Ballard High School Video Production Program

HONORED SHORTS PREMIERE AT THE SHOWING

2012-01-24T19:52:00.000-08:00

Everyone is invited to a screening of new work by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program. Prior screenings have filled the auditorium and people have been turned away, so the screening will show on two days: Thursday, February 9 and Friday, February 10 at 7 p.m. in the Ballard High School auditorium.

The show will be the BHS premiere of Safe at Last, the winner of the Young People’s Film Festival, as well as several other honored productions. In addition to short comedies and dramas, the program will include news features and advertisements.

Tickets are $10, or $7 for students with an activity pass, and will be sold at the door. All proceeds benefit students in the Video Production Program.

REGIONAL FESTIVAL HONORS TEN MORE FILMS BY BALLARD VIDEO PRODUCTION STUDENTS

2011-11-14T22:29:00.000-08:00

Ten shorts by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been identified as “Works of Merit” by the 35th Annual Young People’s Film Festival, a competitive, six-state regional festival coordinated by the Northwest Film Center in Portland. A jury of filmmakers and educators selected 30 works for this distinction from over 150 entries in the Teen Division (grades 9 – 12). The Film Center plans to display these works online.

The ten Ballard works that made the list include visual stories, short digital films, and a music video. Two of them are the first narrative works by students in the intro class of the Video Production Program.

As we announced last month, Nate Sawtell, Dylan Spence, and Louis Weissman have been named winners in the Teen Division for their digital film Safe at Last. The Festival Winners of the Teen Division will be screened this Saturday, November 19 at 1 p.m. at the Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium (1219 SW Park, Portland, Oregon). Following the screening, there will be a reception and panel discussion for winners and audience members to meet this year's festival jurors.

The winner and several “Works of Merit” will be screened at Ballard High School in a program of new works by BHS video students on Thursday, February 9 or Friday, February 10 at 7 pm in the auditorium. Admission is $10, or $7 for students with an activity pass. All proceeds benefit students in the Video Production Program.

Young People’s Film Festival “Works of Merit” by BHS Video students:

At First Sight
By Vann Fulfs, Alex James, Taylor Martin & John Paul Umbao

Checkmate
By Mia Caron, John Christensen & Alex Johnston

Cogs
By Brendan Inkley, Cybele Olsen & Nadia Komen

The Craft
By Walker Evans, Elise Neroutsos, Sam Weller & James Vitz-Wong

The Number
By Alex Guettler, Helen Miller & Ana Krafchick

Old House
By Sam Weller, Walker Evans & Kirsten Zeller

Reverie Portal
By Ashleigh Klemetson, David Moore, Blair Scott & Kenji Takada

To-do
By Mia Montagna, Elise Neroutsos & Ivy Vance

Truth or Dare
By Liam Halvorsen, Joe Jacobson, Dylan Miller & Ariel Noltimier

Wanna Go Out
By Walker Evans, Sam Weller & Sheridan Koehler

BALLARD FILM STUDENTS WIN REGIONAL FESTIVAL

2011-10-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

Nate Sawtell, Dylan Spence, and Louis Weissman have been named winners in the Teen Division of the 35th Annual Young People’s Film & Video Festival for their digital film Safe at Last.

This competitive regional festival is coordinated by the Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon. It accepts entries from students in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Alaska. This year’s winners were selected from over 300 entries by a panel of filmmakers and educators. Celebrating originality, freshness, authenticity and conviction in the voices of young filmmakers, the Festival is divided into two sections: a Kids Division of works created by youth K-8, and a Teen Division of works created by teens in grades 9 – 12. This is the seventh year in a row that students in the BHS Video Production Program have been winners at the event.

The Festival Winners of the Teen Division will be screened on Saturday, November 19 at 1 p.m. at the Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium (1219 SW Park, Portland, Oregon). Following the screening, there will be a reception and panel discussion for winners and audience members to meet this year's festival jurors. The event is free, and the public is welcome to attend.

BHS VIDEO STUDENTS HONORED AT REGIONAL EMMY AWARDS

2011-10-08T15:43:00.000-07:00

Ballard High School Video Production students Matt Law-Phipps, Tony Meyer and James Vitz-Wong were named winners of the High School Award for Excellence at the 48th Annual Northwest Regional Emmy Awards on Saturday, June 11. The students won the Long-Form (Non-Fiction) category with their documentary Seattle Street Performers.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences gives student awards to recognize the best in student television production. The regional awards celebrate outstanding work from five Northwest states: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. Entries are judged by the same professional organization that selects Emmy winners. This makes the fifth year in a row that students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been winners at the event.

Eight other Ballard High School video productions had also been nominated: two in the Long-Form (Non-Fiction) category, one in the Long-Form (Fiction) category, three in the Public Affairs category, and two in the Public Service Announcement category.

FUTURE FILMMAKERS LIGHT UP THE SCREEN

2011-05-31T23:05:00.001-07:00

Everyone is invited to a screening of videos produced second semester by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program. The Showing will be Friday, June 10 at 7 p.m. in the Ballard High School auditorium. Included will be short comedies, dramas, public service announcements, and music videos. Tickets are $8 and will be sold at the door. All proceeds will be contributed to the rebuild of our auditorium sound systems. Arrive early! The Showing routinely packs the auditorium and people have been turned away.

This screening will feature a variety of productions recently honored by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences as well as film festivals such as the National Film Festival for Talented Youth and the national high school film and video festival coordinated by Temple University’s School of Film & Media Arts in Philadelphia (the “Derek Freese”).

SIFF FEATURES WORK BY BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL VIDEO STUDENTS

2011-05-28T22:32:00.001-07:00

The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) will be featuring two shorts by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program as part of FutureWave, its showcase for young filmmakers.

The first short, Reflection, was produced and directed by Blair Scott and Sheridan Koehler. It explores the conflicts of conscience. The second short, Henry, was produced and directed by Amelia Elizalde, Levi Friedman, Sean Hendricks and Sheridan Koehler. The documentary pits the prolific Seattle muralist of the title against art critic Regina Hackett.

The shorts will be screened on Monday, May 30 at 4 pm in the SIFF Cinema. Both shorts have already garnered multiple honors, including nominations from the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for Student Television Awards of Excellence, Awards of Excellence from the Northwest High School Film Festival, and winning the Young People’s Film & Video Festival.

Just click on the title of this post to purchase tickets for the SIFF FutureWave screening.

NORTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL FILM FESTIVAL HONORS BHS PRODUCERS

2011-05-26T22:54:00.000-07:00

Students from the Ballard High School Video Production Program won multiple awards and honors at the 13th annual Northwest High School Film Festival at the Cinerama Theater in downtown Seattle on May 24. This is the largest and longest running festival for high school filmmakers in the Puget Sound region. This year 320 productions were entered in the competition from 23 high schools. Ballard High School led the pack of winners with a total of 10 awards and honors.

The festival was judged by a panel of 26 industry professionals and college media professors. The event was organized by the Media Educators Excellence Team (MEET) and sponsored by Adobe, the Art Institute of Seattle, DigiPen, Shoreline Community College, Key Code Media, and Apple.

BHS productions were honored in six different categories, reflecting the diverse skills and talents of Ballard’s video students. Some of the winning productions will be shown on Friday, June 10 at The Showing, a screening of work by students in the BHS Video Production Program. The event begins at 7 p.m. in the BHS auditorium. Tickets are $8.00 and will be sold at the door.

Ballard’s Northwest High School Film Festival winners:

AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

Comedic Narrative
The Dummy
Rikke Heinecke, Sarah McDowell, Allie Stock, James Vitz-Wong

Documentary
Henry
Amelia Elizalde, Levi Friedman, Sean Hendricks, Sheridan Koehler

News Feature
Leisure Biking
Vann Fulfs, Alex Guettler, Helen Miller

Public Service Announcement
Earth Corps
Misko Crkon, Alex Johnston-Thomas, William Westgaard

Sports
Mountain Biking
Alex James, Cooper Rickards, John Paul Umbao

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Commercial
Hollywood Apocalypse
Jack Hamilton, Ashleigh Klemetson, Blair Scott

Documentary
Tilted Thunder Railbirds
Molly Bowman, Jack Hamilton, Kirsten Zeller

Public Service Announcement
Plenty of Road
Brendan Inkley, Stephan Neu-Yagle, Dylan Spence

Share the Road: Sidewalk
Elise Neroutsos, Ivy Vance

Teens Against Tobacco Use
Emma Hutchison, Lizzy O’Laughlin, Allie Stock

FUTURE FILMMAKERS LAUNCHED FROM BALLARD VIDEO PRODUCTION PROGRAM

2011-05-25T21:53:00.001-07:00

The following nine seniors (six girls and three boys) in Ballard High School’s Video Production Program will be pursuing film and television in college next fall, many of them at the top programs in the country. Some of these programs are highly selective, admitting only 3% (or less) of all applicants. Between them, these seniors have won 31 awards and honors for their work from international, national and regional film festivals as well as professional organizations. They have also won $230,000 in competitive college scholarships.

• Rikke Heinecke will be studying filmmaking in the School of Cinema Arts at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

• Sydney Jarol and Sheridan Koehler will be studying filmmaking at Columbia College of the Arts in Chicago.

• Ashleigh Klemetson will be pursuing video production and media studies at Central Washington University.

• Lizzy O’Laughlin will be studying broadcast journalism at Temple University in Philadelphia.

• Dylan Miller and Blair Scott will be studying filmmaking at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

• Justin Smith-Mercado will be attending the Film & Video Communications Program at Seattle Central Community College.

• Chloe Warner-Moyer will be attending the Creative Producing Program at Chapman University near Los Angeles.

AND THE NOMINEES ARE...

2011-05-18T23:27:00.000-07:00

Nine productions by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been nominated for NATAS Northwest High School Awards of Excellence. The Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (the professional organization that gives the Emmy awards) presents these awards to honor the best in student television production. These regional awards celebrate the most outstanding productions from five northwest states: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. The winners will be announced at the 48th Annual Northwest Regional Emmy Awards on June 11th.

Ballard’s nominations span four categories, showing the quality and diversity of our producers. These are the nominations by category.

Public Affairs:
Faces by Dana Baumgartner, Emma Hutchison & Chloe Warner-Moyer

Without Our Cars by Sydney Jarol, Dylan Miller & Ryan Zemke

Henry by Amelia Elizalde, Sheridan Koehler, Levi Friedman & Sean Hendricks

Long Form, Non-Fiction:
Bar Ink by Spencer Miller, Georgia Peck, Robyn Cochrane & Justin Smith-Mercado

Seattle Street Performers by Tony Meyer, James Vitz-Wong & Matt Law-Phipps

Split Mind by Rikke Heinecke, Blair Scott, John Christensen & Allie Stock

Long-Form, Fiction:
Buy, Sell, Trade by Emily Deering, Amelia Elizalde & Blair Scott

Public Service Announcement:
Plenty of Road by Brendan Inkley, Stephen Neu-Yagle & Dylan Spence

Share the Road: Sidewalk by Elise Neroutsos & Ivy Vance

The nominees were selected by industry professionals in the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. This makes the fifth year in a row that Ballard High School video producers have been nominated. Last year they received 6 nominations and won awards in the categories of Public Service Announcement and Dramatic Presentation.

BHS video students will present new works completed this semester at The Showing on Friday, June 10 at 7 pm in the BHS auditorium. Tickets are $8 and will be sold at the door.

2011-05-01T17:39:00.001-07:00

On April 17, Justin Amorratanasuchad died in an accident in Boston where he was attending film school. He died doing what he loved, filming. He had been a student at Emerson College since graduating from Ballard High School in 2008. A memorial for Justin is scheduled for Saturday, June 11 at Seattle Unity Church from 1-5 pm.

Justin had walked away from a full scholarship at the Northwest School in order to enroll in Ballard High's Video Production Program, where he spent three years. He was a very talented filmmaker and an inspiration to everyone in the program, both students and staff. It was impossible not to enjoy working with him. When he was happy, it was contagious. His smile lit up the room. Friends and professors from Emerson also noted these same traits, affirming that Justin's talent was maturing.

Justin’s productions are still used as examples to teach new students. He had a gift for storytelling and visualizing ideas. He also had a great sense for editing and was as comfortable in front of the camera as he was behind it.

Justin won a top prize with his very first production of his first semester. By the time he had graduated from high school, he had won a National Student Television Award for Writing from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Northwest Region), a Jury Prize for Best Experimental Film from the National Film Festival for Talented Youth, Best PSA from the Westport Youth Film Festival, and Awards of Excellence in the categories of Commercial, News, and Dramatic Narrative from the Northwest High School Film Festival.

Justin is survived by his mother, Blair Brooke-Weiss, and step-father Craig Brooke-Weiss of Seattle, Jesse Amorratanasuchad, of Seattle, a stepbrother, Levi Corgonell-Weiss, of Seattle, his half-sisters, Eve and May Amorratanasuchad, of Thailand; and his grandparents, Robert Brooke, of Phoenix, and Dallas and Ellen Mustoe, of England. His parents and friends have created a Justin Amorratanasuchad Scholarship. Justin was only able to attend a top school like Emerson because of the financial support of his grandfather. This scholarship will support public high school students who have the talent, but lack the financial resource, to pursue college studies in film and television.

Ballard High School Filmmakers to be Featured at International Festival

2011-03-04T15:59:00.000-08:00

Ten short films by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been named Official Selections of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY). This competitive festival showcases outstanding work by filmmakers age 22 and younger. This year, NFFTY received nearly 700 entries from all across the U.S. as well as 40 other countries. NFFTY opens at the Seattle Cinerama Theater on Thursday, April 28 and continues through Sunday at the Seattle Center.

Official Selections for NFFTY are determined by a jury of professional filmmakers. These short films by Ballard High School video students have been selected for screening.

