Vintage

VINTAGE Vintage Austin, TX

Behind the Screen Out of the Spotlight A Pencil’s Lead

Fall 2017

Table of Contents Source: Pixabay.com

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04 06 08 12 14 18 20 24 26

Letter From the Editors A message from the dedicated creators of this magazine

A Quick History of Film A timeline featuring some of movie history’s biggest milestones

Behind the Screen

A look into the lifestyles of filmmakers living in Austin

The Entertainment Industry A look at the differences between three industries

South by Southwest The impact of South by Southwest and how it came to be

Film Locations Some of the movie sets in Austin used in the movie industry

Out of the Spotlight The lives of people working in the background of films

The Battle of the Austin Actors The opinions of LASA students of Austin-based actors

A Pencil’s Lead What is needed to start a career in animation

30

A Guide to a Good Film

32

Moral-Making Movies

What is required to start a good film

How movies can help teach kids good lessons

Source: Pixabay.com

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Ikey Kohler Copy Editor

My name is Ikey Kohler and I am a 14 year old freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin, Texas. I play baseball, tennis, and enjoy playing golf. While my family does not have a background in film, I have always been interested in films based in Austin. This led me to the question: why is Austin such a welcoming city for film? The SXSW film festival is an Austin based festival that has built itself into an international brand. I wanted to know its journey from a small regional festival meant for five states, to a festival where people come from all four corners of the world to experience the lively films. For example, how did the festival get started? Where did they get the funding to start the festival?

What is the atmosphere of the city like during the festival? It is important for people who attend the festival to know the history of the festival and how it came to be. There is so much more that goes into creating a magazine than you could possibly think of. For example, transcribing interviews, creating images, making draft layouts, and so much more. I hope you enjoy reading our magazine.

William Taylor-Burton Fact Check Editor I’m William Taylor-Burton, a freshman this year at LASA, and I am fourteen years old. I was born and raised here in Austin, Texas. I like video games and movies. I like film because it can range from mindless bliss to thoughtful brain twisters.

I think that it is cool that art can appeal to so many different people with different beliefs and interests. I wrote about the behind the scenes of film because I like to learn about how people who are out of the spotlight affect things in ways most people don’t think about. I like the idea that people have to work together to complete a film but I think people should get a fair share of the credit. I think that everyone should have the chance to be recognized for their accomplishments. I also wrote about how the film industry compares to video games and music because I find it interesting how far video games have come in recent years. I learned that writing about films is a lot harder than watching them. I hope that people have a good time reading my article, I really enjoyed writing it.

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David Villegas Graphics and Photo Editor

Hello stranger, my name is David Villegas.

Born and raised in Austin, TX, I am a freshman at LASA HS, and I am a part of this article. I enjoy long walks in the park, rap and hip-hop, and am a video game addict; the main reason why my grades are horrifying. I mostly play FPS’s.

Anyways, I’m not a writer, which is why writing this article was a pain, but I enjoyed researching about the oldest forms of art: Film and animation (I don’t know if they really are, it just makes me sound interesting.) The main reason I wrote about this topic was because I was interested on how an animation was made, because I watch animated shows, and in my mind I’ve always thought to myself, “how does one start an animation?” and the elements of film that make a movie good, since I am interested in storytelling. In a sense, I’ve learned something here. I learned to not do things at the last second, always stay at the top of your game, to be responsible, and to never use comic sans. It’s honestly the worst font ever. Hope you find interest in this topic as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Saira Khan Features Editor

I’m Saira Khan, the features editor. Film is an interesting topic to cover because a lot of people, when watching film don’t think about what’s behind the scenes. They forget the hard work put into making a film. It was interesting to see how film connected to the city I grew up in, Austin. When I think of film my mind goes to Hollywood, but through research I’ve found out that several films have actually been filmed in Austin. It was riveting to see that a lot of the films had shot in areas in Austin that I’ve been to several times. The reason I wrote my article about kids film and what they teach kids is because it’s interesting to see that kids films are more than what I thought they were as a kid. Every time I go back and see a kids movie I see more to it. All the jokes I missed and what the movie was actually talking about. A lot of them have the same ideas to teach kids and it is interesting to see how a director portrays that.

I’ve learned a lot from this experience like how film can teach kids. I’ve learned how to use several programs when creating this magazine. I hope you enjoy reading it and flipping through it, and hopefully you’ll learn something from it.

Juliette Cloutier Layout Editor

Hello and welcome, reader. Cutting this to be short and sweet; I’m Juliette, a freshman at LASA, and the layout editor. I truly hope that you’ll be able to enjoy this magazine as much as I enjoyed creating this semester-long project. Our whole group believed it was both important and fun to cover the wide subject range of filming, specifically focused in Austin. For me, filming has been a valuable hobby for my whole life, having attended multiple acting and film camps. The spectrum of abilities associated with the hobby and/or career is so immense, from being a cameraman to scoring the video, that I decided to focus in on the community and lifestyle of the people in the film business. By being able to interview three amazing people who all have experience in one aspect of video (one being a teacher, another being an editor, and the last being a technical theater student), I have been able to learn so much about what it takes to become a good filmmaker and the amount of dedication that all interested in films put into their work. Being able to contribute to this magazine was an amazing experience overall, teaching me loads of life lessons, and if we did this correctly, it will inspire you as well.

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1878 The first moving picture is created by Edward Muybride of a racing horse.

1888 Louis Augustin develops a single lens camera.

1928

1913 Hollywood replaces New York City as the epicenter of film.

The first cartoon in which sound and image were synchronized is showcased in Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie.”

