Epilogue Ezine Fall 2021
Table of Contents CAST Letter From the Editors Overcoming Lockdown with Film Which of These Eight Classic Films Should You Watch Next?
6-7 Frogby Sachs 8-11 Frogby Sachs 12-13
Keep Film Weird
Henry Davis 14-17
Films Shot in Austin
Henry Davis 18-19
EPILOGUE MAGAZINE Epilogue | 4
CAST Shimmering Barton Springs
Zack Ellington 20-23
Which Movie Genre is the Best?
Zack Ellington 24-25
Skate Film Tech Companies
Ben Bird 26-29 Ben Bird 30-31
And We’re Rolling
Storey Flowers 32-35
How to Enjoy the Movies
Storey Flowers 36-37
5 | Epilogue
Creating this magazine was definitely a journey. At the beginning of the year, we were a bit of a mess, what with slow computers (that didn’t change) and questionable work ethics (let’s say that changed). Each of us was stressed at some times and procrastinating and goofing off at others. Not to mention, we went from a group of four to a group of five midway through the semester. But by the end of it, we all left this experience as better designers, writers, and friends. We hope you enjoy whatever it is that we’ve managed to create.
Ben is a 14 year old freshman LASA student, born and raised in Texas. Some of Ben’s hobbies include skateboarding, filming, photography and drawing. He has been skating since he was 5. He was even flown to New York to film a skate video for a company. Ben hopes you enjoy the magazine!
Henry is a freshman at LASA High School. He enjoys playing soccer, going on hikes, staying up late, and being with his friends. He loved writing his feature story so much. He also turned in every single assignment on time for this class.
Epilogue | 6
Meet the Editors Henry, Storey, Frogby, Zack, and Ben
Zack is your average freshman LASA student, a hilarious, ambitious, and honest kind of person. He enjoys playing video games with friends, cross country (mostly), and has an extreme obsession with film editing. But most importantly, he hopes you enjoy the magazine! And if you don’t enjoy it, Zack might just want to have a word with you...
Storey is a 9th grader at LASA High School. In her free time she enjoys baking, listening to musicians like Harry Styles and Megan Thee Stallion and hanging out with her friends. She is on the swim team at LASA and regrets joining every time she has to wake up at 5am for practice, but soon after changes her mind because it’s fun (sometimes).
Frogby is just like everyone else in Ezine in that they are in 9th grade at LASA. They are not just like everyone else in that they are a diver, have a shaved head, and exclusively wear button-up shirts with potentially seizureinducing patterns. They do not have a sleep schedule as it has been replaced with an affinity for combat boots and frogs.
7 | Epilogue
Overcoming Lockdown with Film
The AFS Cinema reopens after a 16-month closure. Photo courtesy of Jana Birchum. Epilogue | 8
A Written by Frogby Sachs
How did Local Film Establishments Solve the Pandemic?
dusty lot, an empty shop, a boarded-up restaurant. We’ve all seen it. Especially over this past year and a half, it’s inevitable that some establishments just aren’t going to make it. Almost every business in Austin was closed for many months, if not a year or more before beginning to reopen. In just the spring of 2020, 1.4 million Texans lost their jobs, according to the Texas Tribune. Most businesses across Texas, the U.S. and the world have had a hard time keeping things running as usual, and film-related businesses have been hugely affected by the pandemic. Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive In, a drive-in theater local to Austin, has been doing great, or as great as you can be in such an unpredictable and wild time. “My business is made for pandemics, we thrive in pandemics, so there really are no downsides to my business during a pandemic,” Josh Frank, CEO of Blue Starlite, said. Frank is a self-proclaimed artist who enjoys “creating and inventing and playing.” During the time of widespread shutdown in Austin, Frank did some of the best innovating he’d ever done. He put together three personal one-car-only screens for his drive-in, and the reception has been incredible. “Sunday night, Saturday night and Friday night, all three [personal screens] were rented out,” Frank said. Frank’s innovative and imaginative approach to his business as well as the luck he’s had in not having to adapt much to the pandemic has served him well. In spite of this, he’s
experiencing some difficulty at the moment. “There’s no predicting this business,” Frank said. “Last night was a Sunday and we were super busy, and today’s a Monday and we got nothing. We got three tickets today. And next Monday, we might be super busy, and that’s what makes it really difficult.” Frank explained that it’s been this way for years and that it’s just like this for his business and others like his own. His one exception to this issue, however, is private rentals. “We have big companies that, over the last two years, normally would spend tens of thousands of dollars running out of some fancy hotel,” Frank said, “and they come to us because we’re the most interesting option that they have for bringing their events outdoors.” He added that before the pandemic, he got two or three of these jackpot rentals in a year, but that during the pandemic, that number was easily 20 or 30. However, not every business was so lucky in keeping business up and running as usual. The Austin Film Society Cinema, Austin’s only nonprofit art house theater, was closed for 16 months before finally reopening in July. To stay afloat, the AFS Cinema applied for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, or the SVOG. Aaron Malzahn, Business and Technical Manager at the AFS Cinema, explained that receiving this grant “helped us out tremendously, as well as the number of loans that they were able to give us.” Malzahn added that the organization had to make some difficult decisions during lockdown. “Unfortunately, at the cinema, we had to lay off all of our part time workers,” Malzahn said. “We also, organization-wide, 9 | Epilogue
