This past August Renee decided to go back to school - she enrolled at the Colorado Film School. As a new student she decided to dive right in and take 4 classes - one was Short Script Screen Writing and the other was Production One. Production One is all about learning the basics of film making - how to use a camera, lighting, different jobs on the set, sound - a broad overview of the process but nothing super advanced. The students learn by hands on exercises - the culmination of the course is the creation of a 5 minute short.
Last night the entire school got together at the Harkins theater in Northfield to view the best films of the summer and fall semesters from all the students - the Academy Awards for the school. The place was packed - standing room only and hundreds of films were submitted by close to a thousand students - only a handful were selected for viewing. Renee's was one of the few that made it to the big screen.
What really impressed me about the entire program was every single film from the first years to the 16mm cinematographer film makers was of extremely high quality from an artistic and storytelling standpoint. The bar was very high. For a first year student, just being selected for this event is an honor. To actually win an award is even better. Renee actually won Best Film for Production One - she also was nominated for best film overall and best writing.
Congratulations Renee - amazing talent - all of the long hours and sleepless nights plus suffering through my complaining about how you're going overboard on your homework have paid off. Good thing you didn't listen to me.
Here is her film:
