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Student Feature
The Write
Stuff
IN FOCUS - In preparation for auditions for the film II project, senior Blake Wilkins focuses the camera on film actors. Wilkins was selected to be the cinematographer for the film.
Photo by Kailee Henry.
Student Feature: The Write Stuff
FHS student author Courtney Ulrich is Photo Editor for the FHS Register newspaper.
Eragon, a New York Times Best Seller about a boy who hatches a dragon and their adventures, was written by a teenager.
The Outsiders, an American Library Association’s Best Young Adult’s Book winner about two gangs in the 1950s, was also written by a teenager.
Locally, senior Elle Ternes won the Youth Award at the 2010 Little Rock Film Festival for her screenplay, Outside the Lines. She is the author of the current film II movie.
Ternes newest script is about a young girl from an uptight family who decides to run away. Through a series of events, her family begins to believe that she has committed suicide and mourns her death. The girl, oblivious to all of this trouble at home, continues her journey and meets many new people along the way.
With four drafts and no title, the script is still a work in progress, but film teacher Jonelle Lipscomb said she believes Ternes is ready for the challenge.
“She is open to criticism but knows what she wants to tell,” Lipscomb said. “I anticipate that once we have a read through she will tweak the dialogue again, but it is pretty solid at this point.”
Graduates Landry Harlan, director, and Will Sharp, producer, were awarded $2500 scholarships for Outside the Lines. Ternes, only a junior at the time, was not eligible for a scholarship, but Lipscomb and Ternes both hope this new script will be her ticket to an offering.
“I am undecided on what college, but I know I want to pursue a career in film and media studies,” Ternes said. “I don’t really want to write though, it was kind of a one time thing.”
Although Ternes may not have her heart set on a career in writing, she said that film is a huge part of her life.
“I know that (film making) is not super popular, but I like that it’s different and unique. I like the process and the story telling,” Ternes said.
Senior Blake Wilkins is another film II student who, like Ternes, enjoys writing screenplays and making films.
“I’m typically our class’s cinematographer, but I do tackle a screenplay from time to time,” Wilkins said. “I wrote and shot one short last year called ‘Broken,’ which was selected and screened at both the Little Rock and Offshoot Film Festivals.”
Wilkins and Ternes both agree that writing screenplays is a totally different experience than writing for other genres.
“Scripts are just blueprints,” Wilkins said. “They don’t have all the little intricacies that a short story or poem might. It’s more of an idea than art.”
“If you want to reveal something about a character or let (the audience) in, you have to go deeper,” Ternes said. “You can’t just hand it to the audience on a silver platter.”
Although both students enjoy filmmaking along with writing, Wilkins believes that there are benefits to writing.
“The one advantage a screenwriter has over all other members of the crew is the story,” Wilkins said. “Unless you get stuck with some (jerk) of a director, who changes the story beyond belief, the story is yours.”
“Just go for it,” Ternes said. “Don’t hold back. If there is a story you want to tell, tell it.”