had to lay off a third of our full time staff. Then we had to go through a lot of budgeting to see what our emergency plans were [and] how long we could keep this going, and we had to weigh that with the safety that we all felt in doing business that would not put anybody in danger.” Malzahn attributed this
sibling organization Austin Film Society Cinema. “As a studio, it was competitively a very good time to be in the studio business because productions wanted to be shooting in studios and because moving people around was becoming very difficult,” Martin Jones, director of Austin Studios, said in
“The response from our community was incredible. We had some of the best weeks we had ever had.” extended closure to the organization’s high interest in keeping those who come into the cinema safe. Luckily for the AFS Cinema, once the organization finally reopened, immediate success was evident. “The response from our community was incredible,” Malzahn said. “We had some of the best weeks we had ever had. When we opened in July of this year, the first two weeks that we were open were some of the biggest in our record.” On top of the high attendance, the cinema received a big boost to kickstart its reopening. “Our members are very generous, and we got about $255,000 from many hundreds of people who donate,” Malzahn added. “It was very, very great to see that support from the community and know that people wanted us to still be here.” Austin Studios, a branch of the larger Austin Film Society that is dedicated to renting out space that local filmmakers can shoot in, hasn’t had all the same benefits and issues as its Epilogue | 10
reference to the time of lockdown in mid-2020. Jones went on to explain that in the time when the studio didn’t have any shows shooting because of necessary safety protocols, the staff spent the year “updating our new strategic plan, our program plans and getting ready to launch new programs.” He also shared that he and his teams “did things that are a nuisance when people are filming, like digging up sewage lines, fixing parking lots and pavement,
replacing air conditioning units and painting and stripping floors.” In normal times, Jones said, you have to work these maintenance tasks around filming at the convenience of the renter, but when no one is using your space, you can be far more productive in these chores. The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, the same grant that helped keep AFS Cinema part of Austin culture, greatly benefited Austin Studios as well. Jones explained that this grant came to the Austin Film Society as a whole and thus assisted each sub-organization in its troubles, of which Austin Studios ran into its fair share during the pandemic.
The new Creative Media Center at Austin Studios. Photo courtesy of Suzanne Cordeiro. Josh Frank shows a Blue Starlitebranded mask. Photo courtesy of Olivia Aldridge.
“We lost people,” Jones said in reference to the organization’s tough decision to lay off 45 employees in the Austin Studios division alone. “We had a great team of full time people, and losing some of the people that are on your boat, running those orders, [meant] you had less people power. That put a greater responsibility on the people who remained. There were times where it was quite intense or tedious to try to
though Austin Studios is a nonprofit organization, their employees still have to make money. The organization managed to achieve this with the “incredible resilience of our industry, and the creativity that people have been putting forward with solid grounding and science and safety.” Each business struggles and succeeds in their own way, overcoming the hugest of obstacles or working around some unexpected challenge.
“There were times where it was quite intense or tedious to try to keep an organization moving.” keep an organization moving.” In explanation of the effects of the choice to let some employees go, Jones said that “making those very tough decisions, and making them very early on, helped to stabilize our organization.” He went on to say that even
These three organizations have encountered their fair share of ups and downs, and now that we’re in recovery from a time of shut-down businesses and mass laying off of workers, we can only hope that things will just go up from here. 11 | Epilogue
which of these eight
Whether you’re watching films in-theatre or streaming from home, there’s nothing quite like the magic of a classic film. But with so many options, which should you choose? Find out with this quiz.
Written by Frogby Written by Frogby Sachs Sachs
classic Films should you
watch next?
Fantasy or realistic?
Fantasy all the way! I’d go for lighthearted.
The Wizard of Oz
Dark comedy is my favorite.
The Wizard of Oz, released in 1939 and starring Judy Garland, is a classic many hold dear to their hearts.
