Natasha Bedingfield helps young Atlanta filmmakers shoot for the stars

Last week, the comely blond zipped into town for a couple of days to shoot the six-to-12-minute movie with a group of 10 student filmmakers.

Shortly after her first rehearsal inside a conference room at Coca-Cola headquarters downtown, Bedingfield was purposely mum about her role and the plot, except to note that college students and a fraternity are involved.

“I’m making the boys sweat a little,” she said of her character, adding a sly smile for emphasis.

The Atlanta crew of students ages 13-19 is one of six nationwide who are competing in the contest. The other groups, in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and New York, also had access to a celebrity for their films, which were filmed and produced in a seven-day span.

“This is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me,” said Miranda Lynch, a 16-year-old student at Ben Franklin Academy with an intense passion for filmmaking.

Like her teammates, Lynch applied online in November, submitting an essay to SpriteRefreshingFilms.com about why she deserved a spot on the crew. When she received the call in December announcing her acceptance, Lynch screamed so loudly that her mother came rushing out of the shower, thinking her daughter had been injured.

During the weeklong film boot camp, Lynch and her crew comrades, as well as four interns and a screenwriter also chosen through the Sprite contest, were doused in the realities of filmmaking with much guidance from Dreaming Tree Films, the Chicago-based production company that specializes in teen programs.

Scheduling casting calls, holding and operating a camera, arranging catering, directing, filing for permits to film at Savannah College of Art and Design -- all tasks that these novices quickly learned, and, seemingly, relished.

“I’ve never felt so confident about anything,” said Lynch, who aims to be a Renaissance Scholar at the University of Southern California.

“If I have this on my application ... I mean ... Sprite is making this happen and not only getting us the confidence we need, but getting this on our resumes.”

Her combination of excitement and appreciation for the opportunity was echoed by Andrew Riley, an Atlanta native studying at Elon University in North Carolina.

Riley, 19, looks to Stanley Kubrick as inspiration, and when a joke is made about his lofty choice, he doesn’t laugh, but grows serious.

“You have to shoot for the stars, or why bother?”

Riley, whose family lives in Buckhead, is taking film classes his freshman year at college, but said actually creating a mini-film exceeds any textbook education.

“I’ve had more experience with professional equipment here than ever in my life. The most passionate student filmmakers couldn’t do this, wouldn’t have access to this, on their own,” he said. “This is the ultimate hands-on experience.”

Although the commercial was filmed this past weekend at SCAD, it was only the first of several steps.

On April 1, the six films will post to the Sprite Refreshing Films website through May 2 for a public vote via text messaging. The top three will advance to the finals, held from May 3 to May 31. Then, a panel of film industry professionals will judge on criteria including entertainment value, performance and originality, with the winner chosen from a combination of votes and judging.

The victorious creation will be screened at a film festival in June -- which one hasn't been announced yet -- and behind-the-scenes footage from the six films will play this summer on 20,000 movie screens nationwide.

First-time actress Bedingfield had a good feeling about how things might progress.

“I did this because I found it a bit challenging and thought it would be a bit of fun,” she said. “But it’s cool that a big company is reaching out in a different way. Coke has always sort of been about tomorrow’s generation, and you can really see the kids rising to the occasion.”