Attention by Dana Baumgartner, Mia Montagna, Elise Neroutsos & Chloe Warner-Moyer

Buy-Sell-Trade by Emily Deering, Amelia Elizalde & Blair Scott

Dead End by Emma Hutchison, Kaila Lafferty, Karli Lafferty & Kirsten Zeller

Dino Utopia by Lily Bennett, Levi Friedman, Blair Scott & Ryan Zemke

Faces by Dana Baumgartner, Emma Hutchison & Chloe Warner-Moyer

Mr. Clean by Jamie Bennett, Louis Weissman & Maddy Yaple

Signs by Rikke Heinecke, Tony Meyer & Lizzy O’Laughlin

Super Zeroes by Lily Bennett, Levi Friedman & Sheridan Koehler

To Do by Mia Montagna, Elise Neroutsos & Ivy Vance

Without Our Cars by Sydney Jarol, Dylan Miller & Ryan Zemke

Between them, these shorts have previously been honored by the Young People’s Film & Video Festival, the nation-wide Derek Freese High School Film Festival coordinated by Temple University’s School of Film & Media Arts, and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Several of these films have been further honored by being selected for the high-profile Opening and Closing Night screenings. Signs has been programmed for Opening Night at the Cinerama, while Attention, Buy-Sell-Trade, Super Zeroes and To Do will be screened Closing Night.

Immediately following the Closing Night screening, Jury Prizes and Audience Awards will be announced. However, like the Sundance Film Festival, NFFTY includes forums on filmmaking in addition to screenings and awards. For a complete schedule of events, show times, and ticket information, visit www.nffty.org.

NFFTY itself is the brainchild of Ballard High School video alumnus Jesse Harris (’04). Harris made history in 2004 when Living Life, the feature film he had written and directed as a senior project, was purchased by FilmMates and given a theatrical release. (It opened in Seattle in April, 2005.) A growing list of sponsors and partners, such as Bing, Volvo, Nike 6.0, and IMBEE have paved the way for this fourth annual event.

BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL FILMS WIN NATIONAL FESTIVAL

2010-12-14T23:14:00.001-08:00

Seven works by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program won prizes at the 15th Annual Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival. This prestigious festival draws competition from high school filmmakers throughout the nation and is judged by acclaimed filmmakers and professors from Temple University’s School of Film & Media Arts. The festival was held at TU in Philadelphia last Saturday.

Ballard High School filmmakers won every award in the documentary category. (This is quite an honor, as Temple is widely regarded as one of the best schools of documentary filmmaking in the country.) First Prize went to Robyn Cochrane, Spencer Miller, Georgia Peck & Justin Smith-Mercado for Bar Ink, the story of a youth whom manages to discover and develop his talent in spite of incarceration. Amelia Elizalde, Levi Friedman, Sean Hendricks & Sheridan Koehler took Second Prize for Henry, about the Seattle muralist of that name. Third Prize went to Tony Meyer, Matt Law-Phipps & James Vitz-Wong for Seattle Street Musicians. John Christensen, Rikke Heinecke, Blair Scott & Allie Stock won the Best Documentary Screenplay prize for Split Mind, the story of a family’s experience with schizophrenia.

In the Best Fiction category, Ballard High School students won three prizes. First Prize went to Emily Deering, Amelia Elizalde & Blair Scott for the subtle dramatic short Buy, Sell, Trade. Second Prize went to Matt Law-Phipps, Tony Meyer & Ryan Zemke for their dystopian vision, Real World. (Both these prize-winners will have their Seattle premiere at The Showing on Friday, February 11th at 7 pm in the BHS auditorium. Tickets are $5, and will be sold at the door.) Best Fiction Screenplay went to Rikke Heinecke, Tony Meyer & Lizzy O’Laughlin for Signs, a story of hope for the homeless.

This marks the eighth year in a row that productions by students from the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been Finalists in the Derek Freese Festival, and the third time they have also won top prizes.

The festival is held in memory of Derek Freese, a gifted Temple University film student. His family created the Derek Freese Foundation in his name. The national festival is a joint project of this Foundation and the TU School of Film and Media Arts, and aims to celebrate and support excellent young filmmakers.

SEVEN BHS FILMS FINALISTS IN NATIONAL FESTIVAL

2010-12-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

Seven productions by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been named Finalists of the 15th Annual Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival. This prestigious festival draws competition from high school filmmakers across the country and is judged by professors from Temple University’s renowned film school and industry professionals. The festival will take place in Philadelphia at Temple’s School of Film and Media Arts on Saturday, December 11 at 1 pm.

Finalists for Best Documentary are Bar Ink by Spencer Miller, Robyn Cochrane, Justin Smith-Mercado, & Georgia Peck; Henry by Amelia Elizalde, Levi Friedman, Sheridan Koehler & Sean Hendricks; Seattle Street Performers by James Vitz-Wong, Tony Meyer & Matt Law-Phipps; and Split Mind by Rikke Heinecke, John Christensen, Blair Scott & Allie Stock.

Finalists for Best Fiction Film are Buy, Sell, Trade by Emily Deering, Amelia Elizalde & Blair Scott; The Real World by Matt Law-Phipps, Tony Meyer & Ryan Zemke; and Signs by Rikke Heinecke, Tony Meyer & Lizzy O'Laughlin.

Several of these works have also been nominated for Best Screenplay. The envelopes will be opened at the festival, and awards will be presented by filmmakers from the festival jury.

Some of these finalists will have their Seattle premiere at The Showing in the BHS auditorium on Friday, February 11 at 7 pm. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

This marks the eighth year in a row that productions by students from the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been Finalists in the Derek Freese Festival. Some have also won top prizes.

The festival is held in memory of Derek Freese, a gifted Temple University film student. His family created the Derek Freese Foundation in his name. The festival is a joint project of this Foundation and the TU School of Film and Media Arts, and aims to celebrate and support excellent young filmmakers.

DON'T MISS "THE SHOWING" PREMIERE

2010-11-14T21:04:00.000-08:00

Everyone is invited to a screening of new work by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program. The Showing will be Friday, February 11 at 7 p.m. in the Ballard High School auditorium. Included will be short comedies and dramas as well as public service announcements and commercials. Tickets are $5, and will be sold at the door. All proceeds benefit students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program.

Multiple productions screened at The Showing last winter went on to awards and honors at various film festivals. Be the first to see tomorrow’s award-winners! Be sure to arrive early. Prior screenings have filled the auditorium, and people have been turned away.

NINE BHS FILMS NAMED SEMI-FINALISTS AT NATIONAL FESTIVAL

2010-11-14T20:52:00.000-08:00

Nine works by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been named semi-finalists in the 15th Annual Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival last Sunday. This prestigious festival draws competition from high school filmmakers throughout the nation and is judged by professors from Temple University’s renowned film school, acclaimed filmmakers, and members of the Derek Freese Foundation.

The jury is currently selecting finalists, and will make an announcement next week. The festival is slated for 1 pm, Saturday, December 11 at The REEL, Temple University’s Student Cinema. There will be an award ceremony and reception after the screening.

Ballard’s semi-finalists are:

The documentary Bar Ink by Robyn Cochrane, Georgia Peck, Spencer Miller & Justin Smith-Mercado

The dramatic short Buy, Sell, Trade by Emily Deering, Amelia Elizalde & Blair Scott

The documentary Henry by Amelia Elizalde, Levi Friedman, Sean Hendricks & Sheridan Koehler

The dramatic short The Real World by Matt Law-Phipps, Tony Meyer & Ryan Zemke

The documentary Seattle Street Performers by Matt Law-Phipps, Tony Meyer & James Vitz-Wong

The visual story Signs by Rikke Heinecke, Tony Meyer & Lizzy O’Laughlin

The documentary Split Mind by John Christensen, Rikke Heinecke, Blair Scott & Allie Stock

The documentary Tanaholics by Kaila Lafferty, Elise Neroutsos & Alex Papac

The documentary Without Our Cars by Sydney Jarol, Dylan Miller & Ryan Zemke

BHS video students have been finalists in this festival every year since they began entering in 2004. They have also won top prizes.

BALLARD FILM STUDENTS WIN REGIONAL FESTIVAL

2010-10-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

Four productions by students in the BHS Video Production Program are among the winners of the 34th Annual Young People’s Film & Video Festival. The winners are the short dramas Reflection (by Sheridan Koehler & Blair Scott) and Signs (by Rikke Heinecke, Lizzy O’Laughlin & Tony Meyer) as well as the documentaries Bar Ink (by Robyn Cochrane, Spencer Miller, Georgia Peck & Justin Smith-Mercado) and Henry (by Amelia Elizalde, Levi Friedman, Sean Hendricks & Sheridan Koehler).

This competitive festival accepts entries from students in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Alaska. It is coordinated by the Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon. The Festival encourages young people to “use film and video to creatively express personal concerns, explore important social issues, and share engaging stories about the world as they see it.” Submissions were judged on the basis of age/grade, originality, artistic merit, technical achievement, and conviction in investigation of subject matter. A jury of professional media artists made the selections. Only 16 productions were chosen for the festival from over 150 entries.

The visual story Reflection explores the moral consequences of decisions. Signs charts the inner transformation of a homeless man as he prepares to leave the street. It's also a story without dialogue. The two winning documentaries have contrasting subject matter as well. Bar Ink tells the story of a former convict (imprisoned at an early age) that managed – despite the odds – to discover and develop his talent behind bars and embarked on a successful career once released. Henry is a face-off between the prolific Seattle muralist of that name and Seattle art critic Regina Hackett.

The Festival Winners’ Program will be screened on Sunday, November 7 at 1 p.m. at the Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium (1219 SW Park, Portland, Oregon). Following the screening, the Film Center will host a reception where the winners can mix with this year's festival jurors. The event is free, and the public is welcome to attend.

DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE CELEBRATES SEATTLE BLUES LEGEND

2010-09-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder why some people with immense talent are marginalized while others, without such gifts, become household names? That’s one of the questions explored by Who is Duffy Bishop and Why is She Not World Famous?, a documentary on the Seattle blues icon. It will premiere in Seattle on Saturday, September 25 at 7:30 pm in the Ballard High School auditorium.

The documentary was produced by Bryan Johnston (most recently of KOMO and KIRO-TV). It was co-produced by Matt Law-Phipps and Ryan Zemke of the Ballard High School Video Production Program. During their senior year, Matt and Ryan had formed their own production company Space Time Productions. When Bryan Johnston approached teacher Matt Lawrence looking for talented young filmmakers to co-produce his project, Space Time Productions found another client. Bryan mentored the students as they expanded their production skills in a professional environment.

Following the 30-minute documentary, Duffy Bishop will perform live. Proceeds from the event benefit Seattle breast cancer awareness and research. Tickets (sold at the door) will be $10 for adults and $5 for students.

1 REEL FILM FESTIVAL HONORS BHS FILMMAKERS

2010-08-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

Seattle’s Bumbershoot is host to SIFF’s 1 Reel Film Festival, a showcase of short films from around the world. This year several winners of the Northwest High School Film Festival join the program – including two by Ballard High School Video Production students. The Crumb, by Emily Deering, Karli Lafferty, Sarah Maloney & Taylor Rubright, is a humorous look at the extremes of obsessive compulsion. The short drama Reflection, by Sheridan Koehler & Blair Scott, examines the cost of bad choices. Both were student Emmy nominees at the Northwest Regional Emmy Awards last spring and Official Selections at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth in addition to winning Awards of Excellence at the NWHSFF.

The showcase will be screened at SIFF Cinema from noon to 1 pm on Sunday, September 5. The public is welcome to attend. Bumbershoot 2010 tickets are on sale online and will also be available at the gates at Seattle Center on Bumbershoot weekend. One entrance ticket gets you a full days worth of entertainment – there is no separate ticketing for the 1 Reel Film Festival. For more ticketing information, visit www.bumbershoot.org.

YOU'RE INVITED - DON'T MISS THE PARTY!

2010-07-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

In honor of Ballard’s victory at NFFTY’s 48 Hour Film Off, NFFTY sponsor Vitaminwater is throwing a party for Ballard High School video production students and their friends at the Vitaminwater Social Club. The all-ages club is located at 1001 E. Pike Street at the corner of Pike and 10th on Capitol Hill. The party is slated for Friday, July 16.

It will begin at 9 pm with an hour of food and music, followed by an hour of short productions from Ballard High School filmmakers. There will then be music and dancing until midnight, and it’s all free!

In addition to the NFFTY award-winning short Charlie, the screening will include student Emmy winner The Crumb, student Emmy nominee Dead End, and national high school festival finalist Dino Utopia. Two short documentaries on Seattle artists will also be featured, as well as new works that have never been shown before.

All Ballard High School Video Production Program students, their friends and families are invited!

AND THE WINNERS ARE...BALLARD VIDEO STUDENTS

2010-06-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

Two productions by Ballard High School video students were winners at the 47th Annual Northwest Regional Emmy Awards on Saturday, June 5. Loose Change by Emma Hutchison, Georgia Peck & Alex Scheller, won in the Public Service Announcement category, and The Crumb by Emily Deering, Karli Lafferty, Sarah Maloney & Taylor Rubright won in the Dramatic Presentation category.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences gives student awards to recognize the best in student television production. The regional awards celebrate outstanding productions from five northwest states: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. This makes the fourth year in a row that students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been winners at the event.

Four other Ballard High School video productions had also been nominated. Dead End by Emma Hutchison, Kaila Lafferty, Karli Lafferty & Kirsten Zeller, Manimal by Levi Friedman, Matt Law-Phipps, Esther Magasis & Ryan Zemke, and Reflection by Sheridan Koehler & Blair Scott were nominees in the Dramatic Presentation category. Swine Flu Apocalypse by John Christensen, Conner Jarvie & Matt Law-Phipps was a nominee in the Public Service Announcement category. For more information on the NATAS student television awards, visit www.natasnw.org.

NORTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL FILM FESTIVAL HONORS BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL PRODUCERS

2010-05-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

Students from the Ballard High School Video Production Program won multiple awards and honors at the 12th annual Northwest High School Film Festival at the Cinerama Theater in downtown Seattle on May 18. This is the largest and longest running festival for high school filmmakers in the Puget Sound region. This year 267 productions were entered in the competition from 22 high schools. Ballard High School led the pack of winners with a total of 14 awards and honors. In addition, seniors Emily Deering and Levi Friedman were each presented with $1,000 scholarships to The Prodigy Camp, a week-long summer workshop for young filmmakers led by writer/director Rick Stevenson of The Film School.