The Sound of Music The Sound of Music, released in 1965 and starring Julie Andrews, is a fun family favorite. 12 Epilogue | 12
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard, filmed in 1950 and starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson, is a satirical drama.
Singin’ In the Rain Singin’ In the Rain, a 1952 film, is a musical comedy starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds.
START HERE
Like musicals?
Oh, for sure!
Mystery any day!
I prefer realistic...
Comedy or lighthearted?
I’ll take a rom-com.
Not so much...
Lighthearted comedy!
How to Steal a Million How to Steal a Million, starring Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole, was released in 1966 and is a romantic comedy.
Mystery or romance?
Romance for me, please. I want a film with both!
The Lady Vanishes The Lady Vanishes, with Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave, is a Hitchcock 1938
Breakfast at Tiffany’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, filmed in 1961 with Audrey Hepburn, is a classic romantic comedy.
Some Like It Hot Some Like It Hot, filmed in 1959 with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemon, is a romantic mystery. 13 | Epilogue 13
Keep
Film
weird
Written by Henry Davis
Epilogue | 14
Austin’s unique style with film and how it persevered through a pandemic
F
or decades, people have noted Austin as a hub for film. With many famous directors, producers, and other filmmakers living here and making movies, the film scene in Austin has become very large. Some say we have a unique style, and some say that we are very diverse in our film.
creative people,” Scott said “That leads to perhaps not a booming film industry, but definitely one that’s consistent and puts out a lot of very interesting stuff.”
Several Austin-based magazines, such as the Chronicle and The Statesman, have film critics that bolster the Austin film industry and help people choose which movies they want to watch. One of these reviewers is James Scott, a proofreader and film critic for the Austin Chronicle. He loves films, especially ones made in Austin.
“I think we have a very robust community of creative people”
“I think we have a very robust community of
Scott thinks Texas has a
very unique and distinct style when it comes to making films. “I think Texas films in general have a really specific and unique voice because this is a very specific and unique state,” Scott said.
Deb Lewis, a film professor at the University of Texas at Austin and cinematographer, agrees with Scott. She has shot many productions in Austin such as The Making of Dazed and Confused and All of Me. Lewis does not think Austin necessarily has a unique style of film, but a much stronger industry than other places. “I wouldn’t say it has a specific style,” Lewis said. “I mean, there’s more independent filmmaking made here... you’re not going to see someone make Revenge of the Sith here. So it’s more limited, and a lot of people come here to make more independent films, but there are all sorts of types of independent films.” 15 | Epilogue
Many famous Austin films are independent films. Slacker, written, produced and directed by Richard Linklater, is an example of an independent film made in Austin. Linklater casted random people he saw around the city to be in the movie, and in the end, his idea worked out very well.
Deb Lewis filming Making Dazed.
Several of his films were Photo courtesy of Deb Lewis. filmed in and around the city. Lewis remembers coming to it started, productions Austin at a very pivotal time influential director in the Austin film industry. across the city started to in its growth as a film center. slow down. Some were even “See, I think that [Linklater] canceled altogether.” “I came here right when created the feeling of what Richard Linklater’s Slacker Austin was in the film world, “I think we haven’t been was just coming out, which but I think it’ s broken out able to come together as a was a really important film community. And I think that’s and in the Austin film scene, from that...I don’t think it’s limited by that,” Marino said. the biggest loss, because and I just got here at the there’s certain times during right time, and I’ve been here ever since,” Lewis said. She believes that the Austin the year when you can... all film scene is very diverse gather together like... the film festival and some events, Leah Marino is an editor and and not limited by a single style. you know, at the Austin Film producer, who has worked Society and things like that. on several projects such “Before the pandemic, we We were all able to come as Motherland, Southwest didn’t think anything could together and see what’s of Salem, and 7 Chinese suppress Austin’s voice in happening.” Brothers. She agrees that film,” Marino said “But when Richard Linklater is a very
Behind the scenes of Slacker, 1996. Photo courtesy of Criterion. Epilogue | 16
Marino also thinks that the pandemic hindered our ability to share ideas and come together over film. Several festivals and screenings were canceled, which lowered the enthusiasm of fans and filmmakers.
COVID protocols that really helped to get filming started again, in Austin, and kept a lot of people pretty safe,’’ Scott said. “Even though it was more expensive, it was definitely creating a lot less liability. And it’s getting back up to speed postvaccination.”
