Monday, February 27, 2012

BALLARD VIDEO PRODUCTION STUDENTS GO HOLLYWOOD

This spring, twelve students in the BHS Video Production Program will be visiting Hollywood to tour the industry, meet with professionals, visit world-class film schools, and connect with our program alumni.

Filmmaking is a competitive career. It’s not uncommon for top college programs of film and television to admit as few as 2% of applicants. Despite these odds, BHS video students regularly gain admission to these prestigious schools. As they move through college and enter the industry, these program alumni provide an ongoing source of inspiration and support for students currently in the program.

Kyle Seago graduated from BHS in ’07, and attended the film production program at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. By his second year of college, Kyle was getting such attractive job offers that he decided to put college on hold. The next few years took him to Italy, Morocco, Greece, and Macau for location shoots as he rose to the position of Associate Producer. Kyle is eager to talk with current students about the program at LMU and entering the industry.

Brendan McCarthy graduated in ’04 and attended film school at New York University. He is currently in Los Angeles working in the writers’ room of the new CBS series Rob! (broadcast Thursday evenings at 8:30 pm). Brendan will talk with students about writing for the industry and give them a tour of Studio City.

Chloe Warner-Moyer (’11) is currently attending Chapman University’s Creative Producing Program on a Dean’s Scholarship. She’ll be joining us for a tour of the new facilities at Chapman’s Dodge School of Film & Television and giving students the inside scoop on the producing program.

Rikke Heinecke (’11) is organizing our tour of the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema Arts, where she’s studying film production. She’s also arranging a chance for us to screen work by USC film students and meet some of the faculty.

All of these schools made the Hollywood Reporter’s list of the world’s top film schools, released earlier this year.

In addition, BHS students will be meeting film professionals with varied expertise, observing a shoot, and touring Hollywood studios.

We’re hoping that this trip will help students understand that the world of filmmaking is a realistic goal if they’re willing to work hard and prepare. This message wasn’t lost on previous students. Chloe and Rikke were part of a similar trip to Los Angeles in 2010. Also on that trip: Blair Scott (’11) and Dylan Miller (11’) both of whom are now studying film production at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Sydney Jarol ('11) who is now studying film on a Presidential Scholarship at Columbia College of the Arts in Chicago, and Liz O’Laughlin (’11) who is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Temple University’s School of Film & Media Arts in Philadelphia.