May 27, 2021 -- Hollywood could soon be welcoming budding filmmakers from Cleveland Heights High School. Three graduating seniors in Cynthia Booker’s Digital Video Production (DVP) class produced and directed films for their final project. Their filmmaking process involved script writing, casting, videography and editing - all skills learned in the two-year Career and Technical Education (CTE) course.
Over the two years that students Jonathan Beard, Hannah Bradley, and Amaya Myles have taken the course, students have learned the business of arts and communications, video production, video broadcasting and digital cinema. Mrs. Booker, a former television news anchor and two-time Emmy Award winning reporter, is proud of the students’ willingness to see the project to the end. “Their demo reel will thank them,” stated Booker.
Take a look at these students’ up-and-coming Hollywood skills on display:
- Jonathan Beard - “The Visitor”
This is a suspenseful short film, where a student gets a visit from an unwanted guest. It was an experiment on conveying a story with only one actor, using different props and types of shots to represent more than one character.
“As I look back at everything I’ve done during the CTE program... I believe Ms. Booker doesn't get as much credit as she deserves. She is a great teacher that puts her heart and soul into helping us succeed, especially through the difficulties of teaching during the pandemic lockdowns and online school.
Being a former news anchor, Mrs. Booker always stressed the importance of professionalism, teaching us that perceptions of us and our work, and how we represent ourselves, are crucial to our success.She possesses a hawk’s eye, pin-pointing every little detail for us to edit to make our creations the best they can be. The resumes we wrote in her class this school year have found their way to employers and interview rooms, which goes to show how much she has tried to set us up for success.
Digital Video Production was not an easy class, in the sense where you could do whatever you wanted and still pass. Mrs. Booker took all who were willing to put in the work and time, and saw to it that we had what we needed to have a strong foundation in the industry, once the program finished. I will always be grateful to her for it. I am planning to study Communications at Notre Dame College.” - Jonathan Beard
- Hannah Bradley - “Fashion Week (It’s Different Remix) by Blackbear”
The video starts out introducing three friends, trying to help their friend Naomi find a style that expresses who she is. Her friends decide to make things interesting by placing bets against each other on whose style she’ll like more.
“I learned a lot of things while filming but the biggest thing is that it's always good to plan for setbacks, even if they end up not happening. Apart from my family, Mrs. Booker has been my biggest fan and critic and I couldn’t be more grateful for her. Her critiques make me want to learn all I can. My goal is to pursue a career in producing.” - Hannah Bradley
- Amaya Myles - “A Vietnam Veteran’s Story”
This documentary, based on the life of Amaya’s grandfather, helps viewers understand the life of a Vietnam veteran before and after the war. Veteran James Myles talks about the lives of soldiers during the Vietnam War.
“Mrs. Booker has helped me by pushing me to do the best I can be. I plan to study journalism and communications at Cleveland State University” - Amaya Myles