“I hope the future of Austin film is that it continues to grow as an industry”
Once the COVID-19 vaccine became available and widespread, production started to come back. Hypnotic, directed by Robert Rodriguez, is being produced in Austin right
“At South [by Southwest], we would have a party afterwards, and we could see each other and say, ‘We haven’t seen each other in six months,’ and the community kind of felt connected because of that,’’ Marino said. “I feel like those connections are harder to happen now. See, we’re all...in our own little universes more [than] without with COVID.” It was incredibly difficult to produce a film during the pandemic. The strict safety precautions prevented creative vision, and many sets and studios were closed. Directors found it harder to organize shots with people standing close to each other, and the crew had to work with social distancing too. However, the film industry adapted. “I know that the film industry started to put together
“It’s so hard to predict,” Marino said “It’s grown so much. This guy who lives across the street from me is a filmmaker, too. It’s just crazy.” She also believes that the industry will come back strong post-pandemic. “[The film industry] is going to come back and I don’t know what’s going to happen… What kind of fresh, new ideas are people going to come up with the way [films are shown]?” Marino asked. Scott hopes that the film industry continues to grow and come up with new ideas.
Robert Rodriguez on the set of Hypnotic. Photo courtesy of the Austin Chronicle. now in Rodriguez’s studios. The film crew has been seen wearing masks and following correct safety protocols to ensure production goes smoothly. Who knows what the future holds for film in Austin after the pandemic. Filmmakers have had a lot of time to think, so they may come back with new ideas. Marino thinks the industry could go any way.
“I hope the future of Austin film is that it continues to grow as an industry… and that a lot of the initiatives and other projects that have been cropping up allow for more diversity in the film industry are able to thrive,” Scott said. Naturally, the unique style found in Austin film comes from the people that live here. Scott recognizes that without them, our creative voice would be gone. “For most creative industries in Austin, in general, [I hope the] technification and high cost of living don’t drive a lot of the cool weirdos out of town,”Scott said. “That continues to be a very distinctive creative voice within Austin.” 17 | Epilogue
Shot in
Films Austin
Written by Henry Davis
SLACKER
Director: Richard Linklater Writer: Richard Linklater
Slacker is a unique film following the lives of several misfits or “slackers”.
v
Director: Richard Linklater Writer: Richard Linklater
Set in 1976, Dazed and confused is a coming of age high school film with a cult following.
Epilogue | 18
For many years, Austin has been a hub for film makers. There are many studios across the city that are available to anyone who wants to shoot. Take a look and see what movies were shot in the capital of the Lone Star State.
IDIOCRACY
Director: Mike Judge Writer: Etan Cohen
BOYHOOD
A man and woman get sent to 2505, where human intellegence has taken a turn for the worse.
Director: Richard LInklater Writer: Richard Linklater
Another coming of age film, Boyhood follows a young man over 12 years of his life
TRUE GRIT
Director:Joel and Ethan Coen Writer: Joel and Ethan Coen
True Grit is a western revenge story filmed in Austin and surrounding areas.
19 | Epilogue
Shimmering Barton Springs
The story of how a documentary helped save our local Austin springs
Written by Zack Ellington
“Barton Springs is never saved, you have to save it every day.”
Epilogue | 20
utside of a council O chamber, thousands have gathered to create
history in Austin, Texas. The people wanted to convince and plead with lawmakers to save one of the cities’ most prized possessions. What could be so priceless for thousands to actively protect it? What is the background behind this story? These questions are answered in an obscure yet important documentary made almost three decades ago. The 1990s were a booming time for the city of Austin. The city was a national hub of music, cuisine and natural wildlife. Around a two mile walk from the capitol building was Barton Springs, a natural aquifer that the Austin locals loved to swim in. But in 1993, the springs were pushed into the public spotlight, thanks to a documentary titled ‘Common Ground: The Battle for Barton Springs’ made by film producer Karen Kocher. “It is an exquisite natural spring,” Brigid Shea, a commissioner representative in Travis County, said. “And I believe it is the only case where a relatively clean, natural spring still flows and is safe for human contact in the heart of a major urban area. I’ve researched it, and the
only [other] examples people can give me are springs found in Iceland and maybe Sweden or Finland, but they’re all in remote areas with very small populations. I’ve not found any other place in the world that still has a clean flowing spring in the heart of a major urban area.” Common Ground addresses the environmental crisis going on at the time, and how the Save our Springs (S.O.S.) Coalition, an allegiance of Austin citizens who made it a priority to protect the springs, helped keep the springs safe and clean from erosion from estate construction. “The way that I saw the community rallying around the place was so amazing to me. People were really standing up and speaking out on behalf of it, and it was all kinds of people, and I thought that was really interesting,”Kocher said. Common Ground was a large group effort that consisted of many videographers, production assistants, sound composers, and more, all led by Karen to archive this period of Austin History. What originally started as a small college production turned into a large-scale operation that featured on several television programs.
