San Diego Film Commission

April 30 was like any other day at the Film Commission until Supervising Producer Toby Gorman called from "American Idol."

One of the most popular television shows airing today is "American Idol" on Fox and it had just narrowed the list of talented singers down to four finalists. One of the favorites to win, Adam Lambert, happened to be from San Diego. When the show gets down to featuring four talents, it is time to shoot the hometown video. And over 32 million viewers will tune in to see the show and vote for their favorite Idol.

The hometown video is an important marketing piece, not just for Adam, but for San Diego. What we see on television is a short of about 60 seconds and traditionally it is a huge homecoming with crowds of people cheering. They use this footage several times so San Diego receives the benefit of free promotion. Of course, all the cities that are tasked with working on a hometown video want to make their Idol shine and show their support. The challenge is that all four finalists will get the call, as we did; however, one hometown video will get canceled. This presentation about their life at home will actually be for the last three contestants, but all four cities plan and work on locations until the night one talent is voted off.

The Film Commission immediately started working on this project with the understanding that it might all be canceled after the elimination show. One of the first calls we made was to see if the mayor would be agreeable to being a part of the video. His schedules are full and it is difficult to do a last-minute appearance.

Several days later, our San Diego Idol, Adam Lambert, survived the next cut, although from our standpoint we never hesitated in working on locations. What people usually find surprising is that most all the budget for "American Idol" goes to the actual production of the show. If you have seen this television show, you will understand that Fox secures high-profile talent to perform during the show, they use special effects, live music, have extravagant sets and they must pay royalties for the songs sung on the show. All of this is extremely expensive. Consequently, there is next to no budget for the hometown video. Most cities are overjoyed to knock themselves out for free promotional exposure to 32 million viewers.

The production planned to shoot all the scenes and travel to many locations all in one day and we had less than a week to create a parade, secure locations and prep the locations. Stephen Scott, a past location manager and scout prior to working for the Film Commission, was scrambling. There would be a full day of filming and all the arrangements would be planned and executed by Stephen. The producer's concern was the budget, or lack of, first and foremost. Stephen had that concern too, as well as public safety, prepping the community and getting the crowds there for pictures.

Fortunately, the Film Commission has established a great many working relationships through which those people trust us and know that we will do a good job, which makes a last-minute project like this less stressful. Schools can be one of the hardest locations because they are usually in session and have strict guidelines regarding outside activities coming in or disruptions to education. Luckily, the principal of Mount Carmel High School, where Adam Lambert attended, was open to the possibilities of this project. After all, the band can perform, the program is like an assembly, but most importantly, this was a morale boost for kids to see one of their own as a star. The school's stadium was the best decision, so Stephen walked around to the neighbors, distributing 400 flyers to homes in the area to inform them that there would be more traffic, parking issues, and who to call for more info.

Locations fell out last minute and others were slipped in. Stephen was present at all the locations, with his Blackberry, working to keep things operating at a smooth pace. He worked with police to change assignments as more and more people showed up. After leaving the W Hotel at 6:30 a.m., arriving at Fox 5 morning show for an interview, as well as the Jeff and Jer Showgram and A.J.'s Playhouse for radio interviews, the group finally made it to the AT&T store on Mira Mesa Blvd. They stayed on schedule, which is a credit to the producer.

By the time the production, including a massive limousine carrying Adam Lambert, arrived at Mount Carmel High, thousands of screaming fans were already there. Adam visited briefly with his past teachers and then jumped in a brand new red Ford Mustang convertible and took a turn around the football field. By then the mayor had arrived on campus and declared this day "Adam Lambert" day and presented Adam with a proclamation from the city of San Diego.

During the excitement at this location, Stephen got the call that SeaWorld had fallen through and he had to scramble to find another location for 3:30 that day. The day's schedule included a visit to the beach, the Marine Corps at Miramar and lunch with Adam's father. Stephen was finished at 7:30 p.m. after taking community calls and following up with locations. He had a headache ... after all, there were a lot of screaming girls all day. In fact, 10,000 fans showed up at the high school, which meant Stephen had done his job well. He had a weekend to recover and then there's always Monday and another project without any lead time.