explained. “Their purpose is to offer information on external programs and services available to teens as well as create and provide unique opportunities in the community for teens. They work with local schools to prevent at-risk behavior,” she said. The website is at www.kosciuskocares.org, and the project also is on Facebook.
