CHS community teams up for memorable video shoot

CHS Principal Derek Folan and the Bulldog mascot kick off the lip dub video as Joe Sabatino (left) and Dan Sheehy prepare to start rolling.

On Thursday, October 4, the Canton High School community took part in something that yielded an arguably unparalleled display of school spirit. But it was not a pep rally or an athletic event or anything else where there’s an anticipated or predictable bonding experience. It was a “lip dub,” a music video shoot that involved the whole school — a project that took weeks of hard work but culminated in a magical experience for teachers and students alike.

The lip dub was a huge undertaking, as it incorporated each and every member of the school community. The school shut down for a class period as clubs, athletic teams, organizations and the general student body all took their spots in the hallways to play their roles in the video. As participants lip synched, danced and celebrated the school, a student-led camera team captured it all in just one take. Among the images captured by the lens were teachers dressed as Greek philosophers and founding fathers, wrestlers competing on the mat, artists painting, and a science experiment in progress.

As part of its preparation for this week’s accreditation visit from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, CHS put together the video to demonstrate its positive school culture and spirit. The funding for the project came through a grant from the Paul R. Matthews Foundation, which awards four grants annually to programs that benefit the entire town of Canton. Among the many applicants this past year, the CHS television production classes were selected and the grant was to fund the school-wide lip dub video. What the school community did not realize was the effect it would have.

“It does the soul well to see such unbridled enjoyment and enthusiasm from almost everyone,” said CHS history teacher Mike Eromin. “I had goose bumps in the gym at the end as everyone was one school and one community. I know the final product is going to be immensely enjoyable, but even if I never saw it, the entire experience would have been a rousing success.”

Such positivity regarding the experience was matched by the student at the helm. Daniel Sheehy, a CHS senior who put in countless hours of work as the lip dub director and producer, was “overwhelmed with excitement.” Sheehy and his production staff — which put in an estimated 50-70 hours of work over the past three weeks — executed a project that had a lot of uncertainty built into it.

Without question, bringing together and organizing that many people for a single shot had its challenges. “Making sure everyone had a location and that it was correct, and making sure everyone was accounted for was quite the challenge,” Sheehy explained.

And on the morning of October 4, the CHS community really had no idea what was going to happen. “During third period, Mr. [Derek] Folan, principal of CHS, came on the intercom and instructed us to go to our designated areas,” said Sheehy. “There was a lot of trust.”

Trust was an integral part of it, and yet the organization and planning that went into the lib dub cannot be downplayed. Last spring, the idea for the video came to life. CHS TV production teacher Ed McDonough contacted a Texas high school that had embarked on the lib dub experience, and they offered some valuable advice. At that point, Sheehy and his crew were still left with many questions — but they were not deterred.

Once the rights to OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” were secured about a month ago, the team revved into action. A sign-up list was created, and each participant was assigned to a location and a role in the video. In the end, 25 zones were created, and in them stood over 650 students. The entire CHS faculty and many support staff also participated, including many who had a part in the video itself.

While Sheehy realizes he was an integral component in all of this, he is quick to give credit to those who helped him. “I did put in a lot of effort, but I am forever indebted to those who helped,” he said, referring specifically to crew members Nick Ciolfi, Kyle DelSignore, Joe Sabatino, and Ben Wiseman.

But Sheehy does indeed deserve the accolades he is receiving. McDonough said Sheehy is the reason it all came together as beautifully as it did. “It was like a stone soup,” McDonough said. “There were all of these different ingredients that had to be mixed just right. And on that day everything clicked. A great degree of why this was the case was due to Dan.”

“Daniel Sheehy directed the lip dub with the support of several classmates, and his vision and attention to detail was nothing short of extraordinary,” added Folan, who called the event “amazing and unifying.”

Folan was also quick to acknowledge McDonough. “In overseeing the project, Ed deserves a ton of credit as well, using a Paul Matthews grant to drive the project and empowering students to produce a tremendous video,” he said.

While the video has yet to be formally unveiled, what the lib dub did accomplish on that Thursday morning is clear: It brought together the community of CHS. And Sheehy, after showing the video to Folan and Superintendent Jeff Granatino, summed it up well when he said, “You know you’ve done something great for the school community when these people are thanking you.”

To view the CHS lip dub video, go to www.vimeo.com/51366716.

Share This Post

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=16807