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From dreams to the big screen
Following three years of planning and a summer's worth of filming, a local high school film production crew will bring its first full-length movie to the big screen later this month.
Set in Mountain Home's rural community, "Sage Riders" chronicles the lives of two teens as they try to make a name for themselves while growing up in a small town.
"This is a family movie and a coming-of-age story for kids that can relate to living in a small town," said Rusty Earl, who wrote and directed the film. "When you watch it and see what happens, you'll have lots of memories of what it was like to be a teen."
Earl, who teaches film production at Mountain Home High School and Mountain Home Junior High School, recruited a team of students from his class to serve as the cast and crew. The team completed most of the filming during 14 days of shooting over the summer. A majority of the scenes were shot in town and the surrounding countryside.
"This has been really fun, and I can't thank the kids enough for all their hard work to get all this done," Earl said. "This has been a once-in-a-lifetime chance for all of us."
Marking his seventh year as an educator, Earl started off teaching public speaking classes with film making "purely a hobby," he said.
While many students draw inspiration from their teachers, Earl gained a new respect for creating movies from students Chase Bennett and Jared Gales, who started producing their own videos and short films a few years ago.
"It's our passion. It's what we love doing," Bennett said.
Film production comes naturally for both teens, who won three first-place awards, including "best of festival" honors during the Idaho Falls Kiwanis Teen Film Festival in March.
Both teens play the lead roles in "Sage Riders."
Gales stars as Carl, a highly ambitious high school teen growing increasingly dissatisfied with small town life who regularly butts heads with his father. According to Gales, his character feels he's the only one in his small town with dreams, which include becoming a professional bike rider.
Acting comes naturally for Gales, who started stage work in eighth grade. Today, he remains active in the high school's Encore Company as it prepares for its upcoming performance of "James and the Giant Peach," which debuts Oct. 28.
"I really enjoy acting, and I've always wanted to be an actor," Gales said. "I'll take any opportunity to be in a movie or act in something."
Meanwhile, Bennett portrays Bud, a teen growing up in a middle class family who lacks the long-range ambitions of his best friend. The teen joined the movie crew after Earl announced an open casting call for the full-length film, but Bennett never expected to get a speaking role.
"I was just going to help out with all the technical parts (of the movie), but getting a part in the film allowed me to test my acting skills," he said.
Originally inspired by similar movies like "Breaking Away" and "American Flyers," Earl started writing the script more than three years ago. He based it on a memorable moment from his childhood when he and his twin brother rode their bikes through the mountains near their hometown. Their discussions of life and growing up while riding "out in the middle of nowhere" served as the movie's premise.
While most screen writers have time-tested methods to motivate them to finish their work, Earl had a more unusual route: He contracted the H1N1 Swine Flu.
With the virus knocking him off his feet for nearly a week, he passed the time sitting with his laptop computer to finish the nearly 60-page draft.
"For three days, I didn't sleep or remember eating," Earl said. He focused his full attention on writing the remaining 75 percent of the screenplay. It included developing the movie's main characters and fleshing out the key plot points.
During his free time after school and on the weekends over several additional months, the teacher continued to refine the final, 55-page document. Satisfied with his work, the teacher made the decision last December to move ahead with shooting a full-length film.
The crew captured more than 40 hours of film during their tight shooting schedule, according to Earl. It took another 150 hours to cut together the first version of the film.
With the students completing some additional voice-over work last week, Earl expects to finish the movie within the next few days.
"This has been such an amazing experience, and I can't wait to show this town what our students have been able to do," Earl said. While admitting he made "a ton of mistakes" making the film a reality, it served as a major learning experience as the team went along.
The movie premiers at 1 p.m. Oct. 30 at Take One Cinema in Mountain Home. Tickets are $2 per person, which goes to cover the cost of renting the theater. Tickets are currently available at the high school and junior high school.
Following its initial showing here, Earl expects to enter the film in various independent film festivals across the United States. His long-range plan includes entering "Sage Riders" in international competitions as well.
More information on the film, including a three-minute trailer, is posted online at www.sageridersthemovie.com.