CLASS ACTS STUDENTS GET ROLLING ON FILM PROJECT.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - To show students what it's like to work behind the camera as well as in front of it, Lancaster High School Lancaster High School may refer to:
Students in Tom Mayton's movie production course are spending their Saturdays shooting a romantic comedy called ``Circles of Confusion,'' co-written by Mayton and student Rachel Brandt. ``I like movies - I like watching them,'' said Brandt, a junior, who also is directing. ``Making them is cool. You get to see what you pictured in your mind come to life on the screen.'' Mayton, who teaches film and video production, wanted to have a course that offered students experience in all aspects of movie-making. ``What we are trying to do is create a career path for the kids,'' Mayton said. ``A lot of the schools have drama classes where kids get trained to be actors, but there are all kinds of jobs in Hollywood for people behind the scenes. ``I teach both ends, the photography, gaffing, grips, lighting, sound engineering.'' The Antelope Valley Union High School District The Antelope Valley Union High School District (A.V.U.H.S.D.) is located in the Antelope Valley area of California, in northern Los Angeles County. The district includes eight public high schools, one trade school, and two continuation high schools in the cities of Palmdale board approved the course at its January meeting. ``I think it's a great idea,'' said board president Al Beattie. ``(Mayton) reminded us of all the names All the Names (Portuguese: Todos os nomes) is a novel by Portuguese author José Saramago. It was written in 1997 and published in English in 2000 in an award winning translation by Margaret Jull Costa. and job titles that are at the end of every film. He pointed out there are several opportunities for young people to get into the movie industry if they have the proper training.'' About 40 students are involved in the production, with 35 enrolled in the course and the rest students who auditioned to be in the film. There are some adult cast members, including a middle school counselor A school counselor is a counselor and educator who works in schools, and have historically been referred to as "guidance counselors" or "educational counselors," although "Professional School Counselor" is now the preferred term. who plays the lead character's mother, and Assistant Superintendent Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was a rank used by police forces in the British Empire. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held by a European officer, most of whom joined the police at this rank. Jane Maxwell, who has a small role as a teacher. The filming is done on Saturdays because there is not enough time during a regular class to do the filming, Mayton said. ``The main problem in doing something like this is kids have six classes for an hour each,'' Mayton said. ``There is no way to set up a scene and photograph it from different angles and break it down. If you do a real movie, you have to go out on location and shoot, so that is why we do it on Saturdays.'' The cast and crew have shot scenes at Lancaster High School, using borrowed classrooms and the quad area. On Saturday, shooting took place at a Palmdale Boulevard fabric store, and future shoots are planned at Funland, the Palmdale amusement park amusement park, a commercially operated park offering various forms of entertainment, such as arcade games, carousels, roller coasters, and performers, as well as food, drink, and souvenirs. . The movie, which will run about 90 minutes, is about a high school girl who has to decide between staying with her boyfriend or going to fashion school. Joelle Wirth, a 17-year-old senior from Quartz Hill High School Quartz Hill High School is a public, co-educational high school located in Lancaster, California. Founded in 1964, it is the third oldest comprehensive high school in the Antelope Valley High School District (AVHSD). , plays the lead character, Jordan. Active in community theater, Wirth said this is her first experience in making a film. She said that she was nervous her first days on the set but that the crew put her at ease. She also was impressed im·press 1 tr.v. im·pressed, im·press·ing, im·press·es 1. To affect strongly, often favorably: with the professionalism professionalism the upholding by individuals of the principles, laws, ethics and conventions of their profession. of the whole enterprise. ``When I got here, wow, the stuff they have on the set - they had a boom mike and everything set up, and it's really nice,'' Wirth said. ``The crew is great. We are all becoming good friends. They joke around, pretending I'm a diva.'' Wirth, vice president of Quartz quartz, one of the commonest of all rock-forming minerals and one of the most important constituents of the earth's crust. Chemically, it is silicon dioxide, SiO2. Hill High's drama club, said movie-making is different from theater work. ``With theater, you get instant gratification GRATIFICATION. A reward given voluntarily for some service or benefit rendered, without being requested so to do, either expressly or by implication. ; when you take that bow, people are clapping and cheering for you,'' Wirth said. ``With film, you do a shot, and you have to do it again. The cast and crew say you do a good job, but you won't know what people think of it until it's done. It's hard and tedious because you have to do it over and over again.'' Brandt, a junior at Lancaster High, said she wants to study cosmetology cos·me·tol·o·gy n. The study or art of cosmetics and their use. [French cosmétologie : cosmétique, cosmetic; see cosmetic + -logie, -logy. and be a makeup makeup In the performing arts, material used by actors for cosmetic purposes and to help create the characters they play. Not needed in Greek and Roman theatre because of the use of masks, makeup was used in the religious plays of medieval Europe, in which the angels' faces artist and then maybe work as a director or producer. ``It's a different feeling for me (to be a director),'' Brandt said. ``I have to be in charge and be a meanie sometimes.'' If the students successfully complete the film, Mayton hopes to premier it in a local movie theater or in the school's theater. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Assistant director Andrea Quintanilla, 17, slates a scene on a film project by students at Lancaster high School. (2 -- color) Ryne Doty, 17, focuses on a shot in ``Circles of Confusion,'' a student film project at Lancaster High School. (3 -- color) Cameraman Ryne Doty, left, and class teacher Thomas Mayton plan a shot for the movie. (4 -- color) Joelle Wirth and Robert Humphrey, both 17, are the stars of the Lancaster High School film ``Circles of Confusion.'' Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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