1893 The Edison Corporation creates the Kinetograph.

1905 Nickelodeons becomes a popular attraction.

1903

Doubling as a director and producer, Edwin S. Porter creates the first movie, The Great Train Robbery, with a length of 12 minutes.

1929 USC becomes the first school of film 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the first animated movie.

A Quick History of Film

By Juliette Cloutier 6 Vintage Fall 2017

Gone With the Wind becomes a box office hit as well as one of the longest movies in history, totaling to 231 minutes. It becomes an instant classic.

1939 1940 Tom and Jerry make their first appearance in Puss Gets the Boot.

1960 1961 Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece, Psycho, hits theaters, scaring audiences and doing well in the box office. The film was shot in black and white and used chocolate syrup as blood.

1962 Lolita is Stanley Kubrick’s first independent work.

1971 A Clockwork Orange is the first film to use the Dolby noise reduction technology.

1976

1955 James Dean is introduced in his first big role in East of Eden.

1968 Film ratings are created, with G, PG, R, and X.

Blockbuster hit Rocky is filmed using a Steadicam, getting clear and steady shots.

1953 The process of Cinema Scope is first seen in The Robe.

1977 Star Wars hits the theaters, being George Lucas’s first major motion picture.

1952 Trying to regain an audience, the film industry introduces 3-D.

1998 The Titanic becomes one of the highest-grossing films.

1948 The Bicycle Thief is one of the first films to emerge out of war-torn Italy.

Being one of the first computeranimated films, Shrek receives the first ever Oscar win for best animated feature.

2001

After having been held up

by World War II, Jean Zay’s International Film Festival makes it’s debut in Cannes, France.

1946

Box office hit La La Land is the first musical film without a stage production as its predecessor.

2016

Sources: www.filmsite.org; www.infoplease.com; www.historycooperative.org

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Behind the Screen A look into the lifestyles of filmmakers Story by Juliette Cloutier

T

he theater lights of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School dimmed down in the quiet room. With multiple one-week summer camps being offered to the residents of Austin, children had the opportunity to participate in numerous programs, with film and video being offered for the first time in 2016. The campers sat down with their parents, awaiting with short laughs and tapping feet for their projects to be shown.

The short movie began with an opening credit, welcoming everyone to the school and thanking them for attending the twenty minute reel. The films were finishing as quickly as they started. Parents congratulated their children and got a flash drive of the work, ending the camp. With simply the finished product to review, parents were unaware of the amount of time campers spent on their projects.

Aspiring actors and crew want to make it in the movie business around the world, causing the film industry to gain a huge following over the years. People of all ages now had better access to the techniques once difficult and time-consuming to learn, and were able to obtain recognition more easily. The widespread use of technology and social media connected the world through video, seemingly Campers at the St. Andrews Episcopal School Film Camp prepared a scene for their parody of Harry Potter in June of 2017. One of the many rooms of the school was used as a great hall in which one of the main characters, Draco Malfoy, was sorted into a different house from the one he was a part of in both the books and the movies, Slytherin.

(Molly McDermott/2017)

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“You still memorize, plan, practice, everything that makes up the stereotypical actor, but you just get less recognition.”

yet oftentimes forgotten by the audience. “You still memorize, plan, practice, everything that makes up the stereotypical actor, but you just get less recognition,” technical theatre student Isobel Buffin-Robbins said about her role in lighting the stage, helping the show

-Isobel Buffin-Robbins putting off the film industry as an easy hobby that anyone as young as three could master with a smart phone. With the forgetfulness of the true work put into formal movie-making, industries changed drastically, showing how different the involved jobs became. These workers who experienced the change in the movie business created the main idea that the movie industry created a dynamic career.

The journey to becoming a part of the movie industry typically started in school when students decide to take a drama or film class to fill in their schedule with what they think will be a fun pastime. “I started doing film stuff there in high school and my high school had a film program which, at the time — because it was a long time ago — was unusual,” freelance editor and teacher Molly McDermott said about her time as a student in film class.

Almost every school in America offered such programs that inspired young students to get an overall interest and feel for the movie industry. They got to learn more about the behind-the-scenes work that was needed

At the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin, TX, Vanessa Mokry’s room door was decorated with a poster from her former students and an announcement for the upcoming 2017 Homecoming.

(Juliette Cloutier/2017)

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to enhance the experience of the audience. Immersion in classes focused on acting and filming weren’t the only way that students interested in the topic take part in the hobby.

Many students enrolled in acting and filming classes didn’t continue on, to take part in the movie industry full-time. “I’ve done a number of things. I’ve always created little films, but I’ve never had a career in filming,” said Vanessa Mokry, Audio Video Production teacher at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. Even with creators normally making their own independent videos for private use, those who followed through by studying the subject in college search for a creative and fun way to live life.

“I think a lot of jobs appear, you know, working in insurance or something. You’re doing the same thing everyday for years, and I imagine it must get a bit boring,” McDermott said. Becoming an assistant or an intern at a filming company was one way for students

to use their degree. “When I moved to San Francisco, I could either continue to work on small projects, like I had been doing, or try to work on bigger work. And so I decided to try to do that, which meant that I had to work as an assistant editor for a long time, which means you just helped out the editors that were well-established in town,” she explained.