The festival was judged by a panel of 18 industry professionals and college media professors. The event was organized by the Media Educators Excellence Team (MEET) and sponsored by Adobe, the Art Institute of Seattle, Canon, DigiPen, Glazier’s Camera, Seattle University, and Shoreline Community College. For more information on the NWHSFF, visit nwhsff.org.

BHS productions were honored in five different categories, reflecting the diverse skills and talents of Ballard’s video students. Some of the winning productions will be shown on Friday, June 11 at The Showing, a screening of work by students in the BHS Video Production Program. The event begins at 7 p.m. in the BHS auditorium. There is a suggested donation of $5.00.

Ballard’s Northwest High School Film Festival winners:

AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

Comedic Narrative
The Crumb
Emily Deering, Karli Lafferty, Sarah Maloney, Taylor Rubright

Dino Utopia
Lily Bennett, Levi Friedman, Blair Scott, Ryan Zemke

Documentary
Bar Ink
Robyn Cochrane, Spencer Miller, Georgia Peck, Justin Smith-Mercado

Dramatic Narrative
ReflectionSheridan Koehler, Blair Scott

News Feature
Stick With It
Tinh Pham, Bryant Rubright, Dylan Spence

Public Service Announcement
Ballard NW Senior Center: Gardening
Amelia Elizalde, Rikke Heinecke, Ashleigh Klemetson, Ryan Zemke

Ballard NW Senior Center: Knitting
Amelia Elizalde, Rikke Heinecke, Ashleigh Klemetson, Ryan Zemke

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Comedic Narrative
Finding the Music
Sheridan Koehler, Alex Scheller, Blair Scott

Manimal
Levi Friedman, Matthew Law-Phipps, Esther Magasis, Ryan Zemke

Documentary
Without Our Cars
Sydney Jarol, Dylan Miller, Ryan Zemke

Dramatic Narrative
Dead End
Emma Hutchison, Kaila Lafferty, Karli Lafferty, Kirsten Zeller

News Feature
The Beautiful Game
Jacob Scott, Colin Shively, Edwin Tellez

Public Service Announcement
Loose Change
Emma Hutchison, Georgia Peck, Alex Scheller

Make a Wish
Daniel Maldonado, Elizabeth O’Laughlin, Allie Stock

EMMY ORGANIZATION NOMINATES BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL VIDEO STUDENTS

2010-05-15T20:17:00.001-07:00

Six productions by Ballard High School video students have been honored with student Emmy nominations at the regional level. The awards are a project of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (the professional organization that gives the Emmy awards) and honor the best in student television production. The regional awards celebrate the most outstanding productions from five northwest states: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. The winners will be announced at the 47th Annual Northwest Regional Emmy Awards on June 5th.

Four of the nominations are in the Dramatic Presentation category.

The Crumb by Emily Deering, Karli Lafferty,
Sarah Maloney & Taylor Rubright

Dead End by Emma Hutchison, Kaila Lafferty,
Karli Lafferty & Kirsten Zeller

Manimal by Levi Friedman, Matt Law-Phipps,
Esther Magasis & Ryan Zemke

Reflection by Sheridan Koehler & Blair Scott

Only six productions received nominations in this category, so odds are good that BHS producers will take home the award on June 5.

The other two nominations are in the Public Service Announcement category.

Loose Change (produced for Real Change) by
Emma Hutchison, Georgia Peck &Alex Scheller

Swine Flu Apocalypse (produced for the Teen
Health Center) by John Christensen, Conner Jarvie & Matt Law-Phipps

This makes the fourth year in a row that Ballard High School video producers have been nominated. Last year they received 5 nominations and won student Emmy awards in the Public Affairs and Technical Achievement categories.

BHS video students will present new works completed this semester at 7 pm on Friday, June 11 at the BHS auditorium. Admission is free, but there is a suggested donation of $5.

BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL PRODUCERS WIN NFFTY FILMMAKING COMPETITION

2010-05-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

Ballard High School won the 48 Hour Film Off at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) on Saturday, May 1. The competition began at the conclusion of NFFTY Opening Night on Thursday. To ensure that no pre-production had been done before then, the teams were given critical props, a key line of spoken dialogue, and a theme that must be prominently featured in the short.

Students then worked around the clock to produce a 3 minute narrative short in only 48 hours. BHS video students John Christensen, Sydney Jarol, Matt Law-Phipps, Rikke Heinecke & Ryan Zemke represented Ballard, competing against production teams from Bellevue, Franklin, and Mount Si high schools. Each team worked on scripts, storyboarding, production schedules, shooting and editing in order to deliver a finished short in time for the Action Sports screening on Saturday night.

A jury of four professional filmmakers, along with audience voting, selected the BHS short, Charlie, as the winner. The winning producers received Nike 6.0, Skullcandy gear, and a $2,500 scholarship for the BHS Video Production Program. The winning short will be screened, along with other award-winning work from students in the BHS Video Production Program, at The Showing in the BHS auditorium on Friday, June 11 at 7 pm.

BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL FILMMAKERS FEATURED AT NATIONAL FESTIVAL

2010-04-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

Six short films by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been named Official Selections of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY). This international festival opens at the Seattle Cinerama Theater on Thursday, April 29 and continues through Sunday at the Seattle Center. It features 190 films by filmmakers age 22 and younger from 33 states and 16 countries.

The honored Ballard films are The Crumb by Emily Deering, Karli Lafferty, Sarah Maloney & Taylor Rubright, Girl’s Best Friend by Georgia Peck, Elizabeth O’Laughlin & Madi Fowler, Gourmandizing by Levi Friedman & Matthew Law-Phipps, Manimal by Levi Friedman, Matthew Law-Phipps, Esther Magasis & Ryan Zemke, Reflection by Sheridan Koehler & Blair Scott, and The Umbrella by Parker Davis, Kaelan Gilman & Henry Shenk. (The Umbrella was further honored by being selected for the opening night screening at the Cinerama.) Between them, these shorts have previously been honored by the Young People’s Film & Video Festival, the Images of Youth Video Festival, and the international Festival do Rio.

NFFTY itself is the brainchild of Ballard High School video alumnus Jesse Harris (’04). Harris made history in 2004 when Living Life, the feature film he had written and directed as a senior project, was purchased by FilmMates and given a theatrical release. (It opened in Seattle in April, 2005.) A growing list of sponsors and partners, such as Volvo, Nike, and the socially conscious production company Take Part, have paved the way for this third annual event.

Prizes are awarded by a jury of industry professionals. (Last year Ballard High School video students won the Jury Prize for Best Documentary Film over college competition.) However, like the Sundance Film Festival, NFFTY includes forums on filmmaking in addition to screenings and awards. Alternative Distribution:The New Model, Finding Your Success in Hollywood, Being a Professional Screenwriter, The Art of Movie Sound, Directing the Actor, and Green Screen on a Budget, are several current examples. Admission to these forums is free of charge if you have a festival pass. For a complete schedule of events, show times, and ticket information, visit
www.nffty.org.

BHS PRODUCERS HONORED BY NATIONAL FESTIVAL

2010-03-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

Dino Utopia, a short film by BHS video students Lily Bennett, Levi Friedman, Blair Scott & Ryan Zemke, has been named an Official Selection and Finalist of the 14th Annual Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival. This prestigious festival drew hundreds of entries from high school producers across the nation and was judged by professional filmmakers and professors from Temple University’s renowned film school. The festival took place in Philadephia at Temple’s Department of Film and Media Arts on Saturday, March 20. For more information, visit freesefilmfestival.org.

BHS VIDEO STUDENTS WIN FESTIVAL HONORS

2010-03-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

Four works by Ballard High School Video Production students will receive certificates for Outstanding Video Production at the Images of Youth 2010 Video Festival. Knitting by Amelia Elizalde, Rikke Heinecke, Ashleigh Klemetson & Ryan Zemke, is a Public Service Announcement for the Ballard NW Senior Center. Loose Change by Emma Hutchison, Georgia Peck & Alex Scheller, is a PSA for Real Change. The short film Manimal by Levi Friedman, Matthew Law-Phipps, Esther Magasis & Ryan Zemke, imagines the future of filmmaking once screenwriters have been entirely replaced by marketing experts. The final work, a PSA for the Teen Health Center, is Swine Flu Apocalypse, by John Christensen, Conner Jarvie & Matt Law-Phipps.

These productions, along with others receiving Outstanding Video Production certificates, will be screened at the Images of Youth Video Festival on Thursday, March 25 at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center at 7 pm. The Images of Youth Video Festival is a project of Action for Media Education (AME), a non-profit organization based at the University of Washington. For more information and directions to the event, visit the AME website at http://www.imagesofyouthfilmfestival.org/index.html.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

2010-03-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

Ashley Russell, Class of 2006

Like most teenagers, I was trying to figure out what I was good at, what I wanted to do, and frankly, what I was going to study once I graduated High School. I had tried various creative outlets: writing, music, theater, dance- but nothing fit. For awhile I was doubting my creativity, my urge to be imaginative and share my thoughts with the world, I seriously contemplated a more practical study…which, if you knew me, would have been the equivalent of Alice Cooper in a suit and tie, heading to a 9-5 job.

But luckily, I was haunted by an opportunity. During my freshman year history class, the Ballard High School Film and TV program debuted a series of short videos completed by their students. This happened every once in awhile, after morning announcements, to inform the school of upcoming events in the school and in the area. Watching these shorts, I realized I wanted to document and create stories about all the things I loved, and what a better and more creative way to do so than with a camera?

I spent my Sophomore and Junior years in the BHS Video Production Program, learning everything I could about making movies. I produced narratives, news pieces, music videos, and Public Service Announcements (PSA’s). Sufficient to say, some of the projects I completed in High School received international attention. A music video project entitled The Drive Thru won the Seattle International Film Festival’s FutureWave Audience Award in 2006, and in 2005, MTV & OneWorld held a contest for High School students to complete a PSA regarding the HIV/AIDS epidemic in public schools. Our video, Get Tested Get Educated, received worldwide status on the MTV/OneWorld website as a runner-up in the competition.

Toward the end of my Junior year, I wanted to take advantage of the Running Start program, and enrolled at Seattle Central Community College. Believe it or not, it had not hit me yet that I wanted to be a filmmaker, long term. I still had no idea what I was going to do or where I was going to go after High School – which was frightening, and curiously enough, even more stifling.

During a cultural anthropology class I was taking at SCCC, a woman named Debbie Guerrero came and spoke to our class about her native culture, beliefs, personal history, and background. Through her speech and words of wisdom, she breathed a ray of hope and inspiration into me. I instantly knew I wanted to make a documentary about her, and from that realization came another, that I wanted to be a filmmaker. That’s how I saw the world. I didn’t want to paint, write, draw, or act out my inspirations- I wanted to make movies about them, and in turn inspire others.

Luckily, I found out SCCC has a 2-year Film and TV Production program, which I immediately enrolled in. I was accepted to start Fall 2006, following my June 2006 High School graduation. I spent my time at SCCC making short films, documentaries (I finally got to make my piece about Debbie), and learning everything I could about filmmaking as an art and as an industry. A handful of the films I made in school have been in local film festivals, including The Girls at The Northwest Film Forum’s 2008 Local Sightings Film Festival. Since graduating from SCCC I have worked on four noted feature films, half a dozen reality shows, and short film productions in and outside of the Seattle area. Some of my credits include Wardrobe Supervisor on the feature film Dear Lemon Lima, Art Director & Wardrobe Stylist on the feature film Worst Night Ever, Wardrobe Stylist & Supervisor on Lynn Shelton’s MTV Series $5 Cover: Seattle, and Assistant Camera on The Celebrity Apprentice Season 8 as well as on a local Episode of MTV’s MADE.

After spending the last two-years working on projects from coast to coast, I am now taking the time to write and direct my own work. Looking back on what led to success and career choice, I have 2 very direct and early influences, one being Mr. Lawrence and the Video Production classes at BHS, the second being the unintentional influence of Debbie Guerrero. They both taught me how to find my inspirations and helped initiate the early productions of Russell films.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

2010-02-21T00:07:00.001-08:00

Jesse Harris, Class of 2004

At only 24 Jesse Harris, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY NNFTY), is leading the next generation of young and talented filmmakers. Variety agrees, and named Jesse Harris one of 25 talents who transformed youth entertainment in 2009 for his work at NFFTY.

Jesse was born and raised in Seattle and began making films in childhood. During his three years in the Ballard High School Video Production Program, Jesse won twelve awards and honors at regional and national youth film festivals. These included prizes in narrative, documentary, and news production. However, his most memorable accomplishment was his senior project: the feature length drama Living Life that he wrote and directed at the age of 17. The film tells the story of a teenage boy battling cancer and how he changes other people’s lives in the process of reconciling himself to his illness.

Choosing to live his dream as a filmmaker, Jesse financed Living Life through funds raised by rallying friends, family, local organizations and using a majority of his college fund. Jesse hired "the best in the business" using a professional Seattle-based crew and actors to film the production between his junior and senior years of high school.

His efforts paid off. In 2004, Living Life was one of 20 features invited to be part of the annual lFP New York Film Market. It was also an Audience Award winner at the 2004 Orinda Film Festival. That same year Jesse was a semi-finalist for the IFP Spirit Award "Someone to Watch."

Jesse then partnered with FilmMates Entertainment for completion and distribution of Living Life, becoming the youngest known American director to obtain multi-city theatrical release and distribution of a feature film. Living Life was theatrically released in April 2005 and bought by HBO Central Europe and TV in Israel. Vivendi Visual Entertainment purchased Living Life for DVD distribution.

As a result of his experience making, releasing and distributing his own film, Jesse decided to create an organization to support other young filmmakers. In 2007 Jesse co-founded The National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY), a new film festival and non-profit organization to support young filmmakers 22 and under. The first sponsor of the festival was Volvo Cars of North America, which became involved after Jesse produced a commercial for the Volvo C30.

Jesse continues to pursue filmmaking and is currently working on a variety of projects. Film and commercial clips can be seen at:
http://www.youtube.com/jesselharris

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

2010-02-20T23:59:00.000-08:00

Aaron Morse, Class of 2006

Since graduating from Ballard in 2006, I've been attending Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. I'm a junior on the broadcast track in the Medill School of Journalism. Outside of class, I'm the co-sports director of 89.3 FM WNUR, the largest student radio station in the country. I am also a contributor to the Emmy winning television show "Sports Night" on the Northwestern News Network.