21 | Epilogue
e were just grads “W in a radio piece in the department,” Sandra
Guardado, one of the videographers that worked on the documentary said. “At the time, [the] philosophy in the department was working to [help] graduate students who did not necessarily have backgrounds and have something interesting to say. They will teach you the tools, technically something to take care of.” Being a part of a film of any kind is no easy task. Many aspiring filmmakers don’t know how to organize and plan a project from start to finish. Experienced producers struggle with it as well. Sometimes, adapting to changes is better than trying to plan everything out. “I think the challenges are the same, no matter if it’s your first or second project, you just kind of know, the more you do it,” Kocher said. “It’s just the self doubt that comes in, when it’s your responsibility to shape the story. And the idea that this is not going to happen. No, I can’t, I just can’t understand how to do this. So I think self doubt is one of the big things that you have to know that once you’ve dealt with it once, you know that in most cases, there’s a way to problem talk your way out of any situation.” Expertise in filmmaking or videography usually comes down to how much experience you have in the field. While learning opportunities such as education and internships can provide a boost in your projects in life, the main thing that separates the novices and the masters of filmmaking is how much experience they have. “It might not be Epilogue | 22
This was a cover used in promotion of the Common Ground documentary. Credit to Karen Kocher. exactly the right way,” Guardado said, “But at least it’s kind of like getting near them, where they might be able to express or work your way into the department you want to be in or the fields you want to be in. I think people I would say to others people aren’t really helpful towards one another. I think there are people out there who have talent, they can cultivate that helpfulness.” With the time and
expertise of the Common Ground crew team, the documentary went on to capture the story behind Barton Springs. The Barton Springs movement is considered to be one of the Austin communities’ greatest achievements in recent times. At the end of the day, the people who fought for Barton Springs were just everyday citizens that stood up to petition for change.
“It was truly historic,” Shea said, “I tell people passing the S.O.S. ordinance [that] it was Austin’s David and Goliath story, because it was the everyday citizens of Austin, against the company that literally owned the world’s largest gold mine. At that time, Freeport McMoran held this massive gold mine in Papua New Guinea where they were literally grinding the mountains of the dust and flushing them down. They polluted the base so badly you can see it from satellite photos from space. But they own the world’s largest gold mine. And it was truly our David and Goliath story.” The City of Austin is one that has attracted the attention of many. In recent times, Austin’s population has grown by five hundred thousand people since 1990, which is twice the size as it was when Common Ground was filmed. It brings up the
question of whether the city will encounter another problem with Barton Springs’ safety. “There’s definitely still a lot of challenges out there,” Kocher said. “The springs are so broad, and I think that it’s a race against time to see how much of that land can be taken off the development rolls. I think that someone who wants to join the Save Our Springs Alliance one time said something to me, which I was really impressed with myself. She said, ‘Barton Springs is never saved, you have to save it every day.’ I think that we have not saved departments yet. We have issues of climate change that are going to impact the level of water in the aquifer. Then there’s other human impacts, such as road building, such as oil and gas pipelines, such as overpumping of the supply, and all of those things are
still an imminent threat to the springs.” And what of the future of film itself? What will the production of a film look like in 10, 20, or 30 years into the future? It’s a question to take a look at while thinking about Common Ground, a documentary closing on the 30-year mark. “There are more avenues, to keep cultivating documentaries and to keep getting documentaries funded,” Guardado said, “I think there’s definitely more avenues to be able to kind of work our way up.” The Barton Springs movement was founded on the basis of informing the public to take action. To oppose policies that threatened the springs, thousands took action to instead preserve the cities’ natural wonder. After months of debate and consideration, there can finally be common ground for all.
Portrait of Karen Kocher, present day. To this day, she still produces films. Credit to Karen Kocher. 23 | Epilogue
Which Movie Genre is the best? (According According to Freshman LASA Students)
By Zack Ellington
No. of Votes
20 Action Movies: Action movies usually have fast-paced, intence scenes. Notable movies include The Avengers, John Wick, and The Matrix.
15 10 5
Credit to South China Morning Post
Credit to The Conversation
Drama Movies: Drama movies take a deep look into character development and conflict. Notable movies include Lady Bird,
Parasite, and Whiplash.
