3. 2. 1. Action. The camera lights turn on, and the confetti flies. The director walks cautiously and intently next to the cameraman, giving him his signals: turn right, five seconds, lower camera angle, pet horse, now. To many it may look simple, but a lot of planning went behind the school-wide Lip Dub project.

While all teachers and students contributed to the ambitious task, senior Connor Smith was the man behind it, as he helped direct the South Lip Dub to kick off the Nov. 4 Telethon.

“Basically, I was in charge of putting together all the different pieces,” Smith said. “Making sure everything was happening when it was supposed to and directing everyone who was involved.”

Junior Kevin Mathein acted as Connor’s “second brain” throughout the project.  According to Mathein, the amount of work they put into it was astounding, but in the end, it paid off.

“We all worked together every night and we were all here really late working on it,” Mathein said.  “I think we rehearsed 25 times in three days.”

While many people credit him as the main producer, Smith refuses to take all the credit.

“[Junior] John Paul [O’Rourke], [Mathein] and [I] kind of took charge of it, [but] it was just a huge group effort,” Smith said.

One of Smith’s co-producers, O’Rourke, was in charge of filming. According to O’Rourke, when he found out he got to work on camera with the other producers, he couldn’t wait to get started.

While shooting the Lip   Dub was difficult for O’Rourke, he explained how Smith and Mathein made the task easier by dividing the ‘one shot’ Lip Dub into sections. Smith’s portion of the work was to keep everything running smoothly.

“He just made sure we were where we were supposed to be at the right time,” O’Rourke said. “During the actual Lip Dub he was running around, […] chasing the golf cart, calling the shots and holding up the laptop with the speakers.”

Smith has been involved with TV at South since his junior year. TV supervisor Mark Ferguson has been working with Smith for these two years.

“When I got him in Beginning TV […] his projects were really well done,” Ferguson said. “I didn’t realize how creative he was and how vast his knowledge base was.”

One thing that stands out to Ferguson is Smith’s dedication.

“He’s one of those rare students who, if he doesn’t understand how something works, will download the manual and read it completely,” Ferguson said.

Smith thinks his work ethic has come from his many years of experience in activities that are important to him. Before getting involved in the TV program, Smith worked with Radio and Stage Crew.

Though the Lib Dub is one of Smith’s better-known accomplishments, recognized by various news outlets, he doesn’t plan on stopping there. His experience working with the television program has revealed his passion and future plans.

“I want to go somewhere [for college]where I can major in film, but at the same time, I don’t want to only do film,” Smith explained. “I want to go somewhere where I can learn not just how to tell stories, but also what stories I want to tell.”

Click here to view the GBS Lip Dub: http://vimeo.com/31628922