WNUR was basically the reason I went to Northwestern in the first place. Ever since I realized I couldn't be a major league baseball player, my goal has been to be a baseball broadcaster. The thing that attracted me to WNUR was that freshmen were eligible to do baseball play by play. WNUR does live play by play of every Northwestern football game, all home men's basketball games and select road games, all home and all conference women's basketball games, as well as baseball, softball, and lacrosse in the spring.

Last spring I was chosen as the new co-sports director along with my friend Andrew Gothelf. As sports directors, we are responsible for all broadcast assignments, maintaining relations with our corporate donors, and requesting credentials and ordering all necessary phone and ISDN lines for road broadcasts. One of our main focuses has been the upgrade of our web-site under Web Director Adam Pumm. We're very proud of the site now, as it's a destination for audio and feature stories about the Northwestern Wildcats, as well as a place where fans can listen to all broadcasts online. You can find us at http://sports.wnur.org.

One of the perks of being co-sports director is that we get to go to the biggest event of the year for NU: The Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. The Northwestern football team went 9-3 this year (I was on play by play for the Duke, Iowa, Purdue, and Michigan games, all of which were wins), and now they play Missouri in the Alamo Bowl. Road trips in general are really fun, because it's all paid for by either the Athletic Department or the station, but this is the road trip of road trips! We're looking to be the first WNUR crew to be on the call for a Wildcat victory in a bowl game. The last NU bowl victory was 1949, a year before WNUR existed.

When I'm not at Northwestern in the summer, I've been broadcasting baseball. After my freshman year, I went to Alaska and was the broadcaster and sports information director for the Fairbanks Fire of the Alaska Baseball League. The Fire won the league title on the last day of the season! It was their first title in franchise history. However, the Fire don't have that many resources, so that was a volunteer job. After taking last summer off after a brief stint in the Cape Cod League, I am going back to Alaska this summer, except this time I'm getting paid. The man who runs the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks heard my work from two years ago and recruited me back to the 49th state for another summer. The Goldpanners pay for everything and I get to work with a good friend of mine from the staff of WNUR.

Currently, I am taking TV News Producing, which is the most advanced broadcast class Medill has to offer. Guess what? We use incredibly similar cameras to the ones I used at BHS! The only difference is that these cameras are HD cameras and we don't use tapes. (We use P2 cards.) I'm already ahead in the class because I have a thorough understanding of how to use these cameras. Our first assignment in TV News Producing was to create a "sequence" of 15 shots. The basics of visual storytelling from my time in Ballard’s Video Production Program came right back to me and I completed the entire project in less than a day. I find the basics of how to make a video to be all review. What the Ballard High School video production program is offering students is excellent preparation for the broadcast classes at one of the premier universities in the country.

For those looking for a University that excels at both academics and athletics, Northwestern is the ideal place to go for school. Northwestern is the only school that boasts a top 15 US News and World Report ranking AND a top 25 football program. It's been an amazing experience so far, and the best is yet to come. I encourage all students to seriously look at NU as a possible destination for college.

DON'T MISS "THE SHOWING" PREMIERE

2010-01-20T22:23:00.001-08:00

Everyone is invited to a screening of new work by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program. “The Showing” will be Thursday, January 28 at 7 p.m. in the Ballard High School auditorium. Included will be news features, advertisements, and short comedies and dramas. Admission is free, but there is a suggested $5.00 donation. Be sure to arrive early. Prior screenings have filled the auditorium and people have been turned away.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

2010-01-17T23:06:00.000-08:00

Brendan McCarthy, Class of 2004

I enrolled in the Ballard Video Production Program immediately upon hearing of its existence, my junior year. Over the course of two years in the program I met cherished friends (some of whom have become colleagues), received an unparalleled public school education in film, and made of number of award winning films of which I am still proud (Eight, The Devoted, Moons Over My Hammy).

After graduating from Ballard, based largely on the strength of my film Eight, I was accepted into the Tisch School of the Arts film program at New York University. The school loomed large over my ego; I was terrified of its pedigree, its staff, and my fellow students. However, during my first semester I entered Eight in the How We Got Here festival, a showcase of Freshman work produced in high school. When it won, I was off and running. Early on I met my best friend and writing partner, Erich Sutterlin, with whom I continue to have a fruitful partnership. Largely due to our thin wallets, we turned to writing, paper and ink being a lot cheaper than cameras and film. We won a script writing contest at the end of our Freshman year, an exciting accomplishment. We became hired guns, writing scripts for upperclassmen and graduate students willing to spend ludicrous sums of money on their productions. It was a magical three and a half years. I knew where I was going, I felt successful, and I was a young man in New York. Then...I graduated.

After a short stint writing commercials in New York (yuck!) I moved to Los Angeles (double yuck!) where I worked briefly writing for a production company that works in reality television (kill me). The Los Angeles experiment, though, was not a total waste. Erich and I met our manager there, an incredibly talented and energetic former partner at ROAR. We still work with him and share representation. I also sold some stage work to a small theater company in New York and got to go back for a short period of time to work things out. I realized I had to return to New York for good. After trying for many months to land a decent gig, I heard back from a producer friend of mine that I have a position on Boardwalk Empire, a Martin Scorsese production for HBO.

BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL FILMMAKERS RECOGNIZED BY INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

2009-09-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

The short comic film Gourmandizing by Levi Friedman & Matt Law-Phipps, has been named an Official Selection of the 10th Annual River Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The festival is the largest film festival in Brazil and Latin America. Each year, major films of the Cannes, Sundance, Venice, Berlin, and Australian film festivals are presented to the public during the event. The festival also features films by youth 18 and younger. It has a distinguished history of showcasing the early work of young filmmakers who have gone on to successful film careers.

This year, the festival received 143 entries from youth in Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Italy, the United States and Canada. The festival committee contacted Levi and invited him to enter his films after they saw his student Emmy-winning PSA Don’t Spill (produced with Ryan Zemke & Jacob Kutrakun) on You Tube. The festival opens on September 25 and continues through October 8. For more information, just click on the headline to visit the festival website.

This marks the second time this year that Ballard video students have had their films requested by international film festivals. In May, Diana Federighi, Kaelan Gilman & Del Brummet were contacted by the Seoul International Youth Film Festival and invited to exhibit their award-winning short film Unplugged.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

2009-09-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

KYLE SEAGO, Class of 2007 (with Robin Williams)

In May of 2007, after three extremely productive years in the Ballard high School video productions program, I was accepted into Loyola Marymount University’s film school, arguably the 3rd best undergraduate film school in Los Angeles. An honor? Yes. Exciting? Absolutely. A dreadful commitment to spending upwards of $160,000 in order to receive a piece of paper that may have nothing to do with making movies? No question.

I arrived at LMU in the Fall of 2007, and I quickly noticed that I was far ahead of the curve. While most students were searching for a camera’s record button I was logging tapes of footage that my friends and I had shot. As every one else sat through hour upon hour of analytical cinema courses – creating classrooms full of “artists” and “auteurs” – I spent my days working on projects and learning the ins and outs of being on set with the people I would be working with in the future, not the aging professors who hadn’t worked on a set since the Cold War.

Because of the foundation set by Mr. Lawrence and the BHS Video Production Program, I was able to navigate my way around a set like a mouse in a cheese maze. Although I started out working as a production assistant, I quickly gained a reputation as “the kid who never sleeps” because I was constantly working. By December, I was receiving offers to produce senior and graduate thesis films and work on outside, paid projects. Although I had entered school wanting to study cinematography, my interests shifted towards producing once I realized I could spend other people’s money and get away with it!

In the spring of 2008, I produced two major senior thesis films. They ended up screening at festivals such as the Palm Springs International Film Festival, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and The SXSW Film and Video Festival. Through producing these projects, I was introduced to the person who drafted the blueprints on how to produce films at LMU – Dane Lillegard. We began to co-produce projects together, completing two commercials and a short film by July. I then returned home to work on a feature film in Seattle starring Robin Williams, called World’s Greatest Dad. I could go on for days about how working on this film helped to jump-start my career. It was a tremendous experience working on a quality indie film with an amazing cast and crew. Working on the film proved to me that the best way to learn about the industry is to be embedded in the industry. While you can learn in the classroom, you can experience through hands-on work.

After completing World’s Greatest Dad, I went back down to LA for my second year of school. However, upon arrival, I came to the conclusion that LMU and the film school life in general was probably not the best investment of my time, hard work, and money. My situation was somewhat unique, I had made numerous contacts in the previous 4 years of doing film work and decided to bypass my final three years of school and enter the industry.

Fortunately, my plan worked out (for the most part). I was able to land a few gigs – one on a TV show for MTV and another on an indie feature in LA – and in the time I wasn’t working on set, I was putting in time with Dane trying to develop a new production/finance company.

As a result of the economic downturn, most studios have stopped making the 10-30 million dollar films and are putting most of their faith in the larger, “tent-pole” movies such as Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean. This is due to the fact that when studios make smaller-budget movies, their production values fall off dramatically because, as studios, they are still under contract to pay their actors exorbitant salaries. When a smaller production company, such as Lions Gate or Overture Films, makes a $20 million dollar movie they can make it look like they spent $100 million because they can pay the cast less and don’t have any studio overhead costs.

This is where the idea for IPE, the company I currently work for, came from. IPE, which stands for Inner Primary Entertainment, is an executive production and finance company. In a nutshell, IPE accepts packaged projects – scripts that have big actors/directors/producers attached. We then present the projects to various investors we have relations with and act as the investor’s advocate. We do full analysis of every project we greenlight, conducting foreign and domestic market research to outline every return on investment scenario for the investor, fully vetting every script as to its creative and financial potential, and all the while being fully transparent so that all potential investors see all of the pros and cons of each project they may choose to invest in.

It all sounds complicated, but it really isn’t. We basically present a project to an investor, and if they like it and think they can make money from it, they pay for it. Then we oversee production and make sure the film stays on budget, that the budget is being spent properly and then, once the film is distributed, that the investor recoups their investment and begins to make money.

The job is great, one that no 20-year-old (including me) should ever be blessed with. It’s a lot of work, but it’s the kind of thing I love to do. I love being entrenched in the business, learning new things everyday. I’m learning more than I ever could have learned in film school, and I’m actually getting paid for it. And I can honestly say, I wouldn’t be at this position in life or anywhere near here if the foundation for my career hadn’t been built in the BHS Video Program. I’m very fortunate to have been exposed to that kind of film industry education at a young age, which has allowed me to already achieve some of the goals I had set for myself. There’s still a lot of work yet to be done, but because of the chances I’ve been given, navigating the road ahead will be a lot more manageable.

BALLARD FILM STUDENTS WIN REGIONAL FESTIVAL

2009-09-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

Three productions by students in the BHS Video Production Program are among the winners of the 33rd Annual Young People’s Film & Video Festival. The winners are the short dramas Finding the Music (by Sheridan Koehler, Alex Scheller & Blair Scott) and The Umbrella (by Parker Davis, Kaelan Gilman & Henry Shenk) as well as the music video You Live in Your Head (by Alex Papac, Isaac Sommers & Kathryn Van Buren).

This competitive festival accepts entries from students in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Alaska. It is coordinated by the Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon. The Festival encourages young people to “use film and video to creatively express personal concerns, explore important social issues, and share engaging stories about the world as they see it.” Submissions were judged on the basis of age/grade, originality, artistic merit, technical achievement, and conviction in investigation of subject matter. A jury of professional media artists made the selections. Only 16 productions were chosen for the festival from over 100 entries.

The Festival Winners’ Program will be screened on Sunday, September 27 at 2 p.m. at the Whitsell Auditorium of the Portland Art Museum (1219 SW Park, Portland, Oregon). The event is free, and the public is welcome to attend. The program will run approximately 2 hours. For more information, just click on the headline of this article to visit their website.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

2009-09-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

MADISON MURPHY, Class of 2006

Madison Murphy graduated from BHS in 2006 after completing multiple films in the BHS Video Production Program. These included a documentary entitled Special Successes, about the special education program at BHS, which went on to be selected for the Young People's Film and Video Festival. After graduating, Madison attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA. She will start her senior year this fall 2009 as a Film and Media Studies major with an emphasis on production, and a Sociology minor.

At Occidental, Madison has participated in many different critical theory and production classes. During her sophomore year, she produced two senior thesis films. Over the past three years Madison has worked on twelve different student productions in a variety of roles including producer, director, and editor. This past spring, Madison helped coordinate the Oxy Film Festival on campus. She is a campus tour and a co-director of Delevan Drive, a program that works with special education students to complete art projects each week.

Interested in critical film theory as well as production, Madison presented her paper, Miss Jane Austen Fan, 269 Videos and Counting: An Examination of Jane Austen Fan Videos on YouTube at the Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research this past fall. In the spring of her junior year, she completed a project entitled Embodying a Dirty Dancing Cinderella: The Celebration and Expansion of the Cinderella Myth through Wedding Dance Videos on YouTube examining wedding dance videos posted by couples, who mimic the iconic last dance in Dirty Dancing. This fall Madison will pursue honors for her senior comprehensives, completing both a short film and a thirty page paper focused on the Cinderella Myth in fan romance videos posted on YouTube.

Madison is living in Los Angeles for the summer. She worked as a development intern at Laura Ziskin Productions, housed at Sony Studios for two months before being accepted into the competitive Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Internship Program in Casting. Through this internship, Madison is working in both a commercial and theatrical casting office.

After graduation next May, Madison plans to take a year off of school to intern at various production companies before applying for a Marshall Fellowship and/or applying to grad schools to earn her MFA in Film Production. Madison plans on working as a producer in film and television. "The BHS Video Department is an amazing place to learn the skills to make quality productions. I am SO GLAD that my education in film production started at BHS. Anyone who gets to learn from Mr. Lawrence is extremely lucky!"