1 Sci-Fi Movies: Sci-Fi movies take place in the future, and focus on possible outcomes in said future. Notable movies include Ready Player One, The Martian, and Interstellar. Epilogue | 24
Credit to Pintrist
The debate “what is the best movie genre?” is an age-old question. I decided for my alternative feature story, I would ask the freshmen of LASA what their thoughts were on this question. What did they think the best genre was? What about the worst? The organized graph below shows all the data I have collected on this topic. Enjoy!
Fantasy Movies: Fantasy movies primary take place in fiction, pushing the boundries of the world they’re set in. Notable movies include Harry Potter, Cinderella and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Comedy Movies: Comedy movies serve to entertain the audiance through humor. Notable movies include Knives Out, Napolean Dynamite, and Shazam!
Credit to Pro Music
Credit to Dreamstime
Credit to Den of Geek
Horror Movies: Horror movies’ goals are to scare the audiance through characters and settings. Notable movies include Get Out, It, and Us. 25 | Epilogue
SKATE Film
This story will open you up to the world of Skateboarding film
Written by Ben Bird It’s the premiere night at the local skate shop. The energy of the large crowd standing around the screen is intoxicating, but knowing that the expectations are high makes me a bit nervous. You see, skateboarding and film go hand-in-hand, and most avid skaters, especially the ones who attend film premieres, value unique techniques in both skateboarding and filmmaking. There is a long history behind the relationship between skateboarding and filmmaking, starting as early as 1965 when the first skate film, “Skaterdater,” was released. Since then, thousands of skateboarding films have
been released from creators across the globe. Some of the most well-known skate filmmaking scenes are in New York City, Los
Stephen Wierzbowski holding his Sony Vx-1000 camera
Epilogue | 26
Angeles, Colorado, and Oregon. In recent years, however, Austin’s skate film community has developed widespread popularity attracting
Stephen Wierzbowski filming a skater do a backside big-spin several well-known professional skate filmmakers, many of whom now call Austin home. One of the best and most well-known Austinbased skate filmmakers is Calvin Millar. Millar is most known for his work in helping skateboarding companies promote their brand, including companies such as NoComply Skateshop and Roger Skateboards. His style has a way of capturing the uniqueness of a brand, and of skateboarding and the individuals who make up the skate community. Millar’s work can be found across several social media platforms and has been featured in various popular skate magazines, such as Transworld Magazine and Thrasher Magazine. Recently, I was fortunate enough to catch up with Millar, so I took the opportunity to ask him about the biggest inspiration behind his work. “I started skateboarding at the age of 14, and got into filming at the same time, ‘’ Millar said.“My friends and I would watch
skateboard videos and not only learn how to do new tricks, but also gain inspiration to make our own skate videos. My dad had a VHS camera at that time that he let me use, and I took it with me everywhere. I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to capture a unique moment, trick, or scene while skating with my homies. Eventually, I was able to save up enough money to buy
my own camera, a Sony Hi-8 Camcorder.” Once realized he was comfortable and willing to share his experiences with me, I decided to ask him about his most valued accomplishments in the skate filmmaking scene. “My biggest accomplishment is that I’ve turned my passion into a career,” Millar said “I get to film
27 | Epilogue
for the same magazines that I bought and read as a young person. Skateboarding, but more so filming skateboarders, has opened up a whole world of experiences and opportunities I’m very grateful for.” Knowing that Millar’s accomplishments are a dream come true for most, I wanted to know if the reality of his experiences matched the dreams he had as a kid, and his response was surprisingly humble. “Nowadays, I feel blessed to be able to film amazingly talented skateboarders and I love that I get a front row seat to some unbelievable
Epilogue | 28
talent.” said Calvin. There are other Austin-based skate filmmakers who have made a local name for themselves, such as Stephen Wierzbowski. Wierzbowski is a young filmmaker with only two years of experience who has gained recognition among the House Park Skate Park community by filming and promoting local young skateboarders. When I bumped into Wierzbowski at House Park a few weeks ago, I asked about the basis of his motivation. “It’s not about the money,” Wierzbowski said. “I love
filming for the satisfaction of how the clip looks and how excited the skater gets when viewing it. When the skate and film come together, there is usually no care for how much everyone is getting paid. Usually, filmmakers film because they have a love for the artform.” Clearly, Wierzbowski’s passion for his artwork outweighs his need for financial compensation. Apparently, his passion also outweighs any concerns he might have about the impact skate filmmaking can have on one’s body. “I’ve learned that you have to be ready for anything whether it’s a cracked head or a board coming at your face,” Wierzbowski said. He went on to describe how skate filmmaking makes one more agile and “stay on your feet,” because at any moment something could go wrong. “You have to make sure to keep your camera, and yourself, safe and away from flying boards or falling skaters at all times.” Another young local skate filmmaker is Ignacio Arriagada. When I recently talked about skate filmmaking with Arriagada, he told me he had only been making skate videos for 7 months. This was surprising to me, because he had already gained a lot of attention for his work in the local skate community.
