Honorable Mention
2022 High School Winners
Ocean Health
Jeevan Janeev & Samuel Taylor
Coppell High School Coppell, TX
Jeevan and Sam are both seniors at Coppell High School, outside of Dallas, Texas. When they enrolled in an aquatic science class together, they had no idea they would end up creating an award-winning video.
Their video features a bottle being kicked through different artfully-drawn scenes. They said that this idea for a video actually came from a Campbell’s soup commercial from their childhoods, where a can of soup goes on a journey by rolling through the world. They wanted to combine that with the idea of kicking the can down the road, which is a common theme when discussing solutions for widespread environmental reform.
Sam did most of the research and scriptwriting, while Jeevan focused on the art and animation. One of Sam’s biggest pieces of advice to future contest participants is to make sure to do good research, because “you’re going to find some statistics that really stand out, and those will really impact the tone and message of your video.” For example, both said they were shocked to learn that 60% of the plastic we produce is single-use.
Even in an informational video like the one for this contest, Jeevan talked about how it all comes down to telling a good story and connecting to the audience.“Try to pull at the heartstrings and tell a story. You know it did a good job if it makes you feel something,” he said. “Make it relatable and understandable to the average person that might not know about that topic.”
Both Jeevan and Sam had lots of praise for their aquatic science teacher, Mr. Conrad. “He has such a passion for this topic and it kind of flows into us for sure,” Sam said.
Jeevan and Sam are both heading off to college next year, Jeevan to Texas A&M and Sam to Texas Christian University. Jeevan plans to pursue something that allows him to continue making things and using his creativity, and is particularly interested in product design. Sam plans to study history and political science, and then pursue a law degree before serving in the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps.
Bunting the Bottle