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

2009-09-05T12:57:00.000-07:00

SARAH RICCI, Class of 2005

Sarah Ricci recognized her passion for filmmaking through Ballard High School's Media and TV Production classes. She was able to hone her production skills during an internship through Ballard High School’s Video Production Program at SCAN TV. This valuable experience led to a part-time position, and Sarah has been a Production Facilitator at SCAN since 2003. A few examples of Sarah’s accomplishments at SCAN are: developing and facilitating a summer internship program for Ballard High School students, creating PSA’s celebrating Black History Month, and working extensively with youth.

Sarah received her AA degree from Seattle Central Community College. During her time there she completed an internship at KCTS Channel 9, and assisted in producing a documentary in India. Sarah currently attends the University of Washington, studying Digital and Experimental Media. Her short films have screened at the Henry Art Gallery and The Grand Illusion. Over the summer Sarah worked on the MTV web series 5 Dollar Cover with Lynn Shelton, the director of Humpday.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

2009-09-05T12:26:00.001-07:00

GEORGE WESTBERG, Class of 2006

I was a late starter at Ballard High School’s Video Production Program, only discovering it during my junior year when I enrolled in the introductory Media Issues and TV Production class. While I was initially interested in acting, the creative atmosphere and hands-on experience in crafting short news pieces, PSAs, and eventually silent movies got me excited about working on the other side of the camera. We spent countless hours pouring over the storyboards, focusing on how to tell a very simple story with techniques we studied (and attempted to imitate) from Hitchcock, Wells, and many other legendary filmmakers that I had never heard of before.

After my first semester, Mr. Lawrence offered to transfer me into his Advanced Video Production class, where I really started to feel that this is what I want to do with the rest of my life. Surrounded by like-minded and very talented people, and afforded the luxury of creative freedom to pick and craft our own stories in the way that we wanted to, I started to hone my eye and began producing and directing a series of shorts: the music video We Are the Champions, the caffeinated-comedy The Buzz, the documentary Soccer Dads, and the drama Bittersweet. These played at a variety of festivals, and won several awards (Bittersweet won a regional student Emmy). After graduating in 2006, I went to film school at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

I have started my senior year, graduating next spring with an undergraduate degree in Film & TV. A vague title for a major, I admit, but my main focus is in directing and sound design. I’m currently working as a freelance sound designer and editor for several student short films and interning with a local music producer in New York to learn more.

Last summer, I got together with a few friends and recruited some current Ballard video students to work on my most ambitious project to date: the time-traveling comedy Time Keeps on Skippin', which was screened at this year's National Film Festival for Talented Youth and Seattle True Independent Film Festival.

I am nearing completion of my first 16mm Color-Sync short film, Kiss Me, I'm English, which I hope to have finished in the next few months. After that, I will start planning and pre-production on my Advanced Production for a senior thesis short film. One of the most valuable lessons I learned from my brief time in the Ballard Video Program is that you can never spend too much time planning and scheduling to ensure that you can realize the movie you really want to make.

Ballard’s Video Production Program really gave me the skills, the encouragement, the knowledge, and the passion to pursue filmmaking in college and, hopefully, for the rest of my life. These became a springboard to explore the history and criticism of filmmaking, and to study the pioneers of our modern moviemaking language, like Truffaut, Bergman, Huston, Wilder, and countless others, to see how films are made, and to apply that knowledge to make my own. And most importantly, it taught me how to work with others, collaborating and functioning as part of a team, funneling all our strengths into making the best work possible.

About Teacher Matt Lawrence

2009-09-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

Matt Lawrence earned his M.S. in educational television from the University of Wisconsin. He has won teaching awards and recognition from the Washington Association of Career & Technical Education, the Washington State PTA, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. He was a founding member of the Media Educators for Excellence Team (an inter-district consortium of high school media educators in the Puget Sound region) and was selected by members to be its first president. Since 2001 he has been teaching the Video Production Program at Ballard High School in Seattle. His students have won numerous prizes at prestigious film festivals and awards from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts as well as High School Awards for Excellence in a variety of categories at the Northwest Regional Emmy Awards. In 2009 he was elected to the Board of Governors (Northwest Region) of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

His twenty years of industry experience include script development, videography, lighting, audio recording, directing, technical directing, editing, and scoring. He has worked for corporate as well as non-profit clients on studio and film-style productions, winning various awards. He was also an original staff writer for The Onion.

BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL FILMMAKERS RECEIVE INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

2009-07-13T16:28:00.001-07:00

Unplugged, a short film by Ballard High School video production students Diana Federighi (’08), Kaelan Gilman (’10) & Del Brummet (’10), was recently named an Official Selection by the 11th Annual Seoul International Youth Film Festival. SIYFF is one of the largest and most prestigious youth film festivals in Asia. The event spans the week of July 9 – 15 and includes an international youth filmmaking camp.

The festival features films made by 13 – 18 year olds as well as films about children and teenagers made by adults. This year, 821 films were submitted from 44 different countries. Only 36 films were selected for the festival through a highly competitive process. For more information, just click on the headline to visit the festival website.

Unplugged is the story of a teen whose connection to music deepens after the loss of his iPod. The short had not originally been entered in SIYFF, but the festival committee saw the film on the Images of Youth Video Festival website and then contacted Ballard High School to request that the short be submitted. Unplugged had won awards for Special Recognition for Overall Excellence in Media and Peer Achievement from the Images of Youth Video Festival in 2008. (It can still be screened on that website under “past festival winners” at http://www.imagesofyouthfilmfestival.org/.) Unplugged was also named an Official Selection of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth this year.

BHS VIDEO STUDENTS WIN FESTIVAL AWARDS

2009-07-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

Three works by Ballard High School Video Production students were prize-winners at the Images of Youth 2009 Video Festival. Don’t Spill by Levi Friedman, Jacob Kutrakun & Ryan Zemke is a Public Service Announcement for the Puget Sound Blood Center. The short film You Got Served, by Emily Deering, Bryce Ellis & Jose Anguiano, deals with the fragile nature of friendship. Another short film, The Umbrella, by Parker Davis, Kaelan Gilman & Henry Shenk, is the story of a withdrawn boy who uses his umbrella to shield himself from social interaction.

Each short won two awards: Special Recognition for Overall Excellence in Media (selected by the IOY festival jurors), and a Peer Achievement Award (selected by a jury of youth). The Images of Youth Video Festival is a project of Action for Media Education, a Seattle-based non-profit organization. Just click on the headline to see all the winning videos online at the Images of Youth 2009 Film Festival website.

AND THE WINNERS ARE... BALLARD VIDEO STUDENTS

2009-05-31T21:01:00.001-07:00

Seven productions by Ballard High School video students won honors at the regional Emmy Awards on Saturday, May 30. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (the professional organization that judges the Emmy Awards) gives the National Student Television Awards to recognize the best in student television production. The regional awards celebrate the most outstanding productions from five northwest states: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. This makes the third year in a row that Ballard High School video production students have been winners at the event.

Levi Friedman, Jacob Kutrakun & Ryan Zemke won an Award of Excellence in the Craft Achievement category for Don’t Spill, a Public Service Announcement they produced for the Puget Sound Blood Center. In the Public Affairs category, Kaelan Gilman, Annalee Millar & Will Livesley-O’Neill won an Award of Excellence for Climbing for a Cure, a piece about a climb to the top of the Columbia Tower to raise money in the fight against leukemia.

Five Ballard High School productions received Honorable Mentions (the equivalent of Emmy Nominations). Honored in the Dramatic Presentation category were The Umbrella by Parker Davis, Kaelan Gilman & Henry Shenk; and You Got Served by Jose Anguiano, Emily Deering & Bryce Ellis. Left Side by Esther Magasis, Andy Tran & Ryan Zemke was honored in the Documentary category, and in the Public Affairs category Cops by John Barnes & Nicole Bowns was honored, as well as Seattle Needle Exchange by Coburn Erskine, Will Pierce & Ben Steiner.

Northwest High School Film Festival Honors BHS Producers

2009-05-23T17:22:00.000-07:00

Students from the Ballard High School Video Production Program won 13 awards and honors at the 11th annual Northwest High School Film Festival at Shoreline Community College on May 19. This is the largest and longest running festival for high school filmmakers in the Puget Sound region. This year 275 productions were entered in the competition from 21 schools. The festival was judged by a panel of 23 industry professionals and college media professors. The event was organized by the Media Educators Excellence Team (MEET) and sponsored by Adobe, Canon, DigiPen, Shoreline Community College, and the Art Institute of Seattle.

BHS productions were honored in seven different categories, reflecting the diverse skills and talents of Ballard’s video students. All the winning productions will be shown on Friday, May 29 at The Showing, a screening of work by students in the BHS Video Production Program. The event begins at 7 p.m. in the BHS auditorium. There is a suggested donation of $5.00.

Ballard’s Northwest High School Film Festival winners:

AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

Comedic Narrative
“The Ring”
Jeremy Eliassen, Dylan Miller

Documentary
“Half Life Snacks”
Emily Deering, Levi Friedman, Kathryn Van Buren

Music Video
“You Live in Your Head”
Alex Papac, Isaac Sommers, Kathryn Van Buren

News Feature
“Climbing for a Cure”
Kaelan Gilman, Annalee Millar, Will Livesley-O’Neill

Public Service Announcement
“Wolfhaven”
David Marangwanda, Justin Taylor, Kathryn Van Buren

Sports
“Left Side”
Esther Magasis, Andy Tran, Ryan Zemke

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Documentary
“Seattle Needle Exchange”
Coburn Erskine, William Pierce, Ben Steiner

Dramatic Narrative
“Oragami Tomodachi”
Dana Baumgartner, Esther Magasis, Kritika Mani

“You Got Served”
Emily Deering, Bryce Ellis, Jose Anguiano

Music Video
“A Man has Needs”
Sean Hendricks, Jacob Kutrakun, Matthew Law-Phipps, Tyler Fleming

News Feature
“BHS Volleyball”
Emma Hutchison, Evan Philip, Taylor McGrew

Public Service Announcement
“What are YOU doing?”
Jeremy Eliassen, Suraiya Emdad, Taylor Rubright

Sports
“Rough Riders Lacrosse”
Megan Burkland, Mallory Cummins, Maddie Soukup

Ballard High School Filmmakers Win NFFTY Award

2009-04-29T23:35:00.000-07:00

Left Side, a documentary about a professional skier and mountain biker who managed to stay competitive after the accident that cost him his left leg, won the prize for Best Documentary last night at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY). The documentary was produced by BHS video students Esther Magasis, Andy Tran & Ryan Zemke. NFFTY featured 113 films from 20 states and 8 different countries by filmmakers 22 and younger. Many of the festival works were produced by college students from such prestigious schools of film & television as USC, UCLA, and NYU, so there was no shortage of competition!

A jury of twenty-three professional filmmakers determined the award together. Left Side will be screened again at The Showing on Friday, May 29, at 7 pm in the Ballard High School auditorium. Admission is free, but there is a suggested donation of $5 for the Video Production Program.

Ballard High School Filmmakers Score at International Festival

2009-04-26T01:50:00.000-07:00

Three productions by Ballard High School video students have been named Official Selections of the Westport Youth Film Festival. These include the Public Service Announcement Don’t Spill by Levi Friedman, Jacob Kutrakun & Ryan Zemke, the documentary Left Side by Esther Magasis, Andy Tran & Ryan Zemke, and the drama The Umbrella by Parker Davis, Kaelan Gilman & Henry Shenk. The festival will take place at Town Hall and surrounding venues in Westport, Connecticut, on May 9th.

Westport is home to many New York film professionals, and the festival, in association with the Westport Arts Center, is designed to provide an outlet for young filmmakers to share their work in a professional environment and receive constructive criticism from a combination of peers and professionals. The festival screens “the best international and national high school and middle school films.” For more about WYFF, visit www.westportyouthfilmfest.org.

Ballard High School students distinguished themselves by having work in three different areas of festival competition: PSA, Documentary, and Drama. All of these honored productions will be screened in the BHS auditorium at a showing of work by students in the BHS Video Production Program on Friday, May 29 at 7 p.m. There is a $5 suggested donation.

Ballard High School Filmmakers Featured at National Festival

2009-03-24T15:21:00.001-07:00

Five short films by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been named Official Selections of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY). The festival opens at the Seattle Cinerama Theater on Friday, April 24 and continues through Sunday at the Seattle Center. It features 113 films by young filmmakers from 20 states and 8 countries.

The honored Ballard films are Brotherly Love by Colin Colebrook, Devon Rensberger & Mohamed Kassim; Domestic Disturbance by Justin Amorratanasuchad, Lilah Horwitz & Colin Colebrook; Ladies in Armor by Sami Kubo, Diana Federighi & Audra McCafferty; Left Side by Esther Magasis, Andy Tran & Ryan Zemke; and Unplugged by Diana Federighi, Del Brummet & Kaelan Gilman. (Between them, these shorts have previously been honored by the Westport Youth Film Festival, the Young People’s Film & Video Festival, the Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival, and the Images of Youth Video Festival.)

NFFTY itself is the brainchild of Ballard High School video alumnus Jesse Harris (’04). Harris made history in 2004 when Living Life, the feature film he had written and directed as a senior project, was purchased by FilmMates and given a theatrical release. (It opened in Seattle in April, 2005.) A growing list of sponsors and partners, such as Volvo and the socially conscious production company Take Part, have paved the way for this second annual event.

Jesse’s music video Alarm Bell City will be screened during the festival. Virgin America hired Jesse to produce the video for the band Apple War, the winner of VA’s “Battle of the Bands” competition. Other Ballard video alumni with work at NFFTY are George Westberg (’06) and Coburn Erskine (’08). Westberg’s short comedy Time Keeps on Skippin’ explores the darker side of punctuality, while Erskine’s A Short Film by Jesus Inc. is a cautionary tale of college roommates.

Last year Ballard High School video students won the Audience Choice Award for Best High School Filmmaker as well as the Jury Prize for Best Experimental Film (selected by a panel of industry professionals). However, like the Sundance Film Festival, NFFTY includes forums on filmmaking in addition to screenings and awards. “The Filmmaker as Dealmaker”, “The Social Value of Filmmaking” and “The Power of Music in Film” are several current examples. Admission to these forums is free of charge if you have a festival pass. For a complete schedule of events, show times, and ticket information, visit www.nffty.org.