Taking a job as a freelance in the movie business was another route for artists wanting to share their ideas through video. Contrary to popular belief, the job wasn’t as easy and carefree as people thought. “Right now, I’m working freelance, which means I don’t have a full-time position, I just work on a job-to-job basis when I’m hired by clients. And that can be a downside — when things aren’t busy and I don’t have as much work and I don’t know when my next job’s going to happen,” McDermott said. While working freelance did mean that no cubicles and true workplaces were required, movie makers in the field had to produce projects in order to make a living.

At Molly McDermott’s summer film camp at St. Andrews episcopal School located in Austin, TX, campers used the Adobe Premier Pro program to edit their short films which they spent the week scripting and filming. (Molly McDermott/2017)

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Auditioning for jobs, which was often the case for actors, wasn’t for everyone either. “Going in there and seeing them with a pad of paper to take notes and a camera

to record, the weight of what you’re doing crashes down on you,” Buffin-Robbins said about auditioning in front of the theater teachers for the drama club at her school in Austin, Texas. While people conceptualized that becoming a part of the movie business would incite fame and fortune, the true lifestyles of people involved in the trade was a much different story.

“There’s risks to being anything, whether or not you’re gonna be cut out for it. I think specifically with the film industry, there’s only enough room for the people

who are the top-level creators,” Mokry said. With the improvement of technology and the accessibility of editing programs in phones and computers, the conception that the filming industry was an easy outlet in life and a simple hobby was an expectation that was unrealistic to the true life of being involved in the trade.

Having formed a group at the beginning of the week, campers of Molly McDermott’s 2017 film camp in Austin, TX shot their ‘Happy Fathers’ Day’ scene in front of a green screen using a decorated cake as their prop.

(Molly McDermott/2017)

Even with all of the setbacks of being involved as a professional creator and part of the movie industry, many people found joy in the trade. Although being recognized globally can be a far reach, films of all length can be achieved by anyone who seeks to spread an idea.

As Mokry stated, “At the heart of this industry, there’s always a human being and their ability to tell a story can never be matched by any sort of technology, or a machine, or anything like that.”

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The Entertainment Industry Readers will learn about how different entertainment industries stack up and they will some insight on each industry.

By Will Taylor-Burton

The Film Industry

By E3 2015, $62 billion was spent on the film industry. This was more than the music industry but less than the video game industry.

Only about 40 percent of this was digital movies whereas digital games made up 80 percent of market sales. By 2020 it is expected that global box office sales a year will have reached $50 Billion. Currently, adventure is the highest grossing genre making up 22.45 percent of the market, followed by comedy (20.97 percent), action (18.81 percent), and drama (16.31 percent).

The Video Game Industry

By E3 2015, $92 billion was spent on the video game industry. This is larger than both the film and music industries combined. The majority of the revenue is from PC gaming, however mobile gaming will soon become a bigger money maker. As a whole, the video game industry is growing rapidly. The majority of the growth is coming from mobile, rather than PC or console. Most mobile revenue comes from “free to play” gaming where the game is free to download, but one pays for extra content or in game extras. In order to make money, PC gaming is adopting a similar strategy.

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The Music Industry

By E3 2015, $18 billion was spent on the music industry. This is smaller than both film and video game industries. Most of the music revenue is now digital, which has resulted in industry growth that hasn’t been seen since 1998. Streaming has grown to the point where it is larger than downloads, CD’s, and vinyl combined.

$92 Billion $62 Billion $18 Billion

Sources www.cnbc.com www.latimes.com www.billboard.com www.the-numbers.com www.statista.com www.mcvuk.com

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South by Southwest

The Impact on Austin and How it Came to Be Story by Ikey Kohler

I

n 1998, Louis Black, co-founder of the “Austin Chronicle,” looked around the room. He sees Quentin Tarantino, Richard Linklater, Mike Judge, Robert Rodriguez, Evan Smith, Steven Soderbergh, and on and on in terms of filmmakers. All of whom have made it in the film business and were intrigued by the mesmerizing festival. At that moment, Black realized they had a chance to make it big by entertaining and changing other people’s lives.

South by Southwest is an internationally-known music and film festival, but that wasn’t always the case. It takes place every year in March in Austin, Texas.

Perfect timing because there are always mobs of college students on their spring break, trying to catch a glimpse of the festival. The first year of the festival was in 1987, when it was originally a music festival. In 1994, the film aspect of the festival was launched.

According to Black, in November of 1986, Louis Meyers, a U.S. festival coordinator, and Roland Swenson, a newspaper editor, came to Louis Black and Nick Barbaro. Louis and Nick had started the “Austin Chronicle” together and were great friends. Louis Meyers and Roland Swenson proposed that they start a regional music festival. After a couple weeks of planning, South by Southwest was born.

Louis Black and Nick Barbaro, the co-founders of the “Austin Chronicle,” found a natural solution to funding. Originally, it came out of the “Chronicle” cash flow, which had almost no money to spend, said Black. They orchestrated

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a brilliant plan in which they had 14 weekly newspapers around the region that were all cosponsors of the event, he added.

According to Black, their festival had a regional presence. “Because we had regional media, [for] a lot of music writers from around the country, there really wasn’t an event that was friendly to them. South by Southwest was for sure allowing a lot of music writers from national publications, local publications, and regional publications to come.” South

by Southwest became a mediafriendly environment.

The and

festival grew rapidly, it was successful from the beginning. In 1987, they were expecting 300 people, and 700 people showed up. In the 1990s, attendance was in the thousands. Black said, “The students were in town. It was mobs beyond all reason. I could tell, that was one of the indicators that it was gonna take off.” Black and his colleagues had always wanted to start a film aspect, so they launched it in 1994.

