Students who stayed on campus during long weekend probably spotted many of their peers clad in maroon and navy school “uniforms”—this sartorial shift was not a Shanahan midterm dress code surprise, but the outfits extras were wearing in a Royal Bank of Scotland commercial. The commercial was filmed in the St. John Chapel by Park Pictures on Monday, October 22, and Tuesday, October 23. It featured about eighty Choate students, each of whom was paid two hundred dollars for approximately nine hours of filming.
Titled “Applause,” the commercial depicts a student body as they are addressed in chapel during the 70’s. Adam Stasiw ’09 said, “[The location manager] put up a curtain in the back to make the chapel look like the auditorium of a prep school.” Jason Ciaccia, the location manager for Park Pictures, scouted two dozen chapels across the country in search for an ideal filming location for the chapel scene. The crew of Park Pictures viewed the chapel as the perfect setting for a fictitious boarding school.
Lorraine Connelly, the Choate Marketing Communications Manager and Media Relations Editor, explained, “The Choate chapel was exactly what [the filming crew] was looking for. As soon as they decided to use the chapel, their location manager asked the communications office if students would be interested in participating in the commercial.” Stasiw, who took part in the scene, said, “I learned that I could participate because there were announcements posted on the Daily Notice, and there was also a table set up in the Dining Hall with information about it which was there the Wednesday before filming began.”
Filming began on Monday, when only actors from the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) participated. Choate students took part in filming along with SAG actors on Tuesday, when they were directed to sit in the chapel and to stand and clap after the orator made his speech. To participate, students filled out an audition form, while their parents or legal guardians also signed a release form and an insurance form.
This was the second big media moment on campus in recent months. This summer, College Road Trip, a Disney movie starring Raven-Symoné and Martin Lawrence, was also filmed on campus. When asked about filming on campus, Mrs. Connelly said, “It all began last spring when our office was asked if we would be willing to participate in College Road Trip. We don’t allow for companies to film on campus while school is in session, so we agreed for the crew of ‘College Road Trip’ to shoot on August 4.
“It was the first motion picture that has been filmed at Choate, and shortly thereafter the Royal Bank of Scotland called to ask if they could film in The St. John Chapel over long weekend and we agreed to this arrangement,” Mrs. Connelly continued. “There is now a thirty percent tax credit on expenses of commercials in Connecticut, which makes it one of the most aggressive incentive programs in the country.” The Communications Office, which aided the production crew, signed a contract that allowed filming to take place at Choate. They also received insurance certificate to assist the crew, their needs, and any interferences that delayed filming. Lorraine Connelly said, “There were construction trucks near the new dorms that disrupted filming, so it was our job to call Community Safety.”
Stasiw reflects on participating in the commercial: “It was a fun experience. It was cool to see how actual commercials are filmed and directed. It was really professional and I would definitely participate again.”
While, according to Mrs. Connelly, there are no plans for more on-campus filming in the near future, it is possible that more events will be scheduled later in the year in which Choate students will have the opportunity to get involved.
Choate students wore uniforms in the Royal Bank of Scotland commercial, filmed on campus over Long Weekend. PHOTO/Communications