Don't Miss "The Showing" on February 5

2009-01-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

Everyone is invited to a screening of videos produced first semester by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program. Due to the snow days, “The Showing” has been scheduled for Thursday, February 5 at 7 p.m. in the Ballard High School auditorium. Included will be news features, public service announcements, and short comedies and dramas. Admission is free, but there is a suggested $5.00 donation. Be sure to arrive early. Prior screenings have filled the auditorium and people have been turned away.

AWARD-WINNING BALLARD FILMMAKER INSPIRES STUDENTS

2008-12-20T11:47:00.000-08:00

Last summer, three students from Ballard High School's Digital Filmmaking Project were recruited by writer/director George Westberg from film school at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts to crew his short comedy "Time Keeps on Skippin'." These students had just completed their sophomore year of high school and their first year in Ballard's Digital Filmmaking Project. Emily Deering was selected as Art Director, Daniel Maldonado as Sound Recordist, and Alexandra Papac as Camera Operator (although they also got to try their hands at other aspects of production). Another Ballard video student, Coburn Erskine ('08), was recruited as Lighting Director and brought his years of student video experience onto the set. Westberg was strongly confident in all of these students because he too made his start in filmmaking at Ballard High School. (He had graduated in '06.)

On Friday, January 9, Westberg will return to the BHS auditorium at 7 pm to talk with video students and screen "Time", as well as another recent student work "3 - 2 = 0." This is a private test screening for Seattle's film community, but the Ballard High School community is also invited. (Please be advised that this is college work with elements that may not be appropriate for younger children.) "Time" stars Emily McVicker ('06) and David Kulcsar ('06). McVicker, another alumnus of the BHS Video Production Program, is currently studying musical theater at Point Park College in Pittsburgh, and Kulcsar is studying acting at the University of Washington, Seattle. Sophia Federighi ('05) and Aaron Persinger ('05), also BHS video alumni, have supporting roles.

The previous summer, Westberg also cast Kulcsar and McVicker in his original short "Love is the Elle-Word." It was an Official Selection at the National Film Festival of Talented Youth, a festival that celebrates work by both high school and college age filmmakers.

Westberg had taken his first class in Ballard's Video Production Program during the fall of his junior year. His interest was piqued early in his very first projects, and at the conclusion of the course his teacher Matt Lawrence took the unusual step of placing him in the advanced class at the beginning of spring semester. His subsequent music video became a Finalist at the national Derek Freese High School Video Festival, an event hosted annually by Temple University's prestigious Film School in Philadelphia.

The following fall, Westberg sent his productions and application to the Film School at New York University. Although this school typically admits less than 3% of applicants, Westberg learned in December that he had been accepted.

During his remaining months at Ballard, Westberg directed the caffeinated comedy "The Buzz" (which won an Award of Excellence for Comedic Narrative at the regional Northwest High School Film Festival), and produced the documentary "Soccer Dads" (which was an Official Selection at the national Westport Youth Film Festival).

Westberg's final Ballard short "Bittersweet," produced along with Erskine, went on to receive not only an Award of Excellence for Dramatic Narrative at the Northwest High School Film Festival and Official Selections at Westport, Derek Freese, and the Young People's Film & Video Festivals, but it also won an Award of Excellence for Writing from the National Student Television Awards, presented at the 2007 Northwest Regional Emmy Awards by the National Association of Television Arts & Sciences.

Seattle Channel Features Award-winning Shorts from Ballard High School

2008-11-24T19:59:00.000-08:00

Thirteen shorts by students from Ballard High School’s Video Production Program have been selected by the Seattle Channel for an entire episode of Reel Short Movies, to be cablecast over this holiday weekend. Reel Short Movies is a partnership between the Seattle Channel and the Northwest Film Forum that presents the best in local short filmmaking.

The episode features digital films, visual stories, and documentaries along with a few Public Service Announcements. Between them, these student productions have won 39 awards and honors from regional, national, and international film festivals, including the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, the Seattle International Film Festival, the National Film Festival for Talented Youth, and the National Student Television Awards (of the National Association of Television Arts & Sciences). All the shorts were produced at Ballard since 2005.

The episode will cablecast on the Seattle Channel (channel 21) the following dates and times:
-Thursday, November 27 at 9 pm
-Friday, November 28 at 8 pm
-Saturday, November 29 at 11 pm

BALLARD FILM STUDENTS WIN REGIONAL FESTIVAL

2008-09-04T22:44:00.000-07:00

Three productions by students in the BHS Video Production Program are among the winners of the 32nd Annual Young People’s Film & Video Festival. The winners are the short drama “4th Floor” (by Coburn Erskine, Sami Kubo & Nolan O’Connor), and the documentaries “Domestic Disturbance” (by Justin Amorratanasuchad, Colin Colebrook & Lilah Horwitz) and “Ladies in Armor” (by Diana Federighi, Sami Kubo & Audra McCafferty).

This competitive festival accepts entries from students in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Alaska. It is coordinated by the Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon. Submissions were judged for their storytelling, originality, artistic merit, technical achievement, and investigation of subject matter by a jury of educators and film professionals. Only 15 productions were chosen for the festival from over 100 entries. Ballard topped the list of winning high schools, with 3 awarded productions.

All of the winning productions have also earned honors at other festivals. “4th Floor” won an Award of Excellence in Dramatic Narrative at the Northwest High School Film Festival, and an Honorable Mention in the Seattle International Film Festival’s FutureWave program for young filmmakers. “Ladies in Armor” won 2nd Prize at the national Derek Freese High School Film Festival in Philadelphia, and “Domestic Disturbance” was a Finalist at that same festival.

The Festival Winners’ Program will be screened on Friday, September 14 at 1 p.m. at the Whitsell Auditorium of the Portland Art Museum (1219 SW Park, Portland, Oregon). The event is free, and the public is welcome to attend. The program will run approximately 2 hours. For more information, visit http://www.nwfilm.org/festivals/young_fest.php.

BHS Producers Awarded by National Festival... Again!

2008-06-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

Seven works by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program were named Finalists for the Grand Prize at the 12th Annual Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival. This prestigious festival drew competition from high school producers in all corners of the nation and was judged by professors from Temple University’s renowned film school and professional filmmakers. The festival took place in Philadephia at Temple’s Film and Media Arts department on May 31st.

The productions were “Checking Out” (a comedic narrative by Justin Amorratanasuchad, Jacob Fabian & Annalee Milar), “Brotherly Love” (also a comedic narrative by Colin Colebrook, Mohamed Kassim & Devon Rensberger), “4th Floor” (an eerie drama by Coburn Erskine, Sami Kubo & Nolan O’Connor), “Seattle Needle Exchange” (a documentary by Coburn Erskine, William Pierce & Ben Steiner), “Domestic Disturbance: One Family’s Struggle” (a documentary by Justin Amorratanasuchad, Colin Colebrook & Lilah Horwitz), “Ladies in Armor” (a documentary by Diana Federighi, Sami Kubo & Audra McCafferty), and “Spaced Out” (a satiric narrative by Justin Amorratanasuchad, Michael Hipp & Devan Sizemore).

At the conclusion of the festival, the documentary “Ladies in Armor” was awarded 2nd Prize. This is a real honor, as Temple has one of the most respected programs for documentary production in the country.

This marks the fifth year in a row that productions by students from the Ballard High School Video Program have been Finalists in the Derek Freese Festival, and the third time they’ve been prize-winners.

SIFF Features Work by Ballard High School Video Students

2008-06-01T20:48:00.002-07:00

The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) will be featuring two shorts by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program as part of FutureWave, its showcase for young filmmakers. The first short, “Claudio the Magnificent,” was produced and directed by Bridget Berg, Lilah Horwitz & Will Livesly-O’Neill. It’s a comedy about a street mime whose unrequited love spurs him to extreme actions. The short also won an Honorable Mention at the Northwest High School Film Festival.

The second short, “4th Floor”, was directed by Sami Kubo and produced by Sami with Coburn Erskine & Nolan O’Connor. In “4th Floor”, a tardy job applicant chooses the elevator over the stairs, with unexpected results. The short won an Award of Excellence at the Northwest High School Film Festival. Both shorts will be screened at the Egyptian Theater on Saturday, June 7 at 4 pm.

BHS video students Riley Heckel, Kyle Seago, Devan Sizemore and Mixtli Zavaleta were production interns on the feature film “Visioneers”, a dark comedy which was shot in the Seattle area during the summer of 2006 and will have its world premiere during SIFF. Advanced press on the film is very positive. It will screen at the Egyptian Theater on Thursday, June 12 at 9:30 pm, and Saturday, June 14 at 4:00 pm.

Tickets for these SIFF events can be purchased at http://www.siff.net/festival/tickets/.

And the Winners are... Ballard Video Students

2008-05-26T22:09:00.001-07:00

Two productions by Ballard High School video students have been selected for honors by the National Student Television Awards in the northwest region. The awards are a project of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (the professional organization that gives the Emmy Awards) and honor the best in student television production. The regional awards celebrate the most outstanding productions from five northwest states: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska.

Justin Amorratanasuchad, Mike Hipp & Devon Sizemore won the Writing category for their satirical short “Spaced Out.” The Honorable Mention in that same category went to Will Livesley-O’Neill, Evangeline Spracklin & Ben Steiner for their short “The End is Near.” The students will be honored at the 45th Annual Northwest Regional Emmy Awards on June 7th. Both productions were also honored recently by the Northwest High School Film Festival and the National Film Festival for Talented Youth.

Meanwhile in Westport, Connecticut, the international Westport Youth Film Festival announced this year’s winners. Justin Amorratanasuchad, Colin Colebrook & Jacob Fabian won the competitive PSA category for their 60 second spot “SDA: Wash Your Hands.” WYFF is designed to provide an outlet for young filmmakers to share their work in a professional environment and receive constructive criticism from a combination of peers and professionals. The festival screens “the best international and national high school and middle school films.”

All of these awarded productions will be screened at The Showing this Friday, May 30 at 7 pm in the BHS auditorium. The event is free, but there is a suggested donation of $5.

Emmy Organization Nominates BHS Video Students

2008-05-25T11:15:00.001-07:00

Two productions by Ballard High School video students have been nominated for National Student Television Awards at the regional level. The awards are a project of the National Association of Television Arts & Sciences (the professional organization that gives the Emmy Awards) and honor the best in student television production. The regional awards celebrate the most outstanding productions from five northwest states: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. The winners will be honored at the 45th Annual Northwest Regional Emmy Awards on June 7th.

The nominees are Will Livesley-O’Neill, Evangeline Spracklin & Ben Steiner for “The End is Near”, and Justin Amorratanasuchad, Mike Hipp & Devan Sizemore for “Spaced Out”. Both narrative shorts are nominated in the Writing category. They will be screened at The Showing on Friday, May 30th at 7 pm in the BHS auditorium. Admission is free, but there is a suggested donation of $5.

Last year, Ballard High School video students received two nominations. The narrative short “Bittersweet” by Coburn Erskine, Becca Rice, Devan Sizemore & George Westberg won the Writing award, and “Ave Rats” by Clinton Carucci, Ian McKagan & Mixtli Zavaleta received an Honorable Mention in the Documentary category.

Northwest High School Film Festival Honors BHS Producers

2008-05-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

Students from the Ballard High School Video Production Program won 7 awards and honors at the 10th annual Northwest High School Film Festival on May 4. This is the largest and longest running festival for high school filmmakers in the Puget Sound region. Over 250 productions were entered in the competition from 22 schools. The festival was judged by a panel of 17 that included industry professionals and college media professors. The event was organized by the Media Educators’ for Excellence Team (MEET) and sponsored by Adobe, Canon, and Apple.

The awarded productions can be seen Friday, May 30 at The Showing, a screening of work by students in the BHS Video Production Program. The event begins at 7 p.m. in the BHS auditorium. There’s a suggested donation of $5.00.

Here’s a list of Ballard’s Northwest High School Film Festival winners:

AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

Dramatic Narrative
“Spaced Out”
Justin Amorratanasuchad, Mike Hipp, Devon Sizemore

“4th Floor”
Coburn Erskine, Sami Kubo, Nolan O’Connor

Comedic Narrative
“Playdate”
Ilsina Nazarova, Reed Stevens, Kevin Vitz-Wong

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Comedic Narrative
“Claudio the Magnificent”
Bridget Berg, Lilah Horwitz, Will Livesley-O’Neill

“The End is Near”
Will Livesley-O’Neill, Evangeline Spracklin, Ben Steiner

“The Test”
Audra McCafferty, Taylor Rubright, Kristin Yeasting

Public Service Announcement
“Let Kids be Kids”
Oliver Brossmann, Sami Kubo, Matt Law-Phipps

Ballard Video Students Take Prizes at National Festival

2008-05-14T22:21:00.000-07:00

Two works by Ballard High School Video Production students were prize-winners at the national Images of Youth 2008 Video Festival. The winning films were “Unplugged”, by Del Brummet, Diana Federighi & Kaelan Gilman; and “Brotherly Love”, by Colin Colebrook, Mohamed Kassim & Devon Rensberger.

The Images of Youth Video Festival is a project of Action for Media Education, a Seattle-based non-profit organization. Ballard was the only school whose students received multiple prizes at the festival. Both of the prize-winning productions will be screened at The Showing on Friday, May 30th at 7 pm in the Ballard High School auditorium. Admission is free, but there is a suggested donation of $5.

WESTPORT YOUTH FILM FESTIVAL TO FEATURE BALLARD PRODUCTIONS

2008-05-03T22:04:00.001-07:00

Seven short productions by Ballard High School video students have been named Official Selections of the Westport Youth Film Festival. The shorts are “Playdate” by Ilsina Nazarova, Reed Stevens & Kevin Vitz-Wong; “4th Floor” by Coburn Erskine, Sami Kubo & Nolan O’Connor; "Brotherly Love" by Colin Colebrook, Mohamed Kassim & Devon Rensberger; “Shoulda Voted” by Will Livesley-O’Neill, Will Pierce & Kristin Yeasting; “Let Kids be Kids” by Oliver Brossmann, Sami Kubo & Matt Law-Phipps; "Conscious Consumption" by Coburn Erskine, Diana Federighi & Lilah Horwitz; and “SDA” by Justin Amorratanasuchad, Colin Colebrook & Jacob Fabian. The festival begins May 10.