Numerous movies are premiered to the world at South by Southwest. Joe Bailey, a film director and producer, produced the documentary, Incendiary: The Willingham Case, which premiered at South by Southwest in 2011. It is a documentary about an infamous

arson murder case from Corsicana, Texas. The defendant was executed in 2005, but the evidence used in the case has been discredited, and was found not to be evidence of an arson. Bailey said, “The case has become this, kind of fire point for controversy.”

Bailey attended the world premiere of his film at the Paramount theatre, a South by Southwest screening location. He said that watching where they gasped, where they laughed, where they seemed to be totally focused on the film, and how they took it all in was so interesting.

“There aren’t very many things I’ve done in my life that are more exciting or more, just visually thrilling and fun.” He went on to say that, “It’s really neat to come together and watch the same thing. When you’ve made that movie, it’s even more strange and thrilling. It’s a really weird experience.” Bailey said that everyone had their own opinion, but that didn’t matter because his film impacted the viewers, and got them thinking about the topic.

Keri-Dawn Solner is the lead event manager at the ZACH Theatre, which is another screening location for South

by Southwest. Solner said that the most exciting part of her job was the red carpets. The actors walk onto the red carpet in front of the fans and greet them. That causes security issues because people will do anything to get into the theater, said Solner.

Joe Bailey has gone to South by Southwest nearly every year since 2006. Bailey said that the atmosphere of Austin changes for a period of a week and a half.

“Downtown Austin almost becomes New York City and Los Angeles for a week and a half.” He said, “It used to feel more like we had all these guests that were visiting

“Downtown Austin almost becomes New York City and Los Angeles for a week and a half.”

-Joe Bailey Austin, and they were all saying what a neat, quaint, fun place you’ve got here; great music, food, fun people. Now it feels like everyone’s sort of taking ownership of it and saying, oh we’re back here for South by Southwest once again.”

Joe Bailey Jr., producer of Incendiary: the Willingham Case, poses after an interview in Austin, Texas. (Ikey Kohler/2017).

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Bailey said that the archetypal type of person that you see at South by Southwest changes as the category of the festival changes. That’s always hilarious because it starts with a polished, buttoned up person for “interactive.” Then it evolves into the “film” archetype, where everyone has their black rimmed glasses, beards, lanky frames, and rumpled clothes, he added.

“What you would imagine a film student to look like but add about 10 years,” said Bailey. As that wears on, then the “music” people come around and “everyone gets a lot thinner, a lot more fashionable, he added. If you thought that the ‘film’ guys were lanky and kind of thin looking, the ‘music’ people looked like they were torn from the pages of a fashion week magazine and dressed to the exact definition of what’s hip. On that exact date, hour, minute, and second, they just look cool. And they look so much cooler than you!” said Bailey.

“Everyone gets a lot thinner, a lot more fashionable. If you thought that the ‘film’ guys were lanky and kind of thin looking, the ‘music’ people looked like they were torn from the pages of a fashion week magazine and dressed to the exact definition of what’s hip.

On that exact date, hour, minute, and second, they just look cool. And they look so much cooler than you!”

-Joe Bailey Black now realizes how much of an impact he has had on the directors and producers of the films. He would advertise a screening so much and expect the theater to be full. But when it wasn’t quite full, he would find the director after the screening apologize to them,

and say that he worked really hard to promote your screening, and how he was so sorry there weren’t that many people. Black said people would respond to him by saying, “You’re kidding, that was the best screening I ever had.” The fact that Mr. Linklater was in the audience of the screening was more than enough to make them happy.

Black said, “It took me years to kind of realize, they weren’t getting bigger audiences anywhere else and the Austin audience was really terrific. They really got the film, and they asked great questions. There were always a lot of filmmakers in the audience.

The highlight, in a way, was my dumbness, and not realizing, what I thought were problems for them, weren’t.”

“It’s not Toronto, it’s not Telluride, it’s not Tan. But it is South by Southwest.

It has its own, incredible identity.”

-Louis Black Black explained that so many careers have come out of South by Southwest, and movies have had their big break there as well. South by Southwest is the filmmakers film festival. “It’s not Toronto, it’s not Telluride, it’s not Tan. But it is South by Southwest.

It has its own, incredible identity.”

“I never expected South by Southwest to become what it became and that was thrilling,” Black said. He added that the, “Most thrilling was having it become of the most important film festivals, film gathering places in the world.” He said it was a place where people wanted to get their film screened and were proud to get their film screened.

Black has been in love with film since he was nine years old. “When I was two, Leonard Maltin, the film historian, and I became friends in Teaneck, New Jersey, and began going to watch movies together.

So, my whole life has been about loving films and loving filmmakers. The fact that I got to do this extraordinary experience at South by has really been profoundly gratifying,” Black said. He added that it is such a privilege to be part of South by Southwest.

South by Southwest is truly the filmmakers film festival.

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Film Locations

By Saira Khan

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https://www.google.com/maps/@30.3166738,-97.753204,13z/ data=!4m2!6m1!1s1su0uUp-lzCZCDkEn3nqKz9m3sgQ austin.curbed.com moviemaps.org

The film Slacker is about looking into what it’s like to be a dropout. Filmed in 24 hours, the film features a popular sushi place Thai, How Are You?

The movie Miss Congeniality has a pageant scene which was shot in Bass Concert Hall. It’s about an FBI agent who has to go undercover as a contestant after a terrorist threatens to bomb the Miss USA pageant.

Dart Bowl is a bowling place that is featured in the film Boyhood directed by Richard Linklater. It’s the place where Mason Sr. goes with his children, and Linklater remembers something like it from his childhood.

