- Hi, I'm Emma
Livingston-Vargas,
and did you know
that Seattle's high schools
are nurturing young artists,
creating wonderful work?
- I'm Gianna Goldyn.
And coming up,
we'll look
at some very talented
filmmakers in Seattle
public schools.
(♪♪)
- Welcome
to a special program
from one of Seattle's
most legendary high schools.
Garfield High School
is located in Seattle's
historic Central District.
We all recognize Garfield
as the school
that gave the world
groundbreaking musicians
like Quincy Jones
and Jimi Hendrix.
And it's where at the time,
Senator Barack Obama
gave a historic speech
here in Seattle
during his first
presidential campaign.
- But Garfield is just
one of many high schools
here in Seattle,
all of which are unique
in their own way.
- Even though we mention
famous musicians
like Jimi Hendrix,
several of our high schools
have made a mark
in another artistic medium.
- Yes, in filmmaking,
our schools have nurtured
many talented filmmakers.
Ballard is
internationally known
for filmmaking.
We've won
hundreds of awards
and competed for
several decades.
Here's a look at some of the
best work from Ballard High.
(♪♪)
We were halfway around the
world
when autumn
slipped to spring,
and the star spun with joy
as we were dancing.
(♪♪)
- There is a garden...
haning over me.
It’s simple you
could plant a thousand seeds.
(♪♪)
- Hey, get your book
out of my space.
- I'm just trying to be...
(muffled arguement)
- Guys, knock it off!
- Don't shove me!
- Guys.
What is happening over here?
(♪♪)
- Waystone is a
very special place.
It is a social club.
It is a bar
and it is a gaming space.
- I decided to start
going to Waystone
because I was
I was very bored with life.
I had nothing to do.
I was looking for new hobbies
and I.
I said to myself,
you know what?
This year
I'm getting into Warhammer.
And then I bought the book
and I read it, and I'm like,
I have no...
- It’s fun when one thing leads you
to the next thing.
And you just try.
You keep experimenting.
That's, you know, so
whatever my latest
thing is, is usually
what I'm most excited about.
- For me
personally, technique plays
like a really big role
in my photography.
Like,
I always prefer
Polaroids and film
over digital
just because you get one shot
and you don't really
know if it works out
right away.
But analog, in
my opinion, just captures
that moment more.
- I think,
tapes are having a
resurgence of popularity
because after a decade
or more with streaming,
people want
a more tangible item,
something they can show
their friends.
- My name is Ellen Chow
My maiden name is
Shi Yan Mi
I was, born
to a Chinese couple
from Manchuria, China.
But, I was born in the,
behind the front line
in the central China.
(Godzilla screams)
(Explosion)
- That's her.
That's her job.
I mean, that's
how she's going to live her
life.
(♪♪)
It corrupts her soul.
And this is what it does to our society.
It promotes promiscuity. It promotes whoredom.
(tires screech)
- Hey are you Mark?
- Yes.
- Info on the lady
is all in here.
Her name, her address,
everything you need.
She ain't going to
be expecting you.
You’re going to need this to.
Appreciate you doing this.
Just a little old lady.
She might fight back
a little bit.
It's all good.
Just find out
any excuse
to get inside the front door
once you're inside, it's
going to go fine.
Give me a call
when it's done.
You'll be compensated.
- Give you a call?
- What, are you deaf?
Just call me when it's done.
Listen, I got to go.
It's going to be fine.
15 grand's
pretty good, right?
Lucky for you, I'm desperate.
(♪♪)
I will never find the words,
I’ll spend the rest of my life,
I want you to know.
Letters to Melissa
(screams)
(♪♪)
- The Ballard
filmmaking program
was founded
about 22 years ago
by Matthew Lawrence,
who grew it
from a single class
to being five classes
a day
of beginning and advanced
and special
projects filmmakers,
and took it in the direction
of making short films, short
documentaries, etc.
really focusing
on storytelling,
but also technical issues
of lighting, camera,
especially audio.
- I was taking pictures
of everything
and they weren't very good,
but I just,
I loved it and I kept
kept doing it.
- What inspires you?
Like creative work
is really like what I see
on film.
Like a lot of directors
inspire me
and as well as like
my passions like,
you know, my hobbies
like Warhammer or sports,
stuff like that.
So just kind of
what I see around me
and like my passions are.
- What has been
the biggest inspiration
for me
has been seeing the work
that my peers do.