Westport, Connecticut, is home to many New York film professionals, and the festival, in association with the Westport Arts Center, is designed to provide an outlet for young filmmakers to share their work in a professional environment and receive constructive criticism from a combination of peers and professionals. The festival screens “the best international and national high school and middle school films”. For more about WYFF, visit www.westportyouthfilmfest.org.

Ballard High School students distinguished themselves by having work in three different areas of festival competition: Drama, Comedy, and Public Service Announcement. All of these honored productions will be screened in the BHS auditorium at a showing of work by students in the BHS Video Production Program on Friday, May 30 at 7 p.m. There is a $5 suggested donation.

Ballard Filmmakers in SIFF

2008-04-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

Two shorts by Ballard filmmakers have been selected for FutureWave. This special program of the Seattle International Film Festival includes the best of young people’s filmmaking from across the country. SIFF describes FutureWave shorts as “exciting, challenging, and inspiring.” Included will be “Claudio the Magnificent” by Bridget Berg, Lilah Horwitz, and Will Livesley-O’Neill, and “4th Floor” by Coburn Erskine, Sami Kubo, and Nolan O’Connor. The shorts will be screened at the Egyptian Theater of Capitol Hill on Saturday, June 7 at 4:00 p.m. and will include Q&A with the filmmakers. Tickets are $11 and can be purchased at www.seattlefilm.org.

National Video Festival Features Films by BHS Students

2008-04-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

Three works by Ballard High School Video Production students have been named Official Selections by the national Images of Youth 2008 Video Festival. “Unplugged”, by Del Brummet, Diana Federighi & Kaelan Gilman, is a short film about a boy whose world changes when his i-Pod dies. “Shoulda Voted”, by Will Livesley-O’Neill, William Pierce & Kristin Yeasting, is a Public Service Announcement for the League of Women Voters. The short film “Brotherly Love”, by Colin Colebrook, Mohamed Kassim & Devon Rensberger, explores the complex communication between two brothers. Each of these producers will be recognized with a certificate for Outstanding Video Production. A group of youth judges also met this weekend to select several of the videos for special cash prizes, to be presented at the festival.

The Images of Youth Video Festival is a project of Action for Media Education, a Seattle-based non-profit organization. The festival will be presented at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center (104 17th Avenue South, Seattle) on Friday, April 25th from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Each of the honored productions will also be screened at The Showing on Friday, May 30th at 7 pm in the Ballard High School auditorium.

Ballard Filmmakers Win National Awards

2008-04-05T22:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday, March 30, 2008
Two short films by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program were award winners at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY). The festival featured 73 films from across the country by filmmakers 21 and younger. Many of the featured works were produced by students from such prestigious schools of film & television as the University of Southern California, New York University, and Emerson College, so there was no shortage of competition!

“Spaced Out” by Justin Amorratanasuchad, Mike Hipp and Devon Sizemore won the Jury Prize for Best Experimental Film. This short concerns one boy’s increasingly ominous struggle with MySpace. A jury of twelve filmmakers, including industry professionals and youth, determined the award together. “The End is Near” by Will Livesley-O’Neill, Vange Spracklin and Ben Steiner won the Audience Choice Award for Best High School Filmmaker. Their short documents a day in the life of a high school senior so frantic to finish his college application that he fails to notice an impending nuclear holocaust. Both shorts will be screened again at The Showing on Friday, May 30, at 7 pm in the Ballard High School auditorium. Admission is free, but there is a suggested donation of $5 for the Video Production Program.

Ballard High School Filmmakers Featured at National Festival

2008-03-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

Four short films by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been named Official Selections of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY). The festival opens at Seattle Center’s McCaw Hall on Friday, March 28 and continues through Sunday, March 30. It features 73 films from across the country by filmmakers 21 and younger.

The honored Ballard films are “Bittersweet” by Coburn Erskine, Becca Rice, Devan Sizemore & George Westberg, “Nice Touch” by Alec Maclurg, Ben Steiner & Kevin Vitz-Wong, “The End is Near” by Will Livesley-O’Neill, Vange Spracklin & Ben Steiner, and “Spaced Out” by Justin Amorratanasuchad, Mike Hipp & Devan Sizemore. (Between them, these shorts have previously been honored by the National Association of Television Arts & Sciences, the Westport Youth Film Festival, the Young People’s Film & Video Festival, the Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival, and the Northwest High School Film Festival.)

NFFTY itself is the brainchild of Ballard High School video alumnus Jesse Harris (’04). Harris made history in 2004 when “Living Life”, the feature film he had written and directed as a senior project, was purchased by FilmMates and slated for theatrical release. (It opened in Seattle in April, 2005.) NFFTY co-founder Kyle Seago (’07) is also a Ballard H.S. video alumnus. Since his sophomore year in high school he has won over 10 regional and national awards for his short films. (He is currently a freshman at Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film & Television in Los Angeles.) Along with Jocelyn R.C., another young filmmaker now studying at Chapman University, they created NFFTY to nurture, promote, and encourage the next generation of filmmakers. A growing list of sponsors and partners, such as The Seattle Times and the Experience Music Project, have paved the way for this first annual event.

Jesse’s documentary on Hurricane Katrina, “Journey to the Gulf”, will be featured in the festival, as well as Kyle’s short “Monitor” (from his Ballard days). Another Ballard video alumnus, George Westberg (’06), also has a short in NFFTY. George is currently studying film at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He directed “Love is the Elle Word” in Seattle last summer, working with BHS video alumni Aaron Morse (’06) and Emily McVicker (’06).

Like the Sundance Film Festival, NFFTY includes forums on filmmaking in addition to screenings. “The Business of Storytelling”, “Student Filmmaking to Professional Filmmaking”, “Making your Feature”, “SAG Made Simple”, and “The Film Permit Process” are several examples. Admission to these forums is free of charge! For a complete schedule of events, show times, and ticket information, visit http;//www.nffty.org/festival.html.

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL INVITES BALLARD VIDEO STUDENTS

2008-02-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

January 3, 2008
Thanks to a scholarship from the Sundance Institute, 12 students from the BHS Video Production Program will be attending the Sundance Film Festival this January. The students will each receive a festival credential and priority ticket reservations, and the ticket fees will be waived. In addition to the many opportunities to screen new films and learn from the filmmakers, the Institute is setting up a special event just for the filmmakers to discuss their craft with the students. Each year, the Sundance Institute selects a limited number of college and high school programs from across the nation for this educational opportunity.

Students from the BHS Video Production Program previously attended the festival in January of 2006 (also with a scholarship from the institute). Several of those students subsequently produced work that took honors and awards at various national festivals, as well as winning recognition for their productions from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.

Samples of Award Winning Productions

2007-09-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

Below are a few examples of the many types of projects Ballard High School video students learn to produce.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCMENT

"Don't Spill"

Student Television Award for Excellence in Craft Achievement Northwest Regional Emmy Awards, 2009
Special Recognition for Overall Excellence in Media Images of Youth Video Festival, 2009
Peer Achievement Award Images of Youth Video Festival, 2009
Official Selection Westport Youth Film Festival, 2009

Don't Spill from Ballard H.S. Video Program on Vimeo.

"Wash Your Hands"

Best PSA Westport Youth Film Festival, 2008

Wash Your Hands from Ballard H.S. Video Program on Vimeo.

DOCUMENTARY

"Henry"

Winner 34th Annual Young People's Film & Video Festival
Documentary Award of Excellence Northwest High School Film Festival, 2011
Official FutureWave Selection Seattle International Film Festival, 2011
2nd Prize, Non-Fiction Derek Freese High School Video Festival, 2011
Nominee Student Television Award of Excellence, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Northwest Region)

Henry from Ballard H.S. Video Program on Vimeo.

"No Blues On Tues"

Award of Excellence, Sports Video Northwest High School Film Festival, 2006

Click here to view

DIGITAL FILMMAKING

"Blindsided"

Merit Award for Writer/Director Kyle Seago NFAA Arts Recognition & Talent Search, 2007
Honorable Mention Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival, 2007
Official Selection Westport Youth Film Festival, 2007
Official Selection Images of Youth Video Festival, 2007

Blindsided from Ballard H.S. Video Program on Vimeo.

"Bittersweet"

Winner (Northwest Region), Writing National Student Television Awards, 2007
Winner 30th Annual Young People's Film & Video Festival, 2006
Award of Excellence, Dramatic Narrative Northwest High School Film Festival, 2007
Official Selection Westport Youth Film Festival, 2007
Official Selection & Finalist Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival, 2007

Bittersweet from Ballard H.S. Video Program on Vimeo.

"Spaced Out"

Winner (Northwest Region), Writing National Student Television Awards, 2008
Jury Prize, Best Experimental Film National Film Festival for Talented Youth, 2008
Award of Excellence, Dramatic Narrative Northwest High School Film Festival, 2008
Official Selection and Finalist Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival, 2008

Spaced Out from Ballard H.S. Video Program on Vimeo.

VISUAL STORYTELLING

"Nice Touch"

Winner 31st Annual Young People's Film & Video Festival, 2007
Official Selection and Finalist Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival, 2007
Award of Excellence, Dramatic Narrative Northwest High School Film Festival, 2007
Official Selection National Film Festival for Talented Youth, 2008

Nice Touch from Ballard H.S. Video Program on Vimeo.

COMMERCIAL

"Marley's"

Award of Excellence, Commercial Fast Film Northwest, 2004
Official Selection 1 Reel Film Festival, 2004

Click here to view

Ballard Film Students Win Regional Festival

2007-08-01T21:59:00.001-07:00

July 2007

Two productions by students in the BHS Video Production Program are among the winners of the 31st Annual Young People’s Film & Video Festival. The winners are the short films “Nice Touch” (about the power of music to bring people together) by Alec MacLurg, Ben Steiner & Kevin Vitz-Wong, and “Tile M for M-U-R-D-E-R” (about a deadly serious game of scrabble) by Michael Gore, Sami Kubo, and Kyle Seago.
This competitive festival accepted entries from students in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Alaska, and Washington. It was coordinated by the Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon, and sponsored by Comcast. Submissions were judged for their storytelling, originality, artistic merit, technical achievement, and investigation of subject matter by a jury of educators and film professionals.
Winning productions will be shown at an awards ceremony Sunday, July 15 at 2 p.m. at the Portland Art Museum Whitsell Auditorium (1219 SW Park, Portland, Oregon). The event is free, and the public is welcome to attend. The program will run approximately 120 minutes.
Last year, Ballard High School students had three winning productions in the festival. One of these, “Bittersweet”, went on to win an Award of Excellence at the Northwest High School Film Festival and a student Emmy at the Northwest Regional Emmy Awards.

And the Emmy goes to... Ballard Video Students!

2007-08-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

June 2007

Two productions by Ballard High School video students have been selected for honors by the Regional 2007 National Student Television Awards. A project of the National Association of Television Arts & Sciences, the awards serve to promote the best in television production in a variety of categories. “Bittersweet” by Coburn Erskine, Becca Rice, Devan Sizemore & George Westberg won the Writing category and “Ave Rats” by Clinton Carucci, Ian McKagan, & Mixtli Zavaleta received an Honorable Mention in the Documentary category. These BHS productions have also been honored at a number of other regional, national, and international film festivals.
The award will be presented at the Northwest Regional Emmy Awards Ceremony on June 2.

Ballard Filmmakers in SIFF

2007-08-01T21:50:00.001-07:00

June 2006
Two shorts by Ballard filmmakers have been selected for FutureWave. This special program of the Seattle International Film Festival includes the best of young people’s filmmaking from across the US and as far away as Italy! SIFF describes FutureWave shorts as “imaginative, evocative, innovative, and inspiring… made by youth expressing the issues and ideas important to youth in our communities.” Included will be “Ave Rats” by Clinton Carucci, Ian MacKagan & Mixtli Zavaleta, and “Chasing Game” by Matt Hess, Graham Milgate, and Jordan Stead. The shorts will be screened at the Egyptian Theater of Capitol Hill on Saturday, June 9 at 4:30 p.m. and will include Q&A with the filmmakers. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at www.seattlefilm.org up to 30 minutes before showtime.

Northwest High School Film Festival Honors BHS Producers

2007-08-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

May 2007

Students from the Ballard High School Video Production Program won 15 awards and honors at the 9th annual Northwest High School Film Festival on May 5. This is the largest and longest running festival for high school filmmakers in the Puget Sound region. Over 270 productions were entered in the competition from 22 schools. The festival was judged by a panel of 14 industry professionals and college media professors. The event was organized by the Media Educators’ for Excellence Team (MEET) and sponsored by Adobe.

This is the third time in the last four years that Ballard High School students walked away with more awards than students from any other school: 7 top prizes (Awards of Excellence) and 8 Honorable Mentions. Many of the awarded productions can be seen Friday, June 8 at The Showing, a screening of work by students in the BHS Video Production Program. The event begins at 7 p.m. in the BHS auditorium. There’s a suggested donation of $5.00.

