Rachel Campbell - Portland, Oregon

Rachel Campbell
Portland, Oregon Film Connection Student

It may sound cliché, but ever since I was little girl, I’ve always wanted to be a star. I would take some gold tinfoil and fashion a star out of it. Then I’d get my dad to place it outside my bedroom door, so that everyone passing by would know that this is the bedroom of star. Or one who would soon be a star.

Years later, reality caught up with me, but that golden star on my bedroom door remains. It reminds me of the dreams I have yet to give up on, no matter the financial constraints. So I worked and worked and worked some more to be able to get myself the necessary training to be on my way. I don’t want just fame and fortune, although those would be incredible bonuses. I want to be respected in a field that I love so much.

But acting classes, among other things, just cost too much. At least the ones that seem authoritative enough to teach me just what I need. So I am so glad that I found a program that fits within my budget. It’s not going to cost me an arm and a leg to do so. And since I see that it is affiliated with the Joe Anthony Studios of Hollywood, California, I know that I’m in the right place. The best thing is, I can stay right where I am and still be able to do something to achieve my goals.

These acting workshops are just the beginning, but it has given me the right film connection to make that star on my bedroom door more than just a gold tinfoil.

Louise Frederickson - Las Vegas, Nevada

Louise Frederickson

Film Connection Student - Las Vegas, Nevada

I've always liked films, and ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be involved in the making of one. But I have to say that I'm not really fit to stay in front of the camera. I'm too shy to be an actor and giving life to a character, big or small; and I don't have the attitude needed to be an effective director. But make no mistake, though I'll be working in a capacity that's not as high profile, I wanted to be involved, I do.

To be perfectly honest, I picked wardrobe design because it appealed to me. I'm such a girly girl after all, and dressing up can be so much fun. I figured I could channel that into being involved in filmmaking.

Working hand in hand with someone who's doing wardrobe for films is such an eye-opener, I must say. The amount of research involved is incredible. Everything must be perfect down to the very last detail. A lot of viewers have such sharp eyes, and they can spot even a button that's out of place. And though the shopping is fun, it's back-breaking work. You have to go to store after store after store to find the right item to include in your wardrobe. But once you find it, the feeling is so amazing.

Learning and being involved in wardrobe for film might not be as glamorous as being the actress or even the director, but being here has given me that film connection to be a part of the process in making something we can all be proud of.

Ashley Johnson - Chicago, Illinois

Ashley Johnson

Film Connection Student - Chicago, Illinois

It's easy to make a radio talk show boring. Without the benefit of visuals, it's going to be harder to engage the listener to tune in. Most people go on the radio to listen to music or the news. Radio talk shows comes third to those two.

I always thought that the best way to get around that was to make sure that you've got an interesting topic on hand. That's very true. However, after my mentoring sessions, I realized that there's more to that process. A lot of research goes into it. Having an interesting topic is one thing, but to use it in a radio talk show is completely different. I have to make sure that I've thoroughly researched the facts and that I do not sacrifice the truth just to get a juicy soundbite from the guests. And it's also useful for those times that there might be a lull in the conversation. It is my duty as the host to keep to conversation going and flowing.

And of course, if things get out of hand, I have to make sure that I reel it back in and keep it civil. It should be informative and entertaining, and the right training really gets me started on that path, giving me that radio connection to reach out to more people in ways different from music and news.

Sarah Mitchell - Indianapolis, Indiana

Sarah Mitchell

Indianapolis, Indiana Film Connection Student

It's been over a couple of months since my first class in film editing, and I've recently been able to sit in a real editing session with my mentor. I couldn't really do much since I'm still a student, but it was a fascinating lesson to observe and take not of just how working as a film editor would really look like. This is definitely a kind of studying I like, and it just inspires and motivates me to study and work harder to be better at this.

One great thing about this is that I am actually learning from a film editor, someone who's got experience in this field and who is more than willing to share these experiences and insights with me. And since I'm the only one this class, so to speak, I get to have his full attention and ask him all my questions.

There's always more to film making than the writers, directors, actors. After everything's been shot, the film goes through the editing room so that it can be arranged so that it makes the best impact on its audience. And I'm glad that I've now got the film connection to be a part of this amazing process.

Dexter Fabian - Kirby, Vermont

Dexter Fabian

Kirby, Vermont - Film Connection Student

Gladiator, Aliens, Body of Lies - these are just some of my favorite Ridley Scott movies. Naturally, like my hero, I want to be a director. I've been making my own movies since I was 10 years old, and I believed it was time to take it to the next level, if I was ever going to be like Ridley. To me, this meant I should stop dressing up my younger cousins in cardboard alien costumes while I pointed a video camera at them, and start getting proper film training.

I had a problem, though. I absolutely HATED school. I detested the idea of sitting through class after class, even classes that would help me become a better filmmaker. And then I found The Film Connection. How cool is it that they don't even have a campus? So how do their students get training then? By working on REAL film sets all over the country!

I was sold. It didn't take me long to enroll. Getting my first apprenticeship was even quicker. Not only that, I also found some new heroes: the very mentors who are teaching me the ropes.

Really, at the rate I'm learning, Ridley Scott ought to watch his back! (Just kidding. Well, not really.)

Jane Mitchell - Long Island, New York

Jane Mitchell

Film Connection Student Long Island, New York

What's a movie without a good story, right? It's like building a house. You can't just put up a piece of plywood up and hammer nails into it, make a few rooms together, and then call it a house. You need to have a blueprint that puts into paper the makings of a good home. Well, I think of screenwriting as the blueprint to an amazing movie. And of course, you've got to have talent to come up with a good story, but you'll need a lot of training to know just what story makes a good movie. Just like a blueprint is not a bunch of lines on a piece of paper, screenwriting is not string a bunch of words together.

Screenwriting, I've come to learn now, has both a creative and business side; and both sides are just fascinating me right now. Of course, the creative side is having a story that deserves to be told, the developing of plot points, making it tight and effective, so that possible viewers won't think that you're just taking them around in circles. But there's a business side to it too. Who do we approach so we can get out screenplay into a movie. How do we market it to make the right people get interested? And if we're already working on a movie, how are we able to trim our screenplay in case budget constraint calls for it, without sacrificing the integrity of the story?

These, and so many more, are things that I am learning under my mentor, an actual screenwriter who's got experience in both television and film. Under this tutelage, I've got the film connection I need to learn just how a story is made into a movie.

Darryl Jones - San Jose, California

Darryl Jones

San Jose, California - Film Connection Student

I've always been fascinated by the way lighting is done in movies. True, the story and the direction are what movies are all about, and yet it is interesting to note that the perfect or wrong lighting could easily either make or break a film. One wrong lighting in one scene and it could distract the viewers from the movie, and the whole story would now be lost under that technical mistake.

To do this perfectly is a mixture of technical know-how and creative genius, and I am enjoying my mentorship right now. I'm working with a lighting director who's teaching me so many things every day. There's the technical aspect of the different equipment needed for a particular scene. How to perfectly light a night scene, making it bright enough but still believable as night. I mean come on, doesn't it frustrate you when the lighting is just so unrealistic, but you don't really want to see dark scenes, right?

It's only been my first few weeks into this mentorship program, and already I'm learning so much. Pretty soon, I can't wait to actually get my hands on lighting equipment for a hands-on experience. This is such an exciting program. I'm getting that film connection to be a part of the little details that make a movie so magical.