By : BRIAN MAXEY
Source : http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com
Category : Film School Online
Before the lights, the camera, the action, and long before a film is seen on screen, a location has to be scouted, permits have to granted and sets need to be constructed.
Tulare County students received a first-hand look on what goes into making a film while also gaining professional experience.
Through a partnership with the Tulare County Film Commission, high school students from the Porterville area worked alongside a film crew on the set of a low-budget, independent short film.
About three dozen students worked on all stages of production for "The Devout," a dark thriller that follows a doctor and her brother through a Medieval England village ravaged by the plague.
Students from the Porterville Unified School District's Linked Learning Pathways program helped with tasks ranging from on-site medical assistance to set production, makeup consultation and some even documented the film crew for a daily broadcast aired in classrooms.
The Pathways program helps students explore a range of vocational opportunities in high-demand fields, an area of study that bridges the gap between what students learn in school and the application of professional skills.
"[Working on the film] was a way for these kids to step in and see if they really want to pursue a career in a particular field," said Eric Coyne, film commissioner and tourism manager for Tulare County. "Now, these kids will have something for their résumés."
Education prep
The focus on a broad range of technical programs is designed to prepare students to enter the work force out of high school or to enter career technical education programs like the one at College of the Sequoias, which has grown 70 percent in the past decade.
Counselors in the Pathways program help students as they leave middle school to choose career paths in technical areas that interest them. Once in high school, the students are immersed in curriculum tailored to a particular field that emphasizes projects and learning with industry professionals, said the program's coordinator, Mimi Schuler.
Working in professional environments under real-word pressure and circumstances like those on the set of the film connect the classroom to the workplace, said Schuler.
"The desired student outcomes are aimed to increase self-confidence, build strong leadership skills, as well as 21st century skills needed for all workplace environments today," she said.
Through the Porterville Chamber of Commerce, Coyne linked the production crew with the students.
"We've leveraged these community assets," Coyne said. "All of the sets and things were rented here, bought here. They needed an army of folks to build these sets and get things done cheap."
Coyne estimates that the film crew spent about $9,000 locally, roughly 20 percent of its $50,000 budget. Work provided by the students helped in keeping costs down for the film crew.
"For any student film, they really rely on the generosity of the local community," said the film's producer, Andrew Vallentine. "Everything is all out of our pocket. So [using] these students . . . helps us."
Vallentine, a 24-year-old graduate student at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University, lauded the program for giving the students an opportunity to both visit the set and be introduced to a potential trade.
"When I was in high school, I would have loved to have something like this," said Vallentine, who plans to visit the multimedia technology program to present a class on industry trends and techniques in editing software once filming on "The Devout" wraps and the final cut is mastered.
Raising a village
The group of students helped Vallentine and the crew transform a ranch in the foothills of Porterville into an English milieu.
The program's engineering and performing-arts sequences assisted the stage producers in building the English village for the film; the medical team helped advise the crew's makeup team on the appearance of sores on plague victims; and 14 students in the last week have served as EMTs on the set.
The EMT students learned how to set up for first-aid care and how to respond quickly while working on the set.
"It opens a lot of doors, and not a lot of students get the opportunity to take a class where you can work in a profession," said Itzel Silva, a student who served as an EMT on the set and who also takes technical courses at Porterville College. "It will take me more places."
Once viewed as curriculum that funneled students targeted as academically at risk into "trade classes," vocational studies have evolved into a viable option for many students.
And with the mounting sticker price of a college education, high school students are enrolling in career and technical classes at an increasing rate.
For Brianna Smith, vocational courses in the Pathways program have put her on the fast track to a career in the medical field.
The 17-year-old student gained her nursing assistant certification during an eight-week summer-school session with the program, which she said helped her prepare to administer aid on the film set and for life after high school.
"[It has] helped me prepare for the medical field in a major way," said Smith, adding that she plans to attend college to become a registered nurse.