In Richard Linklater’s film Dazed and Confused, the Americana movie theater was featured in the film as well. Though today you’ll find it as the Yarborough Library.

Everybody Wants Some!! is a movie about a college freshman in 1980 meeting his baseball teammates, who happen to be a bunch of party-goers. Volume Apartments was featured in this film as Graham Hall.

Troublemakers Studio’s is a film production company made by director Robert Rodriguez and producer Elizabeth Avellan.

It also happens to have the largest green screen in Texas.

In the 1993 Dazed and Confused movie, The Ballard’s Grab and Go is actually a Shell gas station.

The coming of age film is about a group of rowdy teenagers celebrating the last day of high school in 1976.

Top Notch Hamburgers is the most recognized venue in the film Dazed and Confused. The burger place is featured in the beginning of the film when all the characters stop to get food.

Another place featured in the movie Dazed and Confused is the Texas Blind School. In the movie the awkward middle school dance scene takes place.

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Out of the Spotlight A Look at Those in the Background of Films

Story by: Will Taylor-Burton addition to planning out what one needs in order to create a film quickly and efficiently. However, even before preproduction, there must be a vision.

For ‘labeled for reuse’ (wikimedia.com)

F

or several decades, Austin, Texas has been known as part of the Third Coast for its distinctiveness from the East and West Coasts. Compared to the business-focused attitude of the East Coast, and the showmanship and glitter of the West Coast, the Third Coast is known for its art, film, music, and casual lifestyle. Austin is attractive to local filmmakers due in part to its affordability for shooting, according to Keith Wahrer, director and editor of Karmakaze Productions, a local media and production company. The film industry supplies the Austin Film Society with a large pool of suitable volunteers for their community programs including summer camps, and after-school programs that are dedicated to teaching film production to young people.

Creating a full-length film is a complicated process that requires the efforts of many people to finish, from directors and actors, to set designers and editors. The process requires proper communication throughout as well as pre-production planning in order to ensure that all of the parts will fit together. Pre-production involves creating an idea for a film, movie, advertisement, etc., in

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Having a vision can be the most difficult part of the process, but it can also make everything else easier because it allows every single part to come together, said Wahrer. “But having an idea that you are passionate about and having a vision for what kind of a video you want, that is the most important thing.

It’s what distinguishes good from great a lot of times,” Wahrer added. In order to make a vision come to life it takes many different people doing many different jobs.

“You can make a great video if you have a vision for what you want. Something that inspires you — a vision for the way you want to approach the story that you want to tell. Often it helps if it’s a story you believe in, if it resonates with you. ” -Keith Wahrer

For example, in order to create a period piece, a set designer, like Dave McDonald, would be needed to help ensure the historical accuracy of the props.

McDonald has worked on numerous films and videos including “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” the “Friday the 13th” reboot, and several different Gamestop commercials. McDonald’s title changes from project to project, but his job usually includes at least some aspects of set designing. He said that Austin is a great place for film-making due to its large quantity of prop houses and set rentals, compared to other cities he has worked in.

Working on a film set requires experience and in order to earn it, people start in a wide variety of positions and places. McDonald was formerly an auto-mechanic,

Keith Wahrer and Snoop Dog together, Austin Texas. (Karmakaze Productions/2017)

but got into film through hearing about the industry from his friends who were finding success. Wahrer used to work for a juice company, but decided to pursue what he believed to be a more creative opportunity in film-making. Local groups like the Austin Film Society have community programs to help kids gain experience with film-making.

Karmakaze crew members working camera, Austin Texas, Behind the scenes at Karmakaze (Karmakaze Productions/2017)

Yolanda Gamble is the Youth Media Specialist at the Austin Film Society.

She manages all of the group’s filmmaking youth programs including the film club in public schools and the summer camp program which runs in the public access television station.

According to the Austin Film Society website, the 2017 summer camp options included weeks of focusing on animation, special effects, and action adventure.

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According to Gamble, the Austin Film Society worked with at least ten schools in their film club program.

“Students produced an average of three to four completed film projects,” Gamble said. When the semester ended, the Austin Film Society presents the students’ finished products at the Alamo Draft House and invites the students, their families, and people from their schools to attend.

The Austin Film Society provides the equipment and the support for all of the students in the program. Gamble said the Austin Film Society provides these students with hardware such as laptops and cameras and audio, as well as materials for the instructors who are local professionals who want to help young people succeed in the film industry.

According to Gamble, the program is offered at no cost to the students or their schools, which are usually underresourced. “We believe that it’s important to teach these skills of film-making like teamwork—technical skills too, like how to use the equipment and how to think critically.

Those are really important to teaching kids and helping them to develop skills that will help them be successful in college or their career path,” Gamble said.

“What really makes Austin great is the different locations we have, different looks and feels in the city. I have shot movies where we have done scenes that were supposed to be in the East Coast.”

-Dave McDonald

The students create these films entirely from scratch. “They do pre-production, where they write up their script, then they shoot it, and then we help with their editing,” Gamble said. The Austin Film Society has been working with students since 2004.

The production room of Karmakaze Studios, Austin Texas (Karmakaze Productions/2017)

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“The Austin Independent School District approached the Austin Film Society and asked if we would partner with them and teach film-making in after school clubs,” Gamble said.