The main reasons behind Arriagada’s rapid success is the style of his filming. “I feel like I differentiate myself from other filmers by showing in my videos that skateboarding is not only about smoking and vandalizing, it’s also about having a good time with friends and getting excited from learning new stuff,” Arriagada said. He went on to stress how important it was to him to change the stereotype that skaters are thugs and criminals, by highlighting the friendships and comroderry of the skate community in his videos. “I see the skate community as a big family,” Arriagada said. “Skateboarding brings all types of people together. It’s a very supportive community, but there is room for growth and for cleaning up its reputation.” His final remark was, “My main goal is to spread love.” And, at only 16 years of age, Arriagada sets a good example for and inspires the younger skaters, many of whom have started their own little film crews. As I stood there feeling nervous about the expectations of the crowd, waiting for the premiere of my skate film to begin, I tried to keep in mind something else Wierzbowski said to me when we were recently talking about making skateboarding films: “Skating and skate filmmaking are primarily about friendship and community.” This thought gave me confidence and helped me relax as I looked around and realized I was surrounded by the closest homies.
Calvin Millar and Igna Arriagada Stephen Wierzbowski filming a skater doing a boneless
29 | Epilogue
TOP 5 TECH JOBS IN AUSTIN Written by Ben Bird
Austin’s becoming the new Silicon Valley, some people might say. Check out the top companies right now!
Graph of top Austin tech companies:
# OF EMPLOYEES 13,000 12,000 11,000 10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 Dell 13,000
Apple 7,000
Graph Information from Bizjournals.com Epilogue | 30
IBM Corp 6,000
Amazon 5,000
Accenture 4,500
EDUCATION Dell - Depending on the department you want to work in, you don’t necessarily need a degree. Apple - A master’s or doctoral degree in computer science, computer engineering, physics, statistics to work at Apple . IBM Corp - You don’t need a degree to have a good job at IBM. Amazon - It depends on what department your in but you at least a high school diploma. Accenture - A Bachelor’s degree in any major with a minimum overall GPA of 3.3 out of 4.0. noodle.com/bestgedclasses.org
IBM, Google, and Amazon logos
WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC JOBS?
There are lots of different Tech jobs you can go into. For a lot of the tech companies now, a lot of the jobs are labor jobs, for example working in the warehouse for Amazon. It’s not all like that some of the more popular jobs include Softwear Developer, Data Scientest, and IT Manager.
Money.usnews.com 31 | Epilogue
AnD We’re Rolling
Exploring the Inner Workings of Austin Film Festivals Written by Storey Flowers
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People get ready to enjoy the films at the Long Center during the Austin Asian American Film Festival. Photo credits to Roger Ho provided by the Austin Asian American Film Festival.
ustin is known around the U.S. for its big city and rich culture. Between live music at every bar, longhorn football games and the countless festivals like SXSW and ACL no one can say there’s nothing to do in Austin, Texas. Although a part of the Austin community that mostly goes unnoticed is the film community. Having local film directors from Austin makes it a hotspot for filming, and the countless film festivals, this thriving city also has a thriving film community. Film festivals are a great way to discover new films, celebrate local film artists and just explore the film industry as a whole. Depending on the festival, activities can include panels of people in the community, film and screenplay writing competitions and most commonly film screenings. Every month, Austin hosts so many film festivals where the people running them have problems trying to schedule them. Kelsey Walker, the Young Filmmakers Program Director for the Austin Film Festival, expressed that it takes quite a lot to put on a film festival. “It takes a whole whole staff there, a lot of us
in this office working year round to put on, you know, like a one week event. So it definitely takes a lot of manpower. We have different departments here. We have our film department, screenplay, marketing, or conference department, something specific for each part of the festival,” Walker said. “And then, obviously, a lot of communication with screenwriters and filmmakers who are actually submitting to the festival. So lots of communication, lots of coordinating.” According to Hanna Huagn, the Executive Director of the Austin Asian American Film Festival, it takes even more people to set up one. “Yeah, so you definitely need film people and people who just want to do anything and everything for whatever genre that they’re interested in.” Huang said. “Obviously, you also need a pretty robust marketing and publicity side that nobody’s going to know about your festival to go to it unless you have that. And included with the marketing is community engagement. Those are the major areas and then we definitely filled out with a lot of 33 | Epilogue
volunteers. There’s a lot of seasonal staff that goes in. So as we’re gearing up weekly things like hiring a poster designer, if you’re usually a local artist that does our annual poster, among other things.” Film festivals are an annual event for a reason, it takes an entire year just to plan them. Between budgeting, setting up the venue and screening through the thousands of applicants that send in their films to be screened, it is a lot of work, but Huang said all the hard work is worth it. “The best part is just seeing them return. You know, it’s usually they’ll submit a short and we’ll see like a couple years down the line,” Huang said. “They’ll have a new work or something that we’ll want to program again, whether it’s another short or the teacher. We’ve had a couple of filmmakers now that we program for more than a couple several filmmakers now that we program at least a couple of times or more. So it’s really great to see that they had a good experience that they want to come back to our festival.” There’s a reason why these people come back. Going to a film festival is a unique and Epilogue | 34
The 2019 Festival Paramount Theater Marquee: FORD vs FERRARI for the Austin Film Festival. Photo credits to Jack Plunkett provided by the Austin American Film Festival.
