SHS Students Produce "Scenes from a New Normal" Documenting the Effect of the Virus on Scarsdale

Three SHS sophomores have created a 23-minute documentary that chronicles the Corona outbreak and its effects on our hometown. The short film, titled, "Scenes from a New New Normal," is insightful, poignant and timely and has already received over 4,000 views on YouTube where it is posted online.

In order to create the film, William Reed, Jordan Cascade and Jake Lubin filmed over 36 hours of footage and conducted 26 interviews to show a wide variety of perspectives on how the virus hit the community. They were also able to include stunning aerial photographer of Scarsdale and the area made possible by use of a drone.

Watch the movie here:

They spoke to students, teachers, business owners, SHS Principal Kenneth Bonamo, Scarsdale Mayor Marc Samwick, a CEO, a Rabbi, a physician and a resident who fell ill. All of the interviews and production were done entirely over Zoom, making this one of the first films to be produced totally online.

We spoke to Will Reed about the film and he explained, “As schools closed, the three of us decided that a productive use of our time would be to utilize our common interest in filmmaking and journalism to inspire people and bring insight to our community. Jordan Cascade used his drone to capture aerial shots of a variety of locations around the town and surrounding areas. We used these shots to manifest the desolate nature of the town during this period of isolation. In addition to the drone shots, we compiled clips and footage from students and friends. We used these to reminisce on days at school before the closures. We then asked our peers to send us footage that captured how they were spending their excess of time in creative ways.”

Reed continued, “While conducting interviews over Zoom, we found it best to engage in a casual conversation, rather than a formal interview. Although we did prepare questions, we would let the conversation flow naturally and refrained from sticking to a rigid script, as we felt this allowed our interviewees' most raw feelings and thoughts to surface. One of the most difficult aspects of this collaborative process was that we never actually worked together in person. We collaborated entirely over Zoom and we made suggestions to Jordan as he edited during these calls.”

And what has happened since the film’s release? Reed said, “Since our release, the reaction to the documentary has been incredible and has exceeded our expectations by miles. In less than 8 hours, we received over 2,000 views, and that number is still climbing. We have received so many kind messages with people voicing their support and their feelings about the film. This reaction has been more than what we could have ever asked for, and we feel that we have achieved exactly what we set out to do: uplift our community.”

We asked for some information about the three young filmmakers and here is what they shared: Jake Lubin has been interested in filmmaking and journalism for a number of years. Creating a documentary was the perfect way to combine these passions.

Will Reed has an immense passion for creativity and artistry. The creation of this documentary highlighted his interviewing and collaborative skills.

Jordan Cascade has always been making films, even as a third grader, making a movie about Hurricane Sandy. After the closure of his school, he knew this would be another life-shifting moment and joined Jake Lubin and Will Reed in creating Scenes from a New Normal.

Watch the film here: