by Admin | Oct 5, 2016 | Press
By Aimee Chiavaroli [email protected]
NEW BEDFORD — As the New Be music video festival kicked into gear at the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center Wednesday night, host Tem Blessed had a question for those gathered:
‘Why are we here today?,” he said.
Erryn Jones was ready with a response: “Hope,” she called out.
The festival was the reveal of the “New Be, New Me” website (werunthisnb.com), encompassing a campaign that provides resources and links for youth to community programs and tips on how to better themselves — such as how to set up a checking account or buy a car – focusing on health and wellness, kids’ future and plans, community and passions.
It also marked the premiere of New Bedford native Samantha Johnson’s video “We Run This (With Pride)”
Jones, wellness and public speaking teacher at Our Sisters’ School, said there were about 25 participants from OSS in the video.
“It brought tears to my eyes to see the work these kids did,” she said. Also from Dream Out Loud, she was the assistant director of the video. It’s about “getting (kids) to understand it’s more about themselves,” she said.
Ben Gilbarg, director and producer of the video, said he had the idea to create an anthem for the city which was written and recorded by Johnson. His idea was “to try to inspire young people to grow more positively.”
The owner of Visionary Communications, Gilbarg told the audience, “There’s an inner fire that burns in each one of you.” He said some of them may live with a single parent, no longer have parents or may be in foster care. “We know the issues you’re facing,” he said.
“Still, all you guys are special and are just worth everything,” Gilbarg said.
While last year’s “America’s Got Talent” semi-finalist Johnson was unable to attend, about 200 turned out to see her new video, as well as those by other local musicians Matthew Neves and Koda and Sky from the Youth Ambassadors Program (YAP).
The “We Run This” video featured kids picking up trash, riding bikes, exercising, doing their homework and being positive in the community.
Shadeh Mokolo, 16 said she liked all the videos, but Johnson’s was her favorite. “It was really good,” she said of the event. Standing beside Mokolo, Keyaree Perkins, 15 said she decided to go to attend after seeing it advertised at her school – the Global Learning Charter School.
At the end of the program, Gilbarg called those onstage who took part in making the video. He gave the mic to a few kids who said it was a great opportunity and they had fun.
Roberto Torres, 11 didn’t get to see himself on the big screen that night because he wasn’t in the video, but he caught one of the T-shirts being tossed into the audience.
by Admin | Oct 3, 2016 | Press
Featured story in the SouthCoast Today about our project’s impact on local youth:
By: Mike Lawrence
NEW BEDFORD — Wednesday night’s music video premiere and youth outreach event at the Zeiterion could give several young students an inspiring look at the bright lights of the performance industry — something that city resident and Tabor Academy freshman Mia Vaughn said she’s been trying to find for years.
“I’ve been searching since I was 9,” the ambitious Mia, 14, said Monday, referring to on-screen performance opportunities. “I had lost all hope for how to form my career in New Bedford.”
Mia said she’s performed in several plays with SouthCoast Children’s Theatre, is taking drama classes at Tabor and even auditioned over the summer, in Boston, for the upcoming Walt Disney Co. movie “A Wrinkle in Time.”
But she had never appeared in a music video until the recent production, at sites across New Bedford, of the video for Samantha Johnson’s “We Run This (with Pride).” The community-focused anthem premieres Wednesday night at the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center downtown.
“I’m hoping this kind of opens up new opportunities,” Mia said.
Creating new opportunities, dreams and inspiration for local youth is a theme of the event, which also will launch the New Be, New Me community outreach campaign. The New Be, New Me website, at WeRunThisNB.com, will contain a youth-friendly resource guide with links to information and resources to help youth become healthier and more community-minded.
Visionary Communications Consultants owner Ben Gilbarg led the music video’s four-month production, which involved more than 300 local youth and included an energetic march July 27 on William Street.
Casimir Pulaski Elementary School fifth-grader Johnnyel Vega, 10, took part in nearly all of those shoots, including a staged race in Buttonwood Park.
