Campus Safari

A series of videos starring Zack Latham as Lionel Worthington. Directed by Bryan Zhang, these short films were originally made for Florida State University’s Breathe Easy Initiative.

His Name is Lionel Worthington

By Andrew Ledwith on April 20, 2012 • Share • 0 Comments

What did the world do before it had Lionel Worthington? My roommate Zack has created a monster phenomenon. I really like his supporting cast in this latest installment of the Campus Safari series. My friend Hope does an amazing job. In the span of a couple minutes she goes from terrified to keenly interested, from uncomfortable to sassy. She delivers her final line perfectly. Adrian does an impressive job faking being hungover. At least I think he was faking.

The cast behind the camera is roughly the same. Bryan Zhang is the director and writer. Patrick Gines is the cinematographer. Tyler Sununu, another of my roommates, tries his hand at boom operator.

The Curious Case of Lionel Worthington

By Andrew Ledwith on April 1, 2012 • Share • 0 Comments

“I’ve been serious about two things in my life: alcohol safety and Barbara Walters.”

Lionel Worthington just won’t go away. And that’s a good thing. Here he is in the fifth installment of Campus Safari and the second service announcement on alcohol safety. As always Mr. Worthington is played by my roommate Zack Latham. The PSA was written and directed by Bryan Zhang.

As with the previous videos in this series my friends make up the entire cast and crew. Sam, the guy in the elevator with Lionel, is both a Nav and is being discipled by the student who I disciple. There are a few takes of Sam in this video that slay me. Patrick is once again the director of cinematography. Dion tried his hand at boom operator for the first time and, so far as I can tell, did an excellent job.

These videos keep getting better. The production value is much higher than the earliest installments. Although if you listen carefully you can hear Lionel’s accent change from time to time. If you’re curious—and I know you are—the gags about Barbara Walters and the Golden Girls are both inside jokes. I find it hysterical that these jokes made it into a project that someone is actually paying for.

The Revenge of Lionel Worthington

By Andrew Ledwith on February 16, 2012 • Share • 0 Comments

Lionel Worthington is back and better than ever in the fourth installment of Campus Safari. My roommate Zack reprised his role as the awareness avenger. This time he’s advocating alcohol safety. Once again the short film was directed by Bryan Zhang.

Almost everyone else who had a hand in making this film is a friend of mine. Rachel plays the startled woman enduring Lionel’s lesson. Clint is her on-screen and real-life boyfriend. Patrick returns as the man in charge of cinematography.

I was hoping we hadn’t seen the last of Campus Safari. Only three episodes were produced for the Breathe Easy Initiative (plus one special edition film). I’m now expecting many more.

Continue Reading…

Engagement Safari

By Andrew Ledwith on July 28, 2011 • Share • 0 Comments

Watch on Vimeo: Safari Engagement

Lionel Worthington, star of the Campus Safari videos, was part of his most important project yet last week. This time he was playing a role in a real-life engagement story. It was a classic bait-and-switch. Sara, the actress who played Annie in the second Campus Safari video, was asked to rush out to a park in Tallahassee to shoot another video. This time she was to play an adult and would need to be dressed up for the part. Shaun, the man who is now her fiancé, was there waiting for her.

To really sell the scheme Bryan, the director, sent Sara a fake script. He and Zack were at the park shooting this little intro, I presume in order to keep her truly unaware until the moment she saw Shaun. Well done, men. And again, congratulations to Shaun and Sara!

Campus Safari Rises

By Andrew Ledwith on June 27, 2011 • Share • 0 Comments

Watch on Vimeo: Campus Safari #3

The people who brought you the first and second installments of Campus Safari now present the third and final chapter in the series. My roommate Zack reprises his role as Lionel Worthington. Bryan Zhang is once again the director.

Lots more of my friends are in this video. Rob is the smoker who accompanies Lionel on safari. Patrick is the disrespectful smoker, Karly is the woman bothered by the smoke, and Natalie is her friend. They did an awesome job.

It’s sort of sad that this is the final video that they’re making. I’m hopeful that Lionel Worthington makes a comeback in another series. I’ve been bothering Zack to make use of Lionel’s Facebook page by creating a video diary of the character’s exploits. I doubt he will, but it’d be wicked if he did.

Campus Safari Redux

By Andrew Ledwith on May 13, 2011 • Share • 1 Comment


Watch on Vimeo: Campus Safari #2 – Annie

If you liked the first Campus Safari PSA video featuring my roommate Zack as Lionel Worthington, you’re going to get a bang out of the second installment. Once again it’s written and directed by Bryan Zhang. It was shot by my friend Patrick Gines.

Zack’s costar is my friend and neighbor Sara who plays the incorrigible Annie. I think Sara would make an excellent voice actor (and she actually did have a small voiceover part in the movie Dream Street, also directed by Bryan Zhang). The smokers they encounter are my friends Rob and Natalie.

I think these are great. You can expect me to continue to post them as more are made.

Campus Safari

By Andrew Ledwith on May 10, 2011 • Share • 0 Comments

Watch on Vimeo: Breathe Easy PSA #1 – Campus Safari

My friend Bryan Zhang created a PSA for FSU’s Breathe Easy Initiative that stars my roommate Zack as Lionel Worthington. It also stars my friends Anna and Clint. I think it turned out great. I hope to see more of Lionel Worthington in future PSAs!