islandvp.com April 2013 | 21A www.siestasand.net • 941.539.0205 • APRIL 2013
I Starred In A Movie At SCTI
By Diana Colson
Finally—my fifteen minutes of fame! The phone rings, and it is Bob Gray asking if I would play a key role in an upcoming film being shot at Sarasota County Technical Institute (SCTI). “Of course,” I said, hoping it might be the role of The Princess or the Movie Star, or perhaps even Maleficent the Witch. No such luck! I was being cast as The Grandmother. “Oh,” I said, picking my ego up off the floor. “Well . . . what do grandmothers wear?” “Regular stuff,” said Bob. So I pulled on my brown fringed cowboy boots, a long On the set with Maddie Turner denim skirt, and an apple green sweater, put on lots and LOTS of jet black mascara, and brushed on a killer-red Faraway kids are brought in by bus from high schools mouth. If I was going to play Grandma, she was going all over the county to attend either the morning (7:45 am to be descended from Annie Oakley! – 10:45 am) or afternoon (11:15 am – 2:15 pm) sessions. I drove to the main campus SCTI, located at Beneva For the remainder or the day students attend their regular and Proctor, and parked overlooking the lake. After high school classes where they study a core program. signing in at the visitor’s entrance and showing photo In this program, students gain practical knowledge ID—standard procedure for schools these days—I and skills for entry level in the fields of video production, received a badge and was taken to Studio A, where television production, news gathering, and film teacher Bob Gray introduced me to his afternoon group production using current digital video equipment. of young people. Students get hands-on experience in script writing, Ashley McBreen had created the story, while Oliva preproduction planning, scheduling, hiring a crew, Monks and Sean McGann co-wrote the script. It went like camera work, lighting, audio recording set design, studio this: a grandmother would be seen showing her teen- production, field production, and editing. aged granddaughter photos in an old family album. As Every spring, counselors travel all over Sarasota they look at the pictures, the grandmother tells of meeting County to tell 10th graders of the offerings given at her future husband during World War II. Maddie Turner Sarasota County Institute of Technology. Digital Video would play the granddaughter, while Ashley and Sean Production is but one of 34 state-of-the-art career and would portray the young lovers during flashback scenes technical programs offered, including such wide-ranging of World War II. Bob Gray would play the grandfather fields as Law Enforcement, Cosmetology, and Practical as an elderly man. Nursing. Most of the kids who come to SCTI first heard There were many scenes to the story. Today, however, about these programs through counselors. they would film only scenes in which Grandma appears. Ashley: “I always used to make little u-tube videos. Deanna Covert was running sound and doing makeup. Then I saw a presentation at my school and decided to Liam Jordan was operating the digital camera attached enroll.” She attends Venice High School for the remainder to a floating boom. Alexia Salavar and Clarissa Lynch of the day. were in charge of the lighting. Olivia Monks and Sean Olivia also travels in from Venice High: “I was always McGann would share the duties of director and editor. filming action sports – skateboards, scootering, BMX. I’ve We would be shooting ten short scenes, some of them been doing it since 6th grade. I always knew I wanted voice-overs. My script was hidden inside a magazine: to film.” hopefully I could see it but the camera would not. Liam takes a 45 minute bus trip to Sarasota from North I nervously sat on a bright red couch. The crew stared Port. “They cancelled the program in North Port,” he at the monitor as the camera got ready to roll. shrugged. Bob Gray explains that the State Department “Hold the mike up over the actors.” cut Video Production as a High School course. It is now “Take you hand off the boom arm. Check the focus. only offered as a Career and Occupational course. Stay tighter on the photo.” The rest of the students were enrolled at Suncoast “Maddie, get ready to walk into the frame.” Polytechnical High, a school located on the edge of the “. . . Someone has to say ACTION . . .” SCTI campus. We started shooting Scene One. It took several takes. Deanna: “I took Multi Media last year. Did a class The first shot was deemed unusable as the glare of the with Mr. Gray. Thought it was worth going into.” lights was reflected in the glass on a framed photo. On Sean: “I’m a big film nerd. Decided to make movies the second take, a door squeaked open and ruined the myself.” sound. A third time I fluffed my line. Alexia: “I tried Architectural Drafting last year, but “Go wider and do it again.” it didn’t work out for me. So I We did. And we did. And we tried this class and really liked did, resetting camera and lights each it.” time. Two hours later the scenes Clarissa: “It sounded fun. It were “in the can” and I had a chance all looked cool.” to talk to this wonderful group of Maddie: I’m a big movie kids and their instructor. fanatic. I wanted to learn I learned that the Digital Video how to make my own. This is Production program at SCTI is a my calling.” two-year program for high school Thanks to Bob Gray and juniors and seniors. It focuses on the excellent program offered broad, transferable skills, focusing at SCTI, these film dreams on key elements of the Digital Video just might possibly come Mr. Gray’s afternoon digital video production class at SCTI. production industry. true! Left to Right: Ashley, Alexia, Sean, Maddie, Liam, Deanna
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