Video Production 2 and 3 students were nearly crushed by a 7-foot stone statue of a medieval general that was knocked over by a boom microphone during filming at the Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) Mansion in Orinda on April 15.  The students were visiting the sight to film artifacts like the statue for a video project.

Sophomore Clarke LaBella was off of the set when the statue fell, but “looked up and noticed” that the statue was no longer standing. “I was really confused, but when I saw the statue on the ground I was shocked,” she said.

According to LaBella, no students were standing near the statue, but many noticed the fall and began taking a video of the scene with their cell phones.

“Everyone was freaking out when [the statue] fell. It was pretty scary,” said sophomore Daniel Zabronsky. He added that the piece was made in China in the 1930s and purchased for $4000.

Video II and III teacher Justin Seligman thought the “damage was unfortunate.”

“Thankfully no one was hurt,” said Seligman.

The video classes finished up their shots and returned to school following the incident. “Despite the statue almost falling on us, it was fun and I hope we take more field trips before school ends,” said sophomore Hunter Markey. “I loved filming at the [FLW] mansion because getting shots of just Campo can be boring.”