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High school film group preps for annual festival
The Mountain Home High School film program, fresh off the success of last year's film festival, is planning to hold its second annual film festival in April.
In 1999, Mountain Home High School teacher Doug Root ran a film production program that taught film editing and movie making. In 2006, the high school created an after-school club for aspiring filmmakers to learn video editing with Macintosh iMovie.
Film production teacher Rusty Earl was inspired to begin the club while he was teaching theater, when he would film the plays the students were performing.
During his first year of teaching, Earl brought home a rough cut of a video he filmed to his father to help him edit. After that experience of editing, and the enjoyment of the students, Earl wanted to pursue film work.
Over the last five years, Earl asked his students to film a small movie each year. As interest from the students increased, Earl purchased additional computers for his classroom.
As the club began, the concept was for students to be able to produce films with a complete story and, while in competition, learn what other youths their age can do.
"I think it helps the kids that are not very challenged in other classes, or that don't like purely academically classes. It's an outlet for them to be really creative and see a finalized product," said Earl.
The number of students taking part in the club increased throughout the years from six in 2006 to 150 in 2009, turning the club into a full-time school program consisting of six classes from the junior high school and high school.
"The kids are very creative. They don't know right from wrong, so they have no problem telling a story that's totally ridiculous and still be able to make it," said Earl.
Currently, Earl teaches introductory film production classes at both schools, along with an advanced year-long class at the high school where the students engage in professional projects.
Students learn film skills such as script writing (writing original stories and scripts), story boarding (creating a cartoon strip of a film in sequence), film editing, making custom sound tracks and film techniques used in Hollywood, such as camera angles like boom shots, vertical shots and panning and track-panning shots.
"A lot of what we do is try to make them learn how to run a camera so it doesn't look amateur," said Earl.
While in the program, the students have taken part in two competitions -- the Real Love Competition in Boise, where students filmed a video on the meaning of a healthy dating relationship, and the Idaho National Laboratory (near Twin Falls) competition, where students shot documentaries on the history of the laboratory in celebration of the its 60th anniversary.
The students are currently preparing for the statewide Kiwanis Teen Film Festival in April, to be held in Idaho Falls, and for this year's Mountain Home Film Festival, which will be held at Take One Cinema on April 24. The festival is a district-wide event open to 7th- to 12th-grade students where they can exhibit their work and compete for various prizes.
For students to submit a film, they must complete an application form and submit it with their completed project by April 3.
There will be a $15 entry fee for each submission, which includes four tickets to the festival. Any additional tickets will be available for $2 each the day of the festival.
The prizes at this year's festival will be awarded for the top films in each of five categories: Best Comedy, Best Drama, Best Movie Trailer/Commercial, Best Sports Film/Documentary and Best Animation/Claymation.
The prizes include two digital HD camcorders, a Hampton Cruiser bicycle, computer software and gift certificates.
During last year's festival, 10 films were featured before an audience of 75. This year, Earl expects to show up to 20 films to a packed audience of 175 (the maximum capacity of Take One theater).
"I want this to be a showcase for the kids to show their parents and family members what they learned about filmmaking," said Earl.
Currently on the panel of judges for this year's festival are Idaho Power marketing director/TV Commercial Specialist David Bogie, independent filmmaker and photographer John Hall along with local filmmaker John Marshall.
Students interested in making a film and receiving assistance with editing should contact Rusty Earl at the junior high school at 587-2590 or at the high school at 587-2570 for more information.