Here’s a list of Ballard’s Northwest High School Film Festival winners:

AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

Anti-Ad
“Anti-Steroids”
Taylor Halbett, Steven Nansel, Tommy Nast

“Anti-Tag”
Lars Kaldestad, Doyle McCarthy, Marissa Neroutsos

Commercial
“Crash Landing Pizza”
Justin Amorratanasuchad, Sami Kubo, Cedar Scarlett-Lyon

Dramatic Narrative
“Bittersweet”
Coburn Erskine, Becca Rice, Devon Sizemore, George Westberg

“Nice Touch”
Alec Maclurg, Ben Steiner, Kevin Vitz-Wong

Documentary
“Belize: The Potential of a Nation in Need”
Riley Heckel, Cedar Scarlett-Lyon

Music Video
“Hey, You!”
Michael Gore, Sami Kubo, Kyle Seago, Jordan Stead

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Commercial
“Don’t Waste Your Life at the Bus Stop”
Michael Gore, Mike Hipp, Evangeline Spracklin

Comedic Narrative
“Chasing Game”
Matt Hess, Graham Milgate, Jordan Stead

“A Good Knight’s Sleep”
Marina Bambans, Elizabeth McCallum, Marissa Neroutsos

Dramatic Narrative
“Blindsided”
Dylan Pharoah-Whitney, Kyle Seago, Jordan Stead

“Like Father, Like Son”
Justin Amorratanasuchad, Mike Hipp, Cedar Scarlett-Lyon

Music Video
“Frontier Psychiatrist”
Riley Heckel, Audra McCafferty, Ben Steiner

News Feature
“The Gymnast”
Audra McCafferty, Scott Miller

“Sean Daley: Male Cheerleader”
Hannah Kreimer, Lena Takamori, Paul Wilson

Ballard Filmmakers Score at International Festival

2007-08-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

June 2007

Six short films by Ballard High School video students were Official Selections of the Westport Youth Film Festival last weekend. The films were “Bittersweet” by Coburn Erskine, Becca Rice, Devan Sizemore & George Westberg, “Ave Rats” by Clinton Carucci, Ian McKagan & Mixtli Zavaleta; “Slave to the Needle” by Emily McVicker, Lars Phillips & Becca Rice; “Soccer Dads” by Coburn Erskine, Devan Sizemore & George Westberg, “Blindsided” by Kyle Seago, Jordan Stead & Dylan Pharaoh-Whitney, and “Chasing Game” by Matt Hess, Graham Milgate & Jordan Stead.

Westport, Connecticut, is home to many New York film professionals, and the festival, in association with the Westport Arts Center, is designed to provide an outlet for young filmmakers to share their work in a professional environment and receive constructive criticism from a combination of peers and professionals. The festival screens “the best international and national high school and middle school films”. The Independent Film Channel is the primary sponsor of the event. For more about WYFF, visit http://www.westportyouthfilmfest.org/eventguide2007.pdf.

Ballard High School students distinguished themselves by having work in three different areas of festival competition: Drama, Comedy, and Documentary. Some of these honored productions will be screened in the BHS auditorium at a showing of work by students in the BHS Video Production Program on Friday, June 8 at 7 p.m. There is a $5 suggested donation.

Award-winning Ballard H.S. Production Premieres at Northwest Film Forum

2007-08-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

October 2006

“Ave Rats”, a short documentary about homeless youth in Seattle’s University District by BHS Video Production students Clinton Carucci, Ian McKagan & Mixtli Zavaleta, has been selected by the Northwest Film Forum for their annual showcase of outstanding films, Local Sightings. This is a northwest premiere for the documentary. It was previously screened only at Temple University’s School of Communications for the Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival, a prestigious national festival at which it won 1st Prize.

The NWFF will screen the documentary alongside work by accomplished filmmakers from Seattle and Portland in a segment entitled “Doc’s with a View” on Tuesday, October 10 at 9:30 p.m. For tickets and full program information, visit www.nwfilmforum.org and click on the “Local Sightings” link. Below are brief descriptions of the “Doc’s with a View” films.

Air
(Patti Sakurai, Portland, 2005, DVD, 5min.)
AIR is the filmmaker’s response to the anti-Asian remarks of two New Jersey
DJs in the spring of 2005. Shot on Super 8, the film also points to the
importance of alternative media by using audio from APA Compass, an
Asian Pacific American monthly radio program on KBOO 90.7FM in
Portland.

RC Driver
(Sophia Betz, Seattle, 2005, DVD, 18min.)
Competitors vie for the title of World Champion in the World Finals of
Radio Control Monster Truck Racing.

Ave Rats
(Clinton Carucci, Ian MacKagan & Mixtli Zavaleta, Seattle, 2006, MiniDV,
6min.)
Giving voice to one of Seattle's most misunderstood and marginalized
communities, homeless youth, Ballard High School students present a
fresh, unsentimental approach to this important topic.

Aquarium Kids
(Wes Kim, Seattle, 2006, DVCam, 10min.)
Every Sunday, three high school interns, Sam, Shun and Savy, come to
the Seattle Aquarium to help clean the exhibit tanks and feed the
animals. They all come from families with roots in Asia, but their
unique personalities and life histories illustrate the diversity within
the Asian American community, a diversity that in turn enriches the
lives of the aquarium's staff and visitors.

Tientsin Diaries
(Serge Gregory, Seattle, 2006, MiniDV, 31min.)
Tientsin Diaries is a fictional documentary about the courtship of Misha
and Natasha, whose Oriental idyll begins to unravel with the outbreak
of WWII. Using actors, family photographs and newsreels, the film
recreates the lost world of Russian exiles against the backdrop of the
disintegration of pre-revolutionary China.

Ballard HS Filmmakers Win Arts Honors

2007-08-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

November 2006

The National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts has recognized two Ballard High School video students for the artistic achievement and promise evident in their productions. Mixtli Zavaleta received an Honorable Mention, and Kyle Seago a Merit Award. As a result, each will receive a cash prize from the NFAA. Both are third year students in Ballard’s Video Production Program and plan to study filmmaking in college.

The NFAA Arts Recognition and Talent Search identifies and supports young talent in the areas of music, theater, visual arts, photography, writing, and film & video. Students submit a portfolio of work that is carefully reviewed by a panel of filmmakers and educators. Mixtli and Kyle produced work that was selected from more than 5200 submissions nationwide.

Mixtli has also won the Grand Prize at Temple University’s national high school film and video festival for “Ave Rats”, a short documentary about homeless youth in Seattle’s University District. The production also received an Award of Excellence from the Northwest High School Film & Video Festival. Kyle’s short film “Exposed” also won an Award of Excellence from that festival, in addition to the prize for Best Student Short at the Maple Valley Film Festival last spring.

To see award-winning shorts by Ballard video students from the first five years of the program, join us for “The 5th Anniversary Showing” in the BHS auditorium on Friday, January 12 at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but a $5 donation is greatly appreciated! (All proceeds support the Video Production Program!)

BALLARD FILM STUDENTS WIN REGIONAL FESTIVAL

2007-08-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

July 2006

Three productions by students in the BHS Video Production Program are among the winners of the 30th Annual Young People’s Film & Video Festival. They are “Bittersweet” (a short film about a contagious bad mood) by Coburn Erskine, Becca Rice & George Westberg, “Special Successes” (a documentary on the BHS Special Education Program) by Clayton Brendan, Jenna Gregor & Madison Murphy, and “Beacon Hill B-Boys” (a documentary about the dance culture of the Jefferson Community Center) by Nick Davis, Tony Maurice & Fiona Shearer.
This competitive festival accepted entries from students in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. It was coordinated by the Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon, and sponsored by Comcast. Submissions were judged for their storytelling, originality, artistic merit, technical achievement, and investigation of subject matter by a jury of educators and film professionals.
Winning productions will be shown at an awards ceremony Sunday, July 16 at 2 p.m. at the Portland Art Museum Whitsell Auditorium (1219 SW Park, Portland, Oregon). The event is free, and the public is welcome to attend. The program will run approximately 120 minutes.
Last year, Ballard High School students also had three winning productions in the festival. Two of those went on to further honors. “TC4” took 3rd Prize at the national Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival in Philadelphia. “The Drive Thru” won the Audience Award at the Seattle International Film Festival’s FutureWave – the forum for young filmmakers.

Ballard Filmmakers Win SIFF Audience Award

2007-08-01T21:18:00.000-07:00

June 2006
Four filmmakers from the Ballard High School Video Production Program won the Audience Award at FutureWave, the Seattle International Film Festival’s forum for young filmmakers. Seventeen shorts from across the US and Canada, and as far away as Australia, were selected by the SIFF jury for screening in the FutureWave program. Their selections included two shorts by Ballard High School students. The shorts were screened last Saturday at the Egyptian Theater. Young filmmakers from across the country attended, as well as their teachers and SIFF regulars. Everyone present voted on the Audience Award. “The Drive Thru” was announced as the winner at SIFF’s closing ceremony, the Golden Space Needle Awards, on Sunday, June 18. A music video about the horrors of fast food, “The Drive Thru” was produced by Matt Lewis, Jesse Lomax, Stacey Rozich, and Ashley Russell.

Ballard Filmmakers Win National Festival

2007-08-01T21:15:00.001-07:00

June, 2006

Ballard Filmmakers Win National Festival

Two works by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program were winners at the 10th Annual Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival last Sunday. “Ave. Rats”, a documentary on homeless youth in Seattle’s University District, took the Grand Prize, netting $500 for filmmakers Clinton Carucci, Ian McKagan, and Mixtli Zavaleta. They plan to split the money with the homeless teens they had interviewed. “TC4”, a documentary on Tent City by Kyle Daley, Beth Graves, and Adrienne Rosado, took 3rd place and will receive a $200 prize.
This prestigious festival draws competition from high school producers throughout the nation and is judged by professors from Temple University’s renowned film school, acclaimed filmmakers, and members of the Derek Freese Foundation. The festival took place at the School of Communications & Theater at Temple University in Philadelphia on June 4th at 1 p.m.
This marks the third year in a row that students from the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been Finalists in the Derek Freese Festival, but the first time they have won top prizes.

How to Enroll

2007-08-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

The Video Production Program is part of the free public education at Ballard High School, and is open to BHS students of all grades. Students planning to pursue degrees or careers in film/television production, broadcast journalism, art, advertising, media studies, or public relations should enroll no later than their sophomore year to begin to build a portfolio that meets or enhances college and industry application requirements. These students are encouraged to apply for the two-semester, entry level Digital Filmmaking class available to freshmen and sophomores. For other students, Media Issues & TV Production is a one semester version of this class that requires no application. Both classes emphasize media literacy and film-style production. Students successfully completing either entry level class are eligible to apply for Advanced Video Production. This can be re-taken at more advanced levels as students build their portfolios. All of these classes are electives, fulfill either the Fine Art or the Occupational Education requirement, and result in a digital portfolio.

2006-11-25T22:41:00.000-08:00

02/07/2006
From 65th Street to Sundance
By Linda Thomas (Journal Newspapers)

The lights dim in a Ballard High School video production classroom as teacher Matt Lawrence begins his critique of students' work.

"This is an unfortunate shot. It's a jump cut," Lawrence noted. "You really need a reaction shot here. But look at the composition of this next frame. It's excellent."
Students expect to hear honest and sometimes blunt comments from their teacher. They use the words "perfectionist," "demanding" and "professional" to describe him.

Many students also call Mr. Lawrence "inspirational" and they say he's the reason Ballard has a respected video production program. It's a program so acclaimed that Ballard High School was one of only nine schools in the nation invited to attend the recent Sundance Film Festival.

Lawrence - who has a calm, confident manner - does not want individual recognition for the video program's success. He said the credit should go to the Ballard High Foundation, which paid for some of the equipment the school needed, and to a professional advisory committee.

Even so, Lawrence is the teacher who created the curriculum in 2001 and under his direction students have won nearly 100 awards for their work.
"In the last couple of years we've had finalists for the grand prize at the national high school film festival," Lawrence said. "Students really are making the most of these classes."

The opportunity available at Ballard High School is rare.
While other schools in Seattle have video departments, most of those are vocational programs that teach technical skills. And at some high schools the focus is on media analysis. Lawrence said Ballard's approach is unique because it is a combination of both.

"Just as reading and writing go together, analysis and production are connected," he said.

The instructor knows a lot about both subjects. He earned a master's degree in education and film/television production from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has 19 years of experience working with film and video on commercial and corporate projects. He was also one of the original writers for The Onion, a parody newspaper published weekly in print and on the Internet.

"Having a diverse background in all corners of the industry is what allows me to offer a diverse curriculum," said Lawrence. "That helps students build a portfolio that'll take them in all kinds of possible directions."
Students learn a little of everything from advertising and visual storytelling to news production.

One example of student creativity is a commercial for Ballard-based Marley's Skateboard. It opens with a close up of someone's feet on a skateboard. The boarder swooshes and flips down the street with a pack of other skateboarders following, and then the action screeches to a halt. The next shot reveals it was an elderly woman on the skateboard.

"It's difficult to break a stereotype in just 30 seconds, but it's so effective," Lawrence said.

Many graduates have gone on to study art, film, broadcast journalism and public relations. A few students have even gotten industry jobs right out of high school based on the strength of their portfolios.

Former student Max Bennett is one of Ballard's achievers. He received the largest scholarship possible to the film school at Columbia College of the Arts in Chicago.
Student George Westberg, a BHS senior, has been accepted to New York University's elite film school where he'll start classes in the fall. NYU only accepts about 30 percent of its applicants.

"Once I started video production, I realized how much I loved it," Westberg explained. "I've learned how to be a more critical thinker. It's also taught me how to adapt while working with other students on projects."

Even students who don't intend to pursue a career in the film industry have gained something from the program.

"This class is the reason I come to school each day," said Kinsey Miller, who is a senior in an advanced video production course.

Miller has been the drama department's stage manager for several years, but her focus has shifted from theater arts to culinary arts. She's a baker at the café in Swanson's nursery and plans to open a restaurant in Seattle someday.
She said the video classes taught her "life skills."

"It's important to know how to take criticism," she said. "We sit in class and our work goes up on the screen and everyone tells you what could have been better. Sometimes it's hard to listen to but I've learned not to take it personally."

The one "critic" whose opinion matters most to Miller is her instructor.
"It's tough to get approval from Mr. Lawrence, but when you do it feels so good," she said. "When you can bring him down to your level and you rise up to his level it's really gratifying. And if you can make him laugh that's the best feeling ever."

Last month students had a chance to learn from some of the world's best independent filmmakers during their five-day visit to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Although the esteemed event doesn't exhibit work by high school students, teen filmmakers from nine schools in the U.S. were invited to observe.

A dozen Ballard students had Sundance credentials to view independent movies, listen to panel discussions and participate in workshops with screenwriters or composers.

It'll be difficult to top that event, but Lawrence is planning a field trip to Hollywood in 2007. Ballard has several graduates working in the Los Angeles area and wants to line up some "behind the scenes" tours so students could see how another part of the industry works.

Lawrence is impressed with BHS students, past and present. "Their work blows me away," he said enthusiastically. "I'm excited to see students influence each other and learn from each other."