Source : http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20120210/NEWS01/202100310/Tulare-County-students-pitch-movie-set-get-vocational-lesson?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage
Source : http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com
Category : Film School Online
Before the lights, the camera, the action, and long before a film is seen on screen, a location has to be scouted, permits have to granted and sets need to be constructed.
Tulare County students received a first-hand look on what goes into making a film while also gaining professional experience.
Through a partnership with the Tulare County Film Commission, high school students from the Porterville area worked alongside a film crew on the set of a low-budget, independent short film.
About three dozen students worked on all stages of production for "The Devout," a dark thriller that follows a doctor and her brother through a Medieval England village ravaged by the plague.
Students from the Porterville Unified School District's Linked Learning Pathways program helped with tasks ranging from on-site medical assistance to set production, makeup consultation and some even documented the film crew for a daily broadcast aired in classrooms.
The Pathways program helps students explore a range of vocational opportunities in high-demand fields, an area of study that bridges the gap between what students learn in school and the application of professional skills.
"[Working on the film] was a way for these kids to step in and see if they really want to pursue a career in a particular field," said Eric Coyne, film commissioner and tourism manager for Tulare County. "Now, these kids will have something for their résumés."
Education prep
The focus on a broad range of technical programs is designed to prepare students to enter the work force out of high school or to enter career technical education programs like the one at College of the Sequoias, which has grown 70 percent in the past decade.
Counselors in the Pathways program help students as they leave middle school to choose career paths in technical areas that interest them. Once in high school, the students are immersed in curriculum tailored to a particular field that emphasizes projects and learning with industry professionals, said the program's coordinator, Mimi Schuler.
Working in professional environments under real-word pressure and circumstances like those on the set of the film connect the classroom to the workplace, said Schuler.
"The desired student outcomes are aimed to increase self-confidence, build strong leadership skills, as well as 21st century skills needed for all workplace environments today," she said.
Through the Porterville Chamber of Commerce, Coyne linked the production crew with the students.
"We've leveraged these community assets," Coyne said. "All of the sets and things were rented here, bought here. They needed an army of folks to build these sets and get things done cheap."
Coyne estimates that the film crew spent about $9,000 locally, roughly 20 percent of its $50,000 budget. Work provided by the students helped in keeping costs down for the film crew.
"For any student film, they really rely on the generosity of the local community," said the film's producer, Andrew Vallentine. "Everything is all out of our pocket. So [using] these students . . . helps us."
Vallentine, a 24-year-old graduate student at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University, lauded the program for giving the students an opportunity to both visit the set and be introduced to a potential trade.
"When I was in high school, I would have loved to have something like this," said Vallentine, who plans to visit the multimedia technology program to present a class on industry trends and techniques in editing software once filming on "The Devout" wraps and the final cut is mastered.
Raising a village
The group of students helped Vallentine and the crew transform a ranch in the foothills of Porterville into an English milieu.
The program's engineering and performing-arts sequences assisted the stage producers in building the English village for the film; the medical team helped advise the crew's makeup team on the appearance of sores on plague victims; and 14 students in the last week have served as EMTs on the set.
The EMT students learned how to set up for first-aid care and how to respond quickly while working on the set.
"It opens a lot of doors, and not a lot of students get the opportunity to take a class where you can work in a profession," said Itzel Silva, a student who served as an EMT on the set and who also takes technical courses at Porterville College. "It will take me more places."
Once viewed as curriculum that funneled students targeted as academically at risk into "trade classes," vocational studies have evolved into a viable option for many students.
And with the mounting sticker price of a college education, high school students are enrolling in career and technical classes at an increasing rate.
For Brianna Smith, vocational courses in the Pathways program have put her on the fast track to a career in the medical field.
The 17-year-old student gained her nursing assistant certification during an eight-week summer-school session with the program, which she said helped her prepare to administer aid on the film set and for life after high school.
"[It has] helped me prepare for the medical field in a major way," said Smith, adding that she plans to attend college to become a registered nurse.
Source : http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20120210/NEWS01/202100310/Tulare-County-students-pitch-movie-set-get-vocational-lesson?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage
