TV ad for Walgreens films in downtown plaza

Film professionals and students buzzed around Links Plaza in downtown Sarasota on Friday morning, shooting a commercial "at the corner of happy and healthy." 

The Walgreens commercial, to air nationally this year, is set in an "urban setting" with two women walking out of a restaurant, said Nick Morgulis, a director and cinematographer working for Semkhor Productions on set. The shoot is a partnership between Smekhor and Ringling College of Arts and Design. 

Morgulis said this kind of experience, if he had it before he graduated in 2012 from Ringling, would have made the learning curve of the film industry much easier after leaving school. 

"The on-set experience of working on a professional set is priceless to them," Morgulis said. 

Ringling student Maddie Briggs said she got an email from her department about the opportunity and thought it'd be a great way to see what a professional set is like. The sophomore from Minnesota said she was working on the set as a production assistant. 

Briggs said this was a good opportunity to see the difference between student projects and professional work. 

"I'm here to learn anything I can about the business," Briggs said.