- A lot of my inspiration
comes from going to parks
I like or like seeing
really cool locations,
and I'm like,
I want to film there.
And then I base
a story off of that location.
- I think the project that I'm
the most proud of
is this documentary
that I did,
called a moment in time.
It was a documentary
about several local artists,
and I'm really
proud of the story
that I was able to convey.
And just the messages
about perfection
and just perseverance.
- Get in there and create
and you're going to fail.
But those failures will
lead you to the next thing.
- One of the projects
I'm most proud of
was something I made
in my junior year,
and it was a really cool
narrative music video
that went all throughout the
Discovery Park
and some downtown,
and it was just a lot of fun.
- Working as a team together
is the skill
I really try to
impart on them,
because that's
what they're going to be
doing in the workplace.
No matter what they do,
they're going to be working in teams.
- I think that this program
has really helped me
be good,
like working with
people
and being good
at supporting people.
- I really only have
the 2% through
including myself.
So it's really just
me and another friend
from the film program.
- I do especially enjoy
just the community
that this program
has fostered,
and I hope that it continues
to set me up again
for a professional stand.
The professional standards
on sets.
- I hope that this program,
and I think it will,
sets me up for film school,
and that I also hope
that I'm able
to see these people
and work with these people
in the future.
- It's great
going on the journey
that they're going on
and seeing them discover
what they can do
and what they can achieve.
If you show up
and you've planned it all out
and you have a vision
and you pitch it,
there's no limitations.
(♪♪)
- Just ahead,
we'll take you to
one of Seattle's
most special
learning environments,
and we'll see how it impacts
what they see through camera.
- We are the
everyday storytellers
of this great city.
We are Seattle Channel, a
gateway to
everything Seattle,
the intersection
between government,
culture, news
and the ever unfolding
story of the city
we call home.
So follow your curiosity
and come explore
Seattle with us.
Seattle Channel.
- Welcome back
to our special program.
The Center School offers
a unique learning environment
for artistically minded
students here in Seattle.
Located
within the Seattle Center
Armory, students
are given lots
of opportunities
to explore their creativity.
- But how does that transfer
to a camera lens,
especially that of video
and film?
Well, let's take a look.
(♪♪)
-The Center
School's been
around since 2001.
We're an alternative
high school here
in the heart of
Seattle Center,
which is just
got some, like, 72 acres of,
arts campus to explore
and leverage that resource.
I've been in this role
for five years.
I think
what sets our program apart,
is that we have a really big
focus on
film studies and, you know,
film history and analysis,
and then using
that as sort of
a creative tool
to sort of pick apart films,
see what's going on there,
and then leveraging
techniques and devices
and figuring out
how the narratives
can unfold from there.
- Things that inspire
my creative work
are other people's
creative work.
For one thing, movies
like alien
or the old Nosferatu movies
or big ones.
I love to get
inspiration from
things I find interesting.
I find a lot of things
in nature interesting
insects, anatomy,
sort of scientific,
things like that.
So I'd
say the main
things that inspire me
are just kind of
my areas of interest
that aren't necessarily art,
and the artists
that have already made things
that I can look to.
The project I'm most proud of
is probably my,
the weird
and the eerie movie.
My project
was just a little,
sort of experiment
where I wanted to
add animation
to movie
on top of it,
on top of my film.
So I had a friend of mine
run around
pretending to chase
a small animal
and then drew in a weird animal.
- There's a few things
that I see
this class
being really successful at.
I see it, you know,
bringing out
some emotional confidence.
I see it bringing out
leadership skills.
Whether or not
a student
wants to go to film school
or go to Hollywood.
Those are life skills
and I hope that,
you know, whatever
it is, students will
continue to make art,
even if it's not video.
- I just
I hope this program
kind of just takes me
into having a broader view
of different types of art.
I do a lot of drawing.
I do a lot of, like, literal,
drawing on paper and pen.
So film was an interesting
sort of
way to branch out, I suppose.
I have no idea where
I'm going in the future, but,
I think it's
good to have
a lot of experience
and different types of works,
and I think that film
is a really cool
type of work, cause I,
I think it's awesome
to get the chance
to look at it, make it.
- From their comments,
you can tell the Center
School is a fun place
to learn.
The students
there are having a blast
exploring their creativity
and imagination.
- And I think we can say that
for all of our programs,
when we look
at the quality of the work
and how courageous
we all are.
Coming up, we'll take a look
at one more high
school program,
the one I'm a part of.
That's Garfield.
Stay with us.
