California filmmaker discovers local talent
A SLICE of showbiz came to the North Burnett to inspire a generation of students to take up filmmaking.
Academy Award-winning cinematographer (The Cove) Greg Huglin was invited by the North Burnett Regional Council to deliver a filmmaking workshop to Monto State High School last Monday, thanks to a grant from the Regional Arts Development Funding.
“Monto students have huge screen talent,” Mr Huglin said.
“I’m really proud of their short scripted Kindness Umbrella film they created in just one day.”
With more than 50 years as a cinematographer based in California, Mr Huglin is very familiar with filming and photographing actors and models.
After becoming an Australian citizen on a rare distinguished talent visa, Mr Huglin is committed to giving back to Queensland’s rural youth by teaching screen production.
Mr Huglin immersed the Year 9 and 10 drama students in hands-on roles as his Noosa Film Academy film crew.
Beginning the day with a careers guidance movie montage and production meeting, Mr Huglin taught the students to shoot scenes from a storyboard using a state of the art, industry level, ultra-high definition 5K Red Epic camera as used in The Hobbit and Star Wars.
“Shooting a film is a team effort and the students became directors, producers, script writers, actors, sound technicians and clapperboard operators,” he said.
“We worked hard and laughed hard, too.”
The day finished with collaborative editing and the short film being uploaded to YouTube, a useful addition to the students’ portfolios.