Students gathered in the VST today to watch the annual Kinkaid video, filmed and edited by seniors Ally Rodriguez and Lucy Walker, as part of the 2024 Upper School Pep Rally. The 18 minute-long video highlights the SJS community, featuring fall sports captains, various clubs and members of the Upper School.
“We managed to squeeze two or three months of filming into just two or three weeks,” Rodriguez said. “Since we rewrote the script in September, we filmed during any free time we had in the day, such as DaVinci, lunches and before or after school.”
The video commences with football footage from previous season games, courtesy of junior Horatio Wilcox, edited to a boiler room remix of “365” by Charli xcx. It then cuts to an interrogation scene with captain Cole Allen, in which Upper School history teacher Gara Johnson-West questions him thoroughly about what happened the night before.
In a flashback, Allen recalls a morning at varsity player Grant Young’s house. He wakes up in the backyard with his own Review feature plastered across his face. Allen begins to search for the remaining senior captains: Yahya Mir, Wyatt Childers and Ethan Zuklic. Once reunited, they arrive on campus for another regular school day, still missing quarterback Shea Quinn.
Fun-draisers
During Childers’ “reels-break” in Senior Country, he receives a FaceTime notification from the Kinkaid Falcon. After finding cell service in the VST catwalk, the Falcon tells them Kinkaid is holding Quinn hostage. For his release, the Falcon demands a ransom of $80,000. In order to raise money, football captains gather the entire School to participate in various fundraisers.
“We worked with the captains to make sure that the script was working for both parties,” Rodriguez said. “They were all super flexible and easy to work with.”
Inspired by Adam Sandler’s baggy outfits, the field hockey team raided their parents’ closets to wash cars in Caven Lot.
Both cross-country teams were also featured in the fundraising montage. The night before the Maverick Ramble, the girls’ captains suggested charging admission to the meet. As a subtle way to flame students for not coming out to support, the film cuts to a scene of an empty field.
In the weight room, the boys team bets on junior Quentin Nicholson’s ability to “out-bench” track captain Jackie Chapman. Ironically, she struggles to lift the bar and has to pay up.
To film the captains rolling in dough, the crew secured fake money from the VST prop closet, scattering bills and coins around Senior Country.
“That was so fun because we gave them these dollar bills and said, do whatever you want with them,” Rodriguez said. “They just got creative and let loose.”
D-halls
Just after raising all $80,000, the football captains were caught and punished by the CommServe board for not following fundraising regulations. They are escorted to a D-hall in the Review room, proctored by college counselor Steven Scales, who commanded that the students sit down while the song “Rush” by Troye Sivan played from his phone—a reference to one of his favorite singers. Gathered at the table were the football and Spirit Club captains along with freshman Ayush Lalwani. He stood in for Mir, who was not present that day.
“Ayush was the first person we saw in the hallway,” Rodriguez said. “He’s also in Ethan’s engineering class.”
Allen then calls chemistry teacher Roxie Allen, implying that she is his mother since they share the same last name. She sends Science Olympiad to bust them out of detention.
The Exchange
After detention, the football captains travel to the roof of Taub garage, where they meet with the Falcon. In exchange for the money, the Kinkaid mascot reveals the quarterback to the eager captains.
The player is not Quinn, but instead backup quarterback James Young.
While the players are still in shock, the Falcon made his timely escape from campus through the back staircase, taking the money with him.
The Search
Concerned for the game, the captains continue to search for Quinn. When scouring the bleachers on Skip Lee, they hear a noise from near the announcer’s booth, where they find Quinn on the roof. In the excitement of the moment, the film ends when the football team travels back down the stairs, leaving Quinn trapped upstairs.
“Out of context, some parts look completely ridiculous, and even in context it kind of was also completely ridiculous,” Rodriguez said. “But, overall it was really fun. There’s so many little moments where everyone was down to do anything and everything,”
The End
In an homage to the credits of The Hangover, the directors included a slideshow of senior memories. The Class of ‘25 submitted digital and disposable camera pictures, tapping into the recent trend. The final cut included over 150 photos.