fun experience and according to Walker it can even be a learning experience. “It’s a lot of fun,” Walker said. “Definitely pretty crazy. There’s a lot of events that kind of go on at the same time. So sometimes you do have to kind of pick and choose where you want to be at, and things like that. But I think specifically for the Austin Film Festival, a big thing that we focus on here is learning. So you’re not really coming to I mean, obviously, you’re coming to watch new films and, you know, be excited about those things that you’re also going to learn you’re going to learn from people who are in the industry, who have, you
know, written something made something and you’re going to, to apply, you know, things that you’ve learned at the festival later on.” However film festivals such as the Austin Film festival offer much more than just movie screenings. Kelsey Walker, the young programs director, is in charge of the camps they have for kids. “So we have our digital storytelling curriculum, which is a text align curriculum that we developed with aisd. So we’ll go through and teach the kiddos how to write a story,” Walker said, “Each of them will write their own individual screenplay, and then at the end, they have the option to do a
production unit as well. So we’ll film a couple of them at the very end. We also have our young filmmakers competition. So this kind of goes along with that festival scholarship program and that they both take place during the larger Austin Film Festival, but sort of similar to a regular film camp.” If you’re under the impression that you can’t join these camps because you don’t have the knowledge or experience, your assumptions are incorrect. “In terms of participating in our programs, no prior knowledge really is needed. Especially for the camps I think. And same thing for like our digital storytelling program that we teach in schools. I think the most important thing is just to be, you know, excited to learn about it or excited to get involved. Obviously, coming up with an idea is a big part of it. But I think everybody does have a story to tell, you just have to kind of bring that out of people sometimes. And I think our program does a really good job of that,” Walker said. Other festivals have different things though that set them apart. For example, the
Austin Asian American Film Festival is the biggest film festival in the US that focuses specifically on films produced by Asians or Asian Americans which is very important. “It’s really exciting to be
especially important for the Asian American community. Because we don’t have enough knowledge about our community and how vast it is,” Huang said. Film Festivals are an interesting and
A couple stretches out on their blanket while enjoying a film being screened at the Long Center at the Austin Asian American Film Festival. Photo credits to Roger Ho provided by the Austin Asian American Film Festival.
able to like returning with more work, right, so we’ve had filmmakers who submitted short films that have now submitted longer features. In terms of the stories they tell, you know, winning filmmakers from the community, they’re making the Silicon Valley, of course 100% executed. This is how you get kind of the nuanced stories about a community and it’s
engaging experience all around Austin, Texas where you can watch films, take film matching and writing classes, discover new actors, and directors and just have fun. The Austin Film Festival takes place every year from October 21st to the 28th. The Austin Asian American Film Festival takes place every year from June 4th through the 20th. 35 | Epilogue
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Popcorn is a great treat to enjoy at the movies . You can get it with lots of butter or none at all. Just make sure you dont get kernals stuck in your teeth.
a list of things you might need to properly enjoy the movies again Just remeber that these are all suggestions the only thing you need to enjoy the movies is yourself!
Written by Storey Flowers
How to enjoy the movie Theater
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Candy is also a fun snack you can enjoy at the movies. If you try to sneak some in don’t forget to be creative.
3D Glasses are a fun thing to elevate your movie experience. Dont forgot that if you get scared you can always take them off.
Soda is a great pairing to salty popcorn. Don’t forget to drink it slowly or you might miss some of the movie!