For someone with the desire for a career in the film industry, Austin and the Austin Film Society offer the support, training, facilities, and talent to make the dream a reality. All that is needed is a vision. “You can make a good video, but you can make a great video if you have a vision for what you want. Something that inspires you, a vision for the way you want to approach the story you want to tell. Often it kind of helps if it’s a story you believe in, if it resonates with you,” said Wahrer.

Recording of FS7, Austin Texas, Keith Warher recorded FS7 (Karmakaze Productions/2017)

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Matthew McConaughey

Battle of the Austin Actors

Elijah Wood

Votes Orlando Mora:

Votes Cade Dulaney: Alvin Jung: Luke Yium:

Votes Cade Dulaney: Alvin Jung: Luke Yium: Wally Auby:

Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey was born in Uvdale, Texas, and attended the University of Texas at Austin. He was originally majoring in law, but he was inspired by the book “The Greatest Salesmen in the World” to change his major to film. He is perhaps most well known for his lead role in Dazed and Confused, where he played a townsmen hanging out with high schoolers to “hold onto his glory days.”

Dazed and Confused was the foundation of many stunning performances by the Lifelong Longhorn.

Matthew McConaughey

By Ikey Kohler

Elijah Wood was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Ever since Wood was a child, he had a natural talent for performing. He was in a number of films as a child such as Paradise (1991), Radio Flyer (1992), and North (1994). Wood moved to Austin in 2013. He is Sources: most well known for his role in the http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000190/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm Sources: http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/g3517/best-matthew-mcconaughey-movies/ Sources: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000190/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm Lord of the Rings trilogy where he http://expendables.wikia.com/wiki/Dan_Paine www.imdb.com; www.esquire.com; http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/g3517/best-matthew-mcconaughey-movies/ https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/l/the-lord-of-the-rings/character-analysis/frodo-baggins played Frodo, a determined hobbit http://expendables.wikia.com/wiki/Dan_Paine www.expendables.wikia.com; www.cliffsnotes.com; http://austin.culturemap.com/news/entertainment/07-09-13https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/l/the-lord-of-the-rings/character-analysis/frodo-baggins www.austin.culturemap.com; www.theguardian.com; who is doubted at first, but has afrom-bag-end-to-bouldin-creek-elijah-wood-now-calls-austin-home/#slide=0 http://austin.culturemap.com/news/entertainment/07-09-13www.imdb.com; www.mensjournal.com https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/06/sandra-bullock-pain-gravity-oscars-george-clooney-2014 from-bag-end-to-bouldin-creek-elijah-wood-now-calls-austin-home/#slide=0 big heart and will do anything tohttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000113/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm LASA Students: Wally Auby, Cade Dulaney, Alvin Jung, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/06/sandra-bullock-pain-gravity-oscars-george-clooney-2014 hhttp://www.mensjournal.com/features/articles/kyle-chandlerWalker Grim, Luke Yium get the job done. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000113/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

24 Vintage Fall 2017

laughs-last-w205309ttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0151419/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm hhttp://www.mensjournal.com/features/articles/kyle-chandlerLASA Students: Wally Auby, Cade Dulaney, Alvin Jung, Orlando Mora, Luke Yium laughs-last-w205309ttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0151419/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

LASA Students: Wally Auby, Cade Dulaney, Alvin Jung, Orlando Mora, Luke Yium

Votes Cade Dulaney:

Kyle Chandler was born in Buffalo, New York, on September 17, 1965. He grew up in the small town of Social Circle, Georgia.

Social Circle is home to 4,500 people. Kyle was in love with acting. The only TV station he got on his father’s farm was TBS, where he would watch old movies, and go act them out in the backyard. He majored in drama at the University of Georgia and was signed by ABC in a 1998 talent search. He worked at the Museum of Natural History until he caught his big break where he played the minor league baseball player “Jeff Metcalf” in Homefront (1991). More recently, he played “Coach Eric Taylor” of East Dillon High School who must build a football program from the ground up, in the hit drama series Friday Night Lights.

Kyle Chandler now lives on a ranch in Dripping Springs, Texas with his wife and two daughters.

Votes Alvin Jung: Luke Yium: Wally Auby: Orlando Mora:

Sandra Bullock was born on July 26, 1964, in Arlington, Virginia. She had performing in her roots ever since she was a child. Her mom was a German opera singer. Often times, she would sing in the children’s chorus to accompany what her mom was singing in. Bullock moved to living full time in Austin in 2010. Her singing talent naturally led her to a career of acting. She is perhaps most well known for her stunning performance in Gravity, where she played the lone surviving astronaut who must find her way back to earth, despite using a space shuttle that is falling apart.

Kyle Chandler

Sandra Bullock

Votes Orlando Mora: Wally Auby:

Kyle Chandler

Readers learn about actors and actresses who live in, or are from Austin and their iconic roles in movies which made them a household name. In addition, readers will gain insight on LASA students’ opinions of their favorite actor or actress in a head to head bracket style tournament.

Vintage Fall 2017 25

A Pencil’s Lead

What is Needed to Start a Career in Animation

but don’t because they either don’t have the equipment or believe it’s too difficult.

Animation has been around since the Great Depression, from Felix The Cat to Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse, and animation has improved and changed since then.

This is especially true with the arrival of “Toy Story”, the first

A person sketching down ideas. (https://pixabay.com/en/art-composition-desk-handwriting-1868727/)

computer animated feature-length film by Pixar, released in 1995. It took time and dedication to create these characters and

Story by: David Villegas

projects but most importantly, it took passion. It took

A

to find other ways to animate and tell stories, which is

nimation is a part of everyone’s lives and it is hard to imagine a world without it. One may have a childhood cartoon or a favorite

animated show that they appreciate and love, but the work put into it sometimes goes unnoticed. That childhood cartoon wasn’t created in a day. It took hours, dedication, passion, and time to work on. It makes one think that animating is a hard job, but it doesn’t have to be. There are many out there who want to animate,

26 Vintage Fall 2017

passion to create these characters, and to drive people why there are many who want to get into the field of animation. But most people don’t know where to actually start, or what is required for one to get into animating.