(♪♪)
- Emma,
now it's your time
to highlight your Bulldogs.
Though Garfield's
program is barely
six years old.
You guys are
already achieving
great things in high
school filmmaking.
- Thanks, Jenna.
In that time,
we earned a couple
dozen student production
award nominations
and several wins
with what we called the Student Emmys.
And like Ballard,
we did well in a few
other competitions.
- Here now is a look
at some of the fine work
that Garfield's been doing.
- I've met some of
my closest friends
in the jazz program, and we
we just kind of,
we get to play music
that we love together
every single day.
- I feel like there's
so much to love.
I feel like,
the community is a big one.
It's a big part.
I mean, most of
people in jazz
one have known each other
since January.
So it kind of makes
a bond of, like,
you know, everybody's
just like such close friends.
- The community in
jazz is very tight knit,
a lot of inside jokes,
a lot of
friendships and stuff.
And we're
all just having a good time.
- It's, I think, special
for the students to be able
to see themselves
on that kind of a stage,
because it's pretty rare
when you
go into the real world
to be able to go back on a stage
like that.
You know, you're
the assumption is
you're a performer
and you're that's
what you're making
a living doing.
So for me,
really what it meant
kind of translates
more what it meant
for the students
and that
giving them opportunity
to see sort of what,
what kind of opportunity
exists out
in the world musically.
And that's one of the benefits
of a program
like Garfield
is that they get to go
on these huge stages,
and for some of them,
they'll never get
to do that again
in their life. So that. Me.
(♪♪)
- Today's
forecast calls
for a 100% chance
of sudden thunder.
Do not go golfing.
(♪♪)
(alien sounding language)
- Mom, I'm talking to everyone
no one's making sense.
So it's like I got struck
by lightning. I got struck...
(alien sounding language)
(cat meows)
So. Looks like I
struck by lightning.
(♪♪)
- That you makes up stories
She’s got lots to tell you.
Still I am worrying about nothing
But it sounds.
(♪♪)
But it sounds.
(♪♪)
Cuz it sounds.
(loud pounding at the door)
(suspensful music)
(creaking floors)
(♪♪)
Hey, are you okay?
Yeah.
Give me a minute.
(♪♪)
- You know, we're still a young program.
We're a work in progress,
but every year,
I think
we take another step forward,
and we show that there is
not just value
in a program like this,
but there is value
in the community
that we're drawing from,
and it's about them
and their future.
- Seeing just
what other students make over
common movies and stuff,
I think
is more helpful for me
to see it
like, oh, these kids
the same age as me did that.
- I can see like a lot of
like YouTube videos, movies,
TV shows, stuff like that.
I like
and mostly just inspired
by that. I love, like,
so my favorite directors, I
love David Lynch,
I love Wong Kar Wai,
John Waters, stuff like that.
- So I'm really inspired
by just like
what goes on around me.
I definitely
take a lot of inspiration
from the community here.
Garfield.
- Este programa ayuda
mucho a gente puedas descubrir
su habilidades
o incluso si no sabían
que las tenían las puedan
uh, como
si descubrir
o mejorar que importante.
- They represent the future
and they're standing
on the shoulders of giants.
My job is to show them
the Giants,
show them
what the Giants did,
show them
what the Giants
have come up with,
and then let them
evolve it from there.
- I will look back and remember
how Mr.
Pugh really helped us
with our creative visions.
And I think that
it was important that
he had a unique way of,
teaching us and showing
us how to work on films.
- Coming into this class.
I feel like
I've just
grown a lot from this,
and I've sort of,
found a new path
that I wasn't
expecting to go on.
So, it's been it's
been pretty great.
- En las comunicaciones
en los videos, me gustan
porque representan un
un conjunto de emociones
y sentimientos,
así que si me gustaría
que en un futuro
puedas a ir
aprendiendo y mejorando mis habilidades.
- I am going to school
for film,
and I definitely
wouldn't have like,
known like,
that's such a passion
without this program.
Like it really like
that was like where I, like,
just made like a short
film and stuff like that.
So like,
it's been really like
inspirational to
like continue that.
And so I'm excited to like,
continue the film in college.
- And that wraps up
this special program
highlighting our award
winning Seattle high school
film and video programs.
- We're all hoping it's
a glimpse into the future
of the next generation
of inspiring filmmakers
and producers
to come out of our city.
I'm Emma Livingston-Vargas.
- And I'm Gianna Goldyn.
Thank you for watching.
(♪♪)