The Man Behind The Mascot

The Man Behind the Mascot is a short independent film made by up and coming filmmakers Jason Vigotsky and Kevin Dunbar. This Mocumentay follows the trials and tribulations of a young Clarkstown South high school student who dreams to become the legendary Viking Mascot. The film is approximately 16 minutes long and can be found here.

Background
In 2006, Jason Vigotsky and Kevin Dunbar found themselves in a television production class that required them to produce short news stories to air on the school news program, CCSDTV. Both students found these stories to be rather boring and questioned how any avid television watcher would ever look forward to the weekly newscast. Vigotsky was the first to take an initiative to create a more entertaining story. His assignment was to report on the freshman elections taking place in early October of 2006. He did so, but put a "Vigotsky Spin" on it, added many elements of comedy and action. He even included a "chase scene" where he pursued a student to achieve an interview. His stories became that of legend, and right behind the camera was Kevin Dunbar.
Dunbar had been making short films for years, getting his first video camera at the age of 12. When Vigotsky began turning news stories into epic movies, Dunbar never hesitated to join in. The two went on the create "Godfather of the Comedy Club", a news story about a developed comedy club but with a tone very similar to The Godfather.
By December of 2006, Vigotsky had decided it was time to leave the restrictions of their TV production class and freely make independent films on their own. First came "Charlie", a comedy mocking the events of an annual visit from Californian friend Charlie Ventriglia. The film was a hit with friends and families. Next came "Clarkstown's Most Wanted", a comedic film done in the style of America's Most Wanted but poking fun at the lack of crime in the town of Clarkstown. What set this film apart from the rest of the previous videos was the script writing. Clarkstown's Most Wanted was entire improvisational. The final product was about 20 minutes long.
Kevin Dunbar appeared in past movies but his role was nowhere near as influential as it was in Clarktown's Most Wanted. Kevin played the lead role of Officer Walker, seaking nothing but justice for the hooligans of the streets of Clarkstown. His role in this film paved the way for the Man Behind the Mascot.

Early Stages
For the rest of the 2006-2007 school year, Dunbar and Vigotsky took a break from their filming. Ideas were constantly being bounced off one and other but nothing seemed strong enough to beat Clarkstown's Most Wanted. It wasn't until September of 2007 that an idea was formed that seemed perfect. During the first week of school, Dunbar chose to sign up for the Clarkstown South mascot position. He became the official Clarkstown South Viking and was given the task of attending the varsity football games and energizing the crowd. A few weeks later, when discussing possible film ideas, Dunbar brought up the idea of documentary film on the life of the mascot. Initially, it was only a joke. Bas the two pondered the thought more, the idea seemed to be taking form into a movie.
Vigotsky began writing a script which consisted of mainly schtick lines that were reminiscent of the movie "Airplane". Half-way through writing the script, both Dunbar and Vigotsky decided to remove all lines which were written for Kevin, who would be playing himself. This gave Kevin a "legend-like status" and added mystery and excitement. After much hard work, most on Vigotsky's part, the script was almost finalized. The movie was to be shot in an "Interview" style, with actual accounts of the mascot's heroics from members of the team and close friends. Both students began assigning lines to members of the varsity football team and friends. Some of the high moments of the script were an interview with former mascot, Patrick Vickers, and sporadic comments from actual varsity coach, Michael Scarpelli.

Taping
Shooting began in late November of 2007. After months of writing, the team was eager for the start of production. One by one they brought in actors to the school television studio to record their lines. Using a basic SONY digital camera, proper lighting, and backgrounds such as a brick wall and chalkboard with football plays, the two made their shots look as if it was professionally done. Some of the actors, such as Michael Meade, brought their own lines to the taping and help create some of the funniest moments of the film. Besides from the actors, the movie is mostly cut-aways. Shots of Dunbar in the mascot uniform at games and empty fields make up a large portion of the visual aspect. Vigotsky and Dunbar were determined to have the product complete by Christmas of that year. Within weeks of the deadline, they realized they were missing one key aspect, a narrator. Both had over looked the importance of a strong, powerful voice that was required to tell the tale as the story unfolded. They asked Greg DeMaio, fellow Clarkstown South student, to give the role a try. DeMaio had been helping all along with the writing of the script and the organizing of production. He even was the co-writer of many past films and appeared in almost all as a main role. DeMaio agreed to the task and began to record the lines that day. The results were unquestionable, DeMaio was to be the voice of the film.

Premiere
The premiere was scheduled for Thursday, December 20th 2007. Brian Kiernan, a history teacher at Clarkstown South, graciously granted the use of his classroom to hold the showing of the movie at approximately 2:30 that afternoon. The turnout was tremendous. The word spread quickly around the school and students and teachers of all ages arrived to see what all the buzz was about. For 16 minutes they all sat, watched, and laughed, as the The Man Behind the Mascot instantly became a hit.

Future Productions
For the rest of their high school lives, Vigotsky and Dunbar decided it would be best not to force another production like The Man Behind the Mascot. They understood the mascot was the best way to end high school movie-making. Currently, Vigotsky attends Ithaca College while Dunbar is a student at SUNY Oswego. It has been a year since the creation of their production, and it is safe to say they are both eager to begin writing again.

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