All someone needs to know is some essentials if they really want to become an animator.

First thing to know if someone wants to animate is if they have an ambition to tell a story, or have a story in mind,

and an artistic talent. If they want to make an animation

animation.

just to get famous, then that person is heading in with the wrong mindset. As Stephen Burnette, an animation

There are a few reasons to go to school for animation.

and video game designer instructor at McCallum high

Burnette said that from a technical standpoint, one needs

school said, for animation, one must have a passion to

to know animation software. Inexperienced people might

tell stories, and not to do it for fame or the money. It’s a hard industry to get into or to become a household name in. This something where one has to continue to work at. One has to be passionate about it and want to make sure to take their time to perfect it. Someone should want to make their craft special.

Now, as to how to actually get started in animating, one doesn’t need much.

Although there is the traditional handdrawn method, most people now use computers to animate most of their work. Burnette stated that an expensive

Person using drawing program for sketching. (https://pixabay.com/en/drawing-comic-artist-digital-2228403/)

computer is not necessary; there are many computers

have to go to school in order to learn about animation

that are perfectly fine for animating that sell for a

software. Burnette attended The University of Texas

reasonable price. Concerning what program they should

to study film. He explained this is because some film

begin with, there are a lot of programs to work with.

rules do apply to animation, such as camera shots or

There are many free animation programs, but if they

transitions. Another reason to go to school is to improve

want better tools or more options to work with, looking for an animation engine that costs money might be the only option. When starting off, using a cheap, but useful program

“One has to have a passion for [animation] and has to love telling stories, because if one goes into it to make money, then one is in for a big surprise” -Stephen Burnette

their drawing/art skills. If they believe that their art isn’t good enough to make an animation, then applying to an art school that will teach them basic art skills to begin animating.

is a good place to

However, like any

start. According

other college, it’s

to Burnette, programs like Blender or CreaToon are

going to cost you money to attend, so it’s best to have a

good animation softwares for beginners, for 2D and 3D

plan on how to pay for it. However, Torame Tanaka, a

Vintage Fall 2017 27

stop motion animator said the he taught himself how to

through a local film convention. In Austin, Texas, there is

make stop motion animation by himself.

South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival, which is a big festival where many people go to share their own films,

Now that one has the inspiration, the time, the equipment, and the talent, all one has to do is create

An example design of a storyboard (https://pixabay.com/en/blur-close-up-design-designer-1867746/)

and is a great opportunity. Alternately, a person could try others festivals like the Austin Film Festival which is similar to the SXSW festival. Though with technology being so accessible nowadays, submitting an animation to a festival doesn’t seem necessary but there’s no downside to it.

Animation can be a complex and time-consuming hobby

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

Color pencils in a cupholder (https://pixabay.com/en/pencils-colored-drawing-school-933224/

-Walt Disney

something. Tanaka mentioned that his side projects

to have. There are people who want to start animating,

took a lot of time to create. He didn’t want to rush

but don’t because they think that they might not be

them because he wanted it to sprout into something

good at it. However, as Paul Ardon, author of “Whatever

amazing. Considering that they eventually make a short-

You Think, Think the Opposite” once said, “It’s better

animated project, and make sure that everything is up to

to regret what you have done than what you haven’t.”

their standards, it’s time to share it with the world and

Sure one might start off strong with cheap equipment,

thankfully, we live in a world with social media. They

but if they try their hardest, and work hard to create

could share their animation on Youtube, which is the

something that they love, and want to share with others,

most common platform everyone uses, or on Facebook,

there are possibilities that one might be recognized by

Twitter or Instagram. Another option is to share it

someone. Who knows, maybe they may get hired to make

28 Vintage Fall 2017

an animated show for The Disney Channel or Cartoon Network. They have to just work hard and do what they love doing, rather than to spend their lives doing something that they don’t love doing. Even if it seems tough at first, no one should give up. They should build off their failures and forget about the money.

“Animation is about creating the illusion of life. And you can’t create it if you don’t have one.”

-Brad Bird

Vintage Fall 2017 29

A Guide to To Aa Good A Guide Film Good Film What is required to become a better filmmaker By: David Villegas

1 2

3 4 30 Vintage Fall 2017

Every movie starts with an idea, a script. A script includes the actors and the roles that they will play, the dialogue, stage direction, and the movie’s plot.

The characters should be fleshed out.

They need a background, morals, flaws, etc. The viewer needs to care about the characters and they need to feel relatable to them, so the viewer can understand them.

Script

Characters

Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.

These are the basic points that you need to know when writing the plot for your movie.

Plot

Every movie has a story or lore behind it. Create an interesting story. Make the viewer want to learn more about the world where the characters reside in.

story

5

Music sets the tone to what the viewer should feel. Suspense? Fear?

Action? Happiness?

Or mysterious?

Sound

Visuals

7

Do not rush the story.

Pace the movie so the viewer can understand what is happening.

9

6

Timing

Performance Dialogue between characters can say a lot about the person that they are and it can be a good time to deliver some story. It also shows emotion and tone.

How a camera is positioned can change how the viewer perceives the scene. It shows scenery of where the story is taking place.

