CHS Film Academy
Early one April morning, Garrett Avilez, Emily Faucret, Payton Simeon, and Jake Jordan gathered around a table in teacher Jeff Brandmeyer’s Filmmaking class. Over the previous few months they had been writing screenplays for a web series about high school students. Now they were preparing to shoot the first episode; and, since they are all juniors, they plan to continue to produce their web series throughout the next school year. They hope their work will be featured at the Carlsbad High School Film Academy’s Film Festival on May 13 and 14 at the Performing Arts Center at Sage Creek High School. Another student, Charlotte Forward, and her production team leave the classroom with a rolling case—stocked with a camera, audio equipment, cords, and batteries—and head off for a morning of filming.
These are a few of the 107 students who are part of the Carlsbad High School Film Academy (CHSFA) under the direction of Brandmeyer and Shawn Jones. These students must complete a rigorous A-through-G-approved curriculum designed for students who want to make films. The students learn to write, direct, and produce their own films, to use filmmaking equipment and FinalCut Pro, and to develop collaboration and creative problem-solving skills. In a clear example of Project-Based Learning in the classroom, they demonstrate skill, artistry, and messaging in their creation of a film. All Academy students take Filmmaking. And third-year students take Film Academy Directors Studio, where they take a leadership role in guiding first and second-year students and hone their own advanced filmmaking skills.
CHSFA students have many opportunities for work-based learning. They go on field trips, such as a studio tour of Warner Bros. and tours of UCLA and Chapman film schools, and hear guest speakers such as actor Dimiter Marinov, recently seen on the screen as Oleg in The Green Book. The students also may dual-enroll in Film 105: Intro to Media Writing, a MiraCosta College screenwriting class taught on the CHS campus by an MCC professor, to receive both college and high school credit.
In March, the Carlsbad High School Film Academy was officially recognized as a Gold-Certified Linked Learning Career Pathway, making the Academy one of only twelve programs in the nation to have attained that status. It also was honored with a 2019 Linked Learning Educator Champion Award. These honors were bestowed by the Linked Learning Alliance, which supports high school career pathway programs that integrate rigorous academics with real-world learning opportunities in fields of engineering, health care, performing arts, and law.
Ava Broadsky, a third-year CHSFA student who plans to go to film school in the fall, is an enthusiastic Academy participant. She says, “I want to be a director, bringing the vision of a script to life. I would like to direct narrative films, thrillers, and comedies. I have learned the technical aspects and the collaborative art of film: camera, lighting, editing, directing, script writing, audio—and, also, working with people. I love being in the Film Academy. I could do this for the rest of my life.”
Student Charlotte Forward has had many rewarding experiences in the Academy. She says, “I’m running a student film production company, Hot ’n’ Tedious Productions, LLC, and making feature films with college students. I’ve been on set as the Art AD for high budget music videos, and I am working towards making my way into the industry. I joined CHSFA my sophomore year because I thought it would be a fun thing to do. Little did I know that it would end up shaping the rest of my life and helping me find my greatest passion. The filmmaking class itself has been the best part of my last two years at CHS. In this class I’ve been able to work on projects I’m passionate about, as well as collaborate with others around me. I have made multiple shorts, and now I have the creative independence to make what I want and to say what I have to say. I’ll be attending MiraCosta Community College in the fall with 6 college credits already completed.”
As Jeff Brandmeyer explains, “This isn’t about just film, but about our society moving towards a more visual style of communication. As an English teacher I will always believe in the power of text, but our students are also acquiring a twenty-first century literacy that includes the ability to employ film and other media to communicate.”
Our district is committed to developing strong career pathways for our students. This Carlsbad High School team has created an exemplary program both to prepare students for careers in the film industry and communications and to develop the analytical, problem-solving, and collaborative skills needed to be successful in any career.
