I was invited out to the Miami area on behalf of a substance abuse treatment facility looking to shoot a commercial that would hit home with the addict and encourage them to call in and seek the help they would need to get their addiction under control. This kind of opportunity was a first of it's kind and I was quite intrigued by where this may lead my career in recovery advocacy.
My contacts and the client were extremely welcoming to me and I gotta say Chris the producer really helped me get comfortable with this "TV" thing. If you have listened to me speak I am not a sit in the chair or stand behind the podium talker. I'm a walker and I move my hands a lot when I speak. I would like to think that I am pretty animated when it comes to my body language and speaking in terms of movement. So, when someone says, "Stand right her and talk into the camera but be yourself", it's not exactly the easiest thing to do! It's hard to stay loose and in your zone when you have to stand still, especially when you are mover like myself. This is where Chris's magic came in.. He said, "I want you to start your speech you give to crowds with me, exactly the way you would do it in front of a crowd." He even got me a magazine to hold that presented the magazine I was on the cover of I bring out to my engagements. I began my speech and he was able to see the difference and encouraged me to bring the intensity and projection from that to the camera. I found it easier to loosen up and read the prompter as if I were speaking it without one.
Basically the commercial is going to air in 15 states where the client has treatment centers located. The commercial talks briefly about me being homeless and some other aspects to recovery and then encourages people to call in. I really like the approach everyone wanted to take with this commercial and I think it's going to be extremely successful at hitting home with the addict that see's it. I think that this commercial is going to really give me a lot more visibility and help even more people find a way to reach help and get the help they need to get over the hump of their substance abuse addiction and into a routine of sobriety. Once I have the commercial I will be posting it on my site for everyone to see, so stay tuned!