Actors bring the movie to life. They portray the characters you have created. So you want to make them feel real emotions and reactions.

8

Dialogue

Theme

No matter what genre, every movie has a lesson or message that it wants to teach the viewers.

10

Sources: www.newyorker.com www.nofilmschool.com www.grammar.yourdictionary.com

Vintage Fall 2017 31

Moral-Making Movies How Movies Help Teach Kids

By: Saira Khan

A

s the colors flit through the TV, and the voices filled the room, small children with wide eyes watched the screen with admiration. Their little minds were sucked into the TV, and they took every word in with no questions asked. Squealing in high pitched voices, they pleaded to be like the people on the screen. Like the princess twirling in sparkling dresses, the superheroes with the strength to lift a car and the confidence to rock a world, and the cartoon characters with wide eyes showing them real jobs and how to act proper.

Children need a source of entertainment because they get bored easily. For children, it’s magical. Watching moving pictures that tell a story they’re interested in. It’s like going on a magic carpet ride and experiencing a whole new world. They become entranced with the screen and can’t

“They can transport you somewhere or change your mind about something, and you feel things about people that aren’t there just by sitting and watching.”

32 Vintage Fall 2017

-Meg Rowan

look away. They’re able to learn a lot from movies. Life lessons, how to behave, and the difference between wrong and right. Movies show children the value of friendship, and how sometimes you make mistakes, but that’s okay as long as you learn from them. They present problems in the world that need solving, so children can start thinking

“Movies are interesting to me because they can transport you somewhere or change your mind about something, and you feel things about people that aren’t there just by sitting and watching,” said Meg Rowan, an aspiring film maker, “Movies can empower you to be more than you already are.” Movies always have a

Meg Rowan, a student at McCallum in 2017 hopes to be a director when she grows up in Austin, Texas. (Meg Rowan/2017)

“To me, movies are a breath of fresh air.”

-Meg Rowan

about them and get a glimpse of reality.

Though movies might not always be good for them. Some movies encourage things that parents don’t want to teach their children.

Some movies can be sexist or racist, but not all movies are.

character that someone can relate to or a plot that they find interesting, Rowan believes. They entertain people every day, and give them a phenomenal story.

“To me, movies are a breath of fresh air. They’re an escape and the best escape you can have. You can go almost everywhere with them,” said Rowan. People use movies to forget about what they have to do. They take you away from reality. They’re able to not only relate with the characters in the movie, but with what the characters are going through.

Vintage Fall 2017 33

“I think movies have a big impact on people’s lives because the people watching the movies can connect to the characters in them. They’re able to experience things through characters eyes.”

-Alex Karnell

“I think movies have a big impact on people’s lives because the people watching the movies can connect to the characters in them. They’re able to experience things through characters’ eyes,” said Alex Karnell, a theater

student at Austin High. Whether it’s a love one dying or finding the love of your life. People go through these types of scenarios every day. Seeing them on a screen, and seeing the character react to the scenario helps the watcher relate to the movie more. The viewer is able to see how the character reacted and compare how they themselves reacted to the situation.

Making movies is always about visually sharing a story. Sometimes directors make adaptations of

“I think the purpose of kids movies is entertainment because who doesn’t love a good story [and] to teach lessons, whether it’s to love everyone or to fight for what’s right.”

-Meg Rowan

books because they want to spread it around the world, and they want people to be more aware of the story. “Each movie has a fresh tale to tell and someone’s story to share,” said Karnell. Movies are based on someone’s ideas or someone’s story.

Maybe it’s not the creator’s own story, but the creator is sharing it for a reason. Like every end of the world movie. There’s always a lesson to learn from that. “Wall-E: take care of the planet,” said Violet Stewart, a theater student at Austin High, elaborates. It’s important for people to go deeper than what they see on the screen, and see what the message in the movie was.

A close up of some popular kids movies in 2017.

(Genevieve Clemons/2017).

34 Vintage Fall 2017

with that responsibility. Movies teach children lessons that help them prepare for the real world.

“I think the purpose of kids movies is: entertainment because who doesn’t love a good story [and] to teach lessons, whether it’s to love everyone or to fight for what’s right,” Rowan stated.

It’s easy for kids to learn from movies because they find them interesting. Kids are drawn to movies because they have big imaginations, Rowan said. They’re able to understand the craziness of a children’s movie. They’re also easier to understand. Children don’t really have to use their mind, they just watch and react.

The whole point of making a children’s movie is to teach the kid and get a message across. Directors have to make sure that the point gets through. They have to put a message in their movies to help children learn skills they can use in the real world. Children are highly impressionable, and the directors are able to use that to Violet Stewart is a theater student at Austin High in 2017, help the children for later in life. “Movies and media in and hopes to help with behind the scenes of movies and general have a big impact on children today. Whatever they even write her own. (Violet Stewart/2017) see on TV they assume that’s what reality is. So, directors The movies that give off the biggest lessons are want to get a good message across to teach children what children’s movies. Parents are always trying to find new they should and shouldn’t do,” Karnell said. Children’s ways to discipline their child, and one great way is to sit movies have simple messages to them. For example, them in front of a TV and show them a child-friendly save the planet, be kind to others, follow your heart, and movie. Children grow up, and they’re handed this big everyone’s equal. responsibility that they don’t know what to do with.

Movies help give children that foundation of what to do

“Movies and media in general have a big impact on children today. Whatever they see on TV they assume that’s what reality is.”

-Alex Karnell Vintage Fall 2017 35

THE END