SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) -- A school gymnasium was turned into a Hollywood soundstage this week at Southeast Technical Institute.
A camera gliding on rails, elaborate sets, a long rack of wardrobe, craft services, a Hollywood actress, grips, gaffers, best boys, and a native son made good in Twinkle Town were at STI shooting a commercial for the vocational school and another votech.
Nick Simon is from Sioux Falls and is a graduate of the prestigious American Film Institute. He's the director of the STI commercial production. But his roots in Hollywood are not only as a director, but as a screenwriter for films like Cold Comes the Night, which starred Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, and The Pyramid.
He says he brings the same level of intensity and artistry to a thirty second commercial as he does a big budget Hollywood flick.
So, how does a kid from Sioux Falls make it in Hollywood? Lots of hard work and determination.
Another member of the crew, Tory, is a grip on the critically acclaimed TV series, Arrested Development. He took time off from the "big time" to work with Nick and executive producer Terry Craft. Craft is the owner of Craft and Associates, a local advertising and media firm that handles the STI account and the advertising for a number of vocational institutes.
"Nick's the catalyst" of bringing in all the talented people, Craft says.
Sioux Falls area residents are also involved in the production, working as camera people, set designers and builders, and caters, to name just some of the positions.
Simon says after about a thousand hours of people hours spent on the production this week and several editing and special effects sessions, everyone's hard work will boil down to thirty to sixty second of TV "magic" extolling the virtues of a vocational or technical education at STI.