2008 Woodie Awards
Stars shine at Cinema 15 & 16 Film Festival
Issue date: 12/12/07 Section: Entertainment
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When you think of a Hollywood premiere, you expect glitzy lights, camera flashes and adoring crowds. However, the Cinema 15 and 16 students had to deal with rainy weather and backed-up traffic to reach their destination, the annual film festival held at the end of the semester.
Even with the arduous trip, the payoff was worth the struggle. To see their work on the big screen in front of an audience is the ultimate reward for a semester's worth of hard work.
Taught by Maile Ornellas, Cinema 15 is the basic film production class and consists of learning the basics of filmmaking, such as camera work, sound, and lighting. The class has two projects, an "about me" production and the final project, a short film on any topic.
Cinema 16 is the advanced film production class, which builds off of the previous class and incorporates all the lessons taught in Cinema 15. The class also has two projects.
The classes provide students with the framework to begin making their mark in the world of cinema and are the first step into entering the entertainment business.
"I've taught since 1979 and have really worked to build the program," Ornellas said. "It was here before I came; I carried it on."
It was this type of passion and perseverance that makes Ornellas a respected teacher on campus.
"I think she does a great job," said Alex Soleta, 21, a film and television major.
"She is awesome and she is always open to suggestions and allows us to do what we want," said Jason Moricca, 21, a film and television major. "She's a great teacher."
Ornellas' expertise is just one factor in the program's success.
"The Film and Television major has a very strong transfer rate. Easily 90 percent of our students transfer to a four-year college. The counseling program has interviewed our students and they said they felt very well-prepared for upper division course work," Ornellas said.
Notable alumni of the cinema program include Joe Carnahan, director of the feature films "Narc" and "Smokin' Aces," and Samm Styles, an award-winning director of music videos, who has also directed the low budget feature "Black August."
"I started an alumni hall of fame award, where every couple of years we bring back one of our alumni and honor them. They come back and talk to the class, and are a source of inspiration for the class," Ornellas said.
"They have come out as guest speakers in my classes and inspired students and some have set up internships on their movies for SCC students," Ornellas said.
The success rate of students who have taken the class is evident. "A number of my students have obtained internships for George Lucas, which is very hard to get," Ornellas said. "They are competing with Stanford and Berkeley graduate school and NYU students."
"The classes are small and they are hands-on, so it provides a great opportunity, to have a small seminar learning environment. We are very lucky at SCC to have the support for that type of program. Students average 20 students per class, and we have over 90 percent retention. Those are classes they take and the students stick with them," Ornellas said.
However, Ornellas is not the lone supporter of the students. Meike Paniza, the lab tech for the class, is invaluable in her help.
"She brings not only technical assistance to the program," Ornellas said. Paniza's experience includes taking the entire film and media courses at UCLA. Ornellas said, "We are grateful to have her, she is an important part of the tech staff and adds a lot. She's very talented, dedicated and I am appreciative that we have her. We couldn't do what we do without her."
The ability to learn the craft of making a film, whether it is a short or long piece, is invaluable to many students.
"We also have students who have learned sufficient film-making skills for obtaining employment with just their associate's degree," Ornellas said.
"Our students have succeeded in transferring to some of the top schools in the country to study filmmaking and some of our alumni have gone on to illustrious accomplishments in film and in other fields," Ornellas said.
Students had differing opinions on what their favorite part of the class was.
"Aside from the festival, my favorite part was just people giving input, Danny Saechao, 20, a film and television major said. "I liked having class discussions and things."
"I always liked the film festivals, free food and drink and some funny/cool/scary short films," said Lucero.
When asked about the film festival, Blake Curtis, a film and television major said, "Watching people get something out of my movie is where it's at for me. That is what this is all about-seeing them laugh, or have an emotion to something I have done."
Asked on what she thought of the festival, Ornellas said, "I had a good time; I thought there were some really good projects in the festival last night."
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