Davidson Fine Arts student wins video contest, creates commercial for 'Buckle Up Georgia'

Daniel Bagi of Augusta is only 16-years-old, but his work has already been picked up and broadcasted by a major network.

The Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School sophomore was selected as this year's "Buckle Up Georgia" winner, and his video aired on Georgia Public Broadcasting during the GHSA High School Football Championships in December.

The contest asks Georgia students to create 30-second public service announcements on the importance of wearing a seatbelt. Bagi and his friends created a parody of Queen's "We Will Rock You" with the lyric "We will, we will buckle up!" in place of the iconic melody.

A.R. Johnson Incidents: Student pepper sprayed classroom, teacher recorded vaping at A.R. Johnson

Educational Development: Augusta Prep building new home for students to foster science, technology

Bagi said he wanted to make something catchy so people would always remember the importance of wearing their seatbelt. He also really wanted to utilize the sound of the seatbelt as an instrument in the song.

"A special moment I felt while making it was the getting people together, filming it in the parking lot, and just seeing it all come together the way I envisioned it," Bagi said. "For the first time, I felt like a true director, instructing people to do something and making my original vision come to life."

In addition to a new MacBook Pro and having his PSA aired on TV, Bagi was also invited to the state championships where he did a live interview near the field during the game's broadcast.

"I was lucky enough to meet the CEO of GPB Teya Ryan, and Tim O'Connell, the director of corporate sponsorship," he said. "Getting to the broadcasting, just seeing all of the professional camera setup, that was really cool to see. ... The producer said there were millions of people watching, so that sort of got my nerves up. But, overall, it was really just a great experience."

Looking ahead, Bagi hopes to make a career out of videography and multimedia production, a point of pride for his teacher LeRon James.

"It's rewarding anytime you are able to have a positive impact on someone's life," James said. "You use that to motivate you to help someone else."

Bagi made this PSA with the help of schoolmates Jaxon James, Cooper Givens, Janiya James and Lucas Patterson.

To watch the full video and some of Bagi's other work, go to Youtube.com/@Daniel_Bagi.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Davidson Fine Arts student in Augusta wins with seatbelt commercial