“When we were sprinting, we did like 200 takes — I was tired,” Johnnyel recalled Monday.
Creating new opportunities, dreams and inspiration for local youth is a theme of the event, which also will launch the New Be, New Me community outreach campaign. The New Be, New Me website, at WeRunThisNB.com, will contain a youth-friendly resource guide with links to information and resources to help youth become healthier and more community-minded.
Visionary Communications Consultants owner Ben Gilbarg led the music video’s four-month production, which involved more than 300 local youth and included an energetic march July 27 on William Street.
Casimir Pulaski Elementary School fifth-grader Johnnyel Vega, 10, took part in nearly all of those shoots, including a staged race in Buttonwood Park.
“When we were sprinting, we did like 200 takes — I was tired,” Johnnyel recalled Monday.
by Admin | Jul 26, 2016 | Press
By: Mike Lawrence
Building Locally, thinking Globally.
NEW BEDFORD — In a city filled with beautiful murals, one of the most eye-catching recent creations can be seen facing Kempton Street, in a fenced-in playground behind Carney Academy.
The long, cement wall — previously unadorned, except for frequent tags that had to be cleaned by maintenance crews — now is a dynamic, multi-layered illustration promoting education in areas known as STEAM, or science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
Local graffiti artists Justin Estrella and Chris Walker spray-painted the mural last month. Ben Gilbarg, owner of Visionary Communications Consultants, said Tuesday that the project is part of ongoing efforts to raise awareness among local youth about 21st century education, career paths, health and social issues, through channels outside of traditional formats like public service announcements.
“The PSA market is not reaching them — and the PSA market is pretty dry,” Gilbarg said. “There’s a need for outreach.”
Visionary Communications — essentially, Gilbarg and content developer Joel Cordero — is involved in several projects intended to bridge that gap and reach local youth through art, film, music, and social media channels. Those projects include Wednesday’s community march and video shoot on William Street downtown, for the filming of scenes in an upcoming music video featuring local rising star Samantha Johnson.
Gilbarg said he approached Johnson with the idea of creating an anthem to inspire local youth, as part of the “New Be, New Me,” community outreach campaign. The resulting song — “We Run This, (with Pride)” — could draw hundreds to the City Hall area from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, for the filming.
The community campaign has 17 area sponsors, including United Way of Greater New Bedford, the Coalition for Social Justice, New Bedford Wellness Initiative, Mayor Jon Mitchell and many more.
“We hope that this project will kind of be a model moving forward, to replicate on a larger scale,” Gilbarg said.
Two other Visionary Communications projects have similar goals. Gilbarg said the National Park Service, through the National Mall, is sponsoring a video project, through the Youth Ambassador Program, that involved filming at the Lincoln Memorial, the White House area and elsewhere in Washington, D.C.
“It’s a social commentary piece on civil rights in this country, historical but also current,” Gilbarg said of the video, which could be released before fall.
Gilbarg said he’s looking for sponsors — potentially on a national level — for a “STEAM anthem” video filmed with Carney Academy students.
“What we love doing is projects that have some kind of social impact, and room for a little creativity,” he said.
The company also was behind the #FoodFightNB video series last year, featuring several downtown restaurants, and has had clients including the City of New Bedford, New Bedford Whaling Museum and the state Department of Public Health.
Gilbarg works out of the Groudwork! collaborative space in the Quest Center, just north of downtown. Diann Haynes, administrative services manager for New Directions Southcoast, walked past his table Tuesday morning.
“He’s my guy,” Haynes said. “Ben is very involved with our youth programs. …The particular age group, 19-20, they have big respect for Ben.”
Gilbarg said Visionary employs local, young subcontractors as often as possible on its projects, in roles ranging from graphic designer to production assistant and more.
“The goal is to involve youth and employ youth in this process,” Gilbarg said. “This is a way to project their talent and give an outlet, that also is a career path.”
Follow Mike Lawrence on Twitter @MikeLawrenceSCT.
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