Best of the Week 2022-2023: Teaching to the Future

ST. ED'S WELCOMES CLEVELAND CAVALIERS' DONOVAN MITCHELL TO FILM "BODYARMOR" COMMERCIAL

When looking for a space to film a national commercial for his energy drink, "BodyArmor," the Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell reached out to St. Ed's to use the Main Gym and weight room facilities as the background for a commercial advertising his new BodyArmor SportWater. St. Ed's community excitedly welcomed Donovan Mitchell to our campus, and students had the chance to not only meet and interact with the professional athlete, but student filmmakers Matt Quinn '23 and Keagan O'Brien '23 were chosen to help work on the set of the commercial to help the director and crew throughout the shoot as personal assistants.

"This cool opportunity for Matt and Keagan was an experience they'll get to put on their resumes when they apply to film schools," says Dean of Academics and IB Coordinator Nick Kuhar. Additionally, student members of the Sports Marketing Club were able to shoot "behind the scenes" B-roll footage of the commercial production. "I was so pleased with the access the director and crew gave our guys and the opportunities they provided," adds Athletic Director Pete Kahler '02.

"The set of this commercial was much busier than any set I have ever been a part of," says Matt. "There were about five different projects that had to be done on a tight schedule, but somehow everything flowed really well and that was really cool to see. The coolest part of this experience was definitely watching the live feed of Donovan playing the drums directly on the monitor and getting to have conversations with him while he sat down in between takes."

"Watching the professional director, I learned that it's important to both be able to manage people assertively, but also be an approachable person who people can give suggestions to. This experience gave me insight on what it's really like on a professional level and how many people are needed to work together in order to create a project no matter the size," says Keagan. "The coolest part of the day was getting to be around Donovan and seeing how he acts when cameras aren't rolling. He was such a nice guy and was super approachable and it was really cool seeing his interactions with the director on set, who both have different backgrounds but were able to work together to create something amazing."