What’s Your Auto-Motive?
It took about one month and meeting a tight deadline, but in the end it was all worth it for Ben Kellum.
The senior from Clayton High School was selected as the first-place winner in the High School division in the annual AAA Traffic Safety Poster Contest for his video “What’s Your Auto-Motive?” The video depicted a young driver rapping a message to stop texting and driving. For his efforts, Kellum was awarded a gift card of $300. Additionally, Kellum’s entry was selected as the best overall entry in the statewide contest, besting about 2,000 entries to earn an additional prize of $1,000.
“I might use the money toward college,” Kellum said, “or to buy some new computer software.”
The video, which lasts just under two minutes in its final form, took much, more longer to produce.
“I wrote the original lyrics in 20 minutes or so, then kept adding to it,” he said. “It was kind of rhyming like Dr. Seuss.”
Once the script was set, he needed to shoot the actual video, which was shot at night on the streets of Rowan University. Kellum enlisted local rapper Only Jahmez to record the lyrics and feature in the one-person video. From there, he estimated it took “about a month” of editing – between adding lighting, special effects and finding the proper music -- to get the final product.
The video starts with the words “Every day, approximately 11 teens die as a result of texting while driving” written in white against a jet-black background. It then proceeds to read “It’s time to remind ourselves the real reason we drive.” At that point the music fades in, along with the words “Why Do We Drive?’
The scene shifts to a driver behind the wheel of a car, with the video taken by someone in the rear passenger seat. The lyrics follow:
“We drive to see. We drive to go.
Some drive to relax and ride real slow.
To get from one place to another
To see a sister or a brother
Not to kill somebody’s mother.
Not to glance away and pick up a call.
We don’t drive for death to end it all.
We don’t drive to drink, we don’t drive to smoke,
We don’t drive to text…”
At that point, there’s the sound of a car crash, and the voiceover of “This ain’t no joke.”
The video then rewinds and picks up with the lyrics once again.
“You’ll drive for your family, you drive for a friend
You’ll drive for the strangers whose lives you won’t end.
You’ll drive for the years, and you’ll drive with care
You’ll drive for the future.”
The driver then turns to the camera for the only time in the video and says, “Stay Safe Out There.”
At that point, the words “Why Do You Drive?” show on screen followed by a repeat of the phrase “Every day, approximately 11 teens die as a result of texting while driving.”
The music picks up a bit, followed by the words “Let’s change that” before fading to black once again.
Kellum received his awards in front of a classroom of his peers. Additionally, Kellum’s Video and Graphic Arts teacher, Mark Zambron, also was awarded a $50 gift card.
In its 73rd year, AAA's Traffic Safety Poster Contest communicates safety messages in schools, encourages peer-to-peer communication through creativity, and establishes trust in AAA for future members and their parents. The program continues its primary aim of reducing traffic and pedestrian crashes, the No. 1 cause of death for children ages 3 to 14.
More than 2,000 entries from across the state in all age categories were received for the contest. Students from kindergarten through senior high school were invited to illustrate a selected safety category, under the supervision of their teachers. The program allows youth to become creative in slogan design while striving to create memorable entries, leading others to safety through example and enthusiasm.
To see Kellum’s video, go to:
https://www.southjersey.aaa.com/news/clayton-high-student-wins-statewide-aaa-contest
