TV commercial/film location scout Scott Dewees knows something about survival. Fifteen years ago, he was diagnosed as being HIV-positive. At that time, he was just embarking on his current career. The Southern California resident has since firmly established himself in the industry. He remains alive, well and productive.
You may recall that we first told Dewees’ story in this column four years ago (8/28/98, p. 4). At that time, Dewees had responded to our coverage regarding an unnamed director who feared that he would be hurt professionally if it became known that he was HIV-positive. That director never went public, but he contended to me that his concern was well founded given the experience of the late David Street, a director who died of AIDS-related cancer in February 1993, at the age of 30. Street thought that an agency he worked with regularly over the years had shunned him after he confided to some key people there that he was HIV-positive.
Dewees was moved by the story. In response to our coverage, he wrote me to express his support for the unidentified director. At the same time, Dewees said he hasn’t regretted the decision to be forthcoming about his medical condition with industry collaborators. As evidenced by the progression of his career, his disclosure didn’t hurt him professionally.
Back in ’98, Dewees observed, "I’ve always tried to keep a positive outlook, even when I learned that I was HIV-positive. Thankfully, people in the industry have seen fit to give me opportunities to work. … I never thought I’d be able to see my career evolve to this extent."
I hadn’t talked to or corresponded with Dewees since ’98, but knew he was keeping busy as a location scout. Then out of the blue last week, he dropped me an e-mail followed up by a photographic sampling of arguably his most significant "location scout"—two pilgrimages to New York following the 9/11 tragedy. The first was right after Thanksgiving. He went alone to Ground Zero and surrounding areas, as many others have done. He then returned this past spring with his family to experience the memorials and gain a greater sense of perspective.
The first time Dewees contacted me in ’98 was to discuss being able to survive and flourish after adversity—and to offer support and sympathy to someone else. Now, hearing from him four years later, he’s doing much the same again—albeit in response to a different set of circumstances.
Dewees said he found it cathartic to put together a short still-photo essay on the destruction, the remembrances, the perseverance and recovery in New York. The images are on his Web site (www.scottdewees.com), along with a friend’s first-hand, diary-style account of what happened on 9/11 and during the following days in New York.
The advertising industry is currently grappling with what’s appropriate as the one-year anniversary of 9/11 fast approaches. In the coming weeks, SHOOT will cover advertiser and agency plans, industry opinions as to whether or not it’s proper to run commercials on Sept. 11, and other related topics and issues. But in the midst of the pros and cons, the give and take that’s generating a buzz in the business, the core spirit reflected in Dewees’ photographic chronicle of New York represents something we should all try to hold on to.
