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SYRACUSE - Focus Cola is the newest soft drink.
Well, not really.
Focus Cola is actually part of a Project XL video project that helped send three Wawasee High School students to the state finals March 20. Of 3,200 entries, senior Matt Moe, sophomore Brandon Moe and junior Patty Stroebel placed in the top eight as a group.
Project XL is an annual competition for Indiana students. There are six categories students can participate in and a new theme every year. Winners in each category receive scholarships and the overall winner receives an additional scholarship.
The theme for this year's contest was: Does competition bring out the best or the worst in you?
"Our kids here had the opportunity to compete with the best of the best. We're very fortunate to have these kids leading our future," said Sue White, Wawasee production studio adviser. "They did a wonderful job representing our school."
Moe, Moe and Stroebel's 60 second video project was the first time Wawasee students went to the Project XL state competition in the video category. Previous Wawasee student winners went to the state finals for other categories.
Their weekend in Indianapolis began with a photo session and interviews with various television stations. The competition was held and videotaped. While the three students didn't make it to the top three, it was a good experience for them, they said.
"I don't think I'll ever forget this," said Matt Moe. "It's a pretty big experience for anyone."
Stroebel said, "I think it was a blast. It was a good time. We were one of eight."
"I thought it was fun, too," Brandon Moe said. "It would have been better, too, (had we gone further). It was neat how everyone was rooting for us."
Long before the threesome knew they made it to the finals, they started working on the project last fall.
"We started working on it in October as a group. We may have started working on it earlier by coming up with ideas and stuff," said Stroebel.
Much time was spent kicking around ideas alone.
"We probably had four different things that one of us was happy with. We went through a lot of compromise," Stroebel said.
After a while the group decided to use the cola idea.
"I guess (we chose) cola because it's a very well known object," said Matt Moe.
Stroebel said, "The theme was: Does competition bring out the best or worst in you? But we centered ours around a pop. No one sees pop as competition."
The black and white commercial begins with two students playing chess in the WHS auditorium. One of the students is having trouble focusing on the game. A can of Focus Cola floats in the air to the student having concentration problems. There's lightning flashing and thunder booming. The student drinks the cola and regains his concentration. A narrator explains that like the cola gave the student his concentration back, competition gives students concentration. The overall message is competition makes one better.
Stroebel said the reason they made it as far as they did in the competition was because of the quality of the video, and not necessarily the way they got the message across. And to get the video to be of the best quality, the three students worked long hours on the project.
"If we just worked after school, we did it for three hours," said Stroebel. On weekends, she said, they may have worked 12 to 15 hours. Each member of the group specialized in certain areas for the project.
"I was more into the editing and technical aspects," said Matt Moe.
Stroebel and Brandon Moe assisted with production work, acted in the commercial, made costumes and worked on the script.
Stroebel and Brandon Moe plan to compete again next year. Matt Moe is graduating and has plans for the future which may include more video production.
"I'm going to go to Ivy Tech next year to study communications," Matt Moe said.
Stroebel said she wants to go into physical therapy in the future, but sees the project as an important high school experience.
"I'm kind of using it as creative building," she said.
Brandon Moe sees the importance of the project in another way.
"I think it's fun and it looks good on a resume. It shows responsibility and trust," he said.
Other qualities the project taught them, they said, were cooperation, compromise and working with others. They also said the project wouldn't be possible without Sue White and their parents.
Matt Moe said, "We've had all positive comments. I haven't heard one negative thing."
