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FUHS Academy Awards recognize film students

Nancy Heins Glaser

Special to Village News

They say if you do what you love it's never work. That can be said of film/TV teacher George Herring at Fallbrook High who has been working at FUHS for five years.

After seeing his "Film Academy Awards" by special invitation and a short phone interview, I knew this was a winning endeavor. Herring comes equipped with the skills of film and TV production.

Herring began as a substitute English teacher as that was the subject of his college degree. When relocating from the Southeastern U.S. – Miami and Virginia – he sought a school position where he could share his joy not only of the English language and literature but find great students who could most benefit from his humorous style and engaging manner.

Herring is a TV/film and English teacher with stand-up comic chops and lots of hands-on learning, who has put in the time to develop a traditional local origination cable TV station with a public educational governmental focus, the way local cable used to be distributed back in the day.

One thing Herring knew for sure was that he wanted to teach students who might need accelerated English language development to make the most of their English while engaging students with a reason "to work their hearts out."

He found the perfect place in Fallbrook given its diverse student body and highly motivated parents to ensure educational excellence. Fallbrook Union High School District has many AP and IB courses, AVID and alternative high schools to reach most students.

According to Melissa Marovich, FUHSD Director of Student Support Services, Fallbrook High School had a robust TV and Film program that had a setback when key staff retired a few years ago.

She said that last spring, Herring offered to step in and resurrect the program. The TV studio had become the graveyard of outdated equipment. Herring and several other staff members spent countless days last summer sorting through and cleaning out the studio, editing spaces, storage and archives to start the program fresh.

Though the FUHS equipment was outdated and the studio was largely being used for storage, the students were motivated, especially Adam Rodarte who collected the signatures of 60 people asking for the film/TV department to be upgraded, showing there was not only interest but a will to do this.

For less than $2,000 Herring obtained cameras, got computers that could accommodate movie editing, enough for weekly use of five or six cameras at any given time, with one or two always needing charging, repairs or maintenance.

Herring started off by reintroducing TV/film to the faculty and students on campus through a daily news and announcements show via a YouTube channel schoolwide.

"George and his students have positively changed the culture of the school through their daily news broadcasts, sharing good news, telling personal stories, helping connect people and resources, and giving everyone a regular platform for the great things happening at Fallbrook High," Marovich said.

Herring knew there was need to show others what work was being done to encourage the students, parents and teaching community. So, he began his Fallbrook High Horror Film Contest, not only to celebrate their successful completion of an assignment but also to build a community of students.

By making the film after a weeklong study of German Expressionism, students understood the jargon and history of the film genre where the focus is conveying a story.

The students were put together in random groupings. On the day a group was filmed in front of a live audience, anyone could also access the filming online where all could assess their story telling ability via film.

The top two from each group went to the final round the following week. It took three weeks to present all six films and then, in front of a live audience, the best of the best was selected. I witnessed this firsthand; the school library became electrified with sounds of laughter and applause.

Awards categories were for favorite script, editor, actor, director and film. Because it was an online vote like "The Voice" or "America's Got Talent" and "Dancing with the Stars," the results and reward of acknowledgement were immediate.

The Red Carpet and the FUHS Film Academy Awards was a big hit and will no doubt grow in popularity.

Next up for Herring's classes is highlighting the genre of "Italian Neorealism," where artistic elements become key and sound quality is highly refined and woven into the films.

Sounds like there is enough good stuff for all of Fallbrook to be involved in film/TV and this just the beginning from which everyone can benefit.

Look out Fallbrook, with an evolving and expanding renovated Mission Theatre there is talk of bringing back The Fallbrook Film Festival. The students, of course, will be part of the mix.

All the winners of the festival as well as the 18 films submitted can be viewed at http://gherring.edublogs.org/

"As Director of Student Services, it has been a joy to watch the digital media courses come to life under George's leadership. My job is to support George with the time and resources he needs to deliver a high-quality program to students. His students are very creative and hard-working, they and their work are a credit to the school," Marovich said, adding that while Herring provides guidance and support, most of the ideas come from the students themselves.

"They have produced segments for the news that build a better, more positive school campus. I am so proud to have been able to play a small, supporting role in helping George and his students shine," Marovich said.

To help with funding film/TV equipment such as editing equipment/edit suite like final cut pro or adobe premiere contact Marovich at (760) 723-6332 ext. 6296.

 

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