Schools

Macomb Sound FX Pro Shares Experience at West Bloomfield Student Film Festival

A sound effects designer and Macomb Township native will share his expertise Friday at the annual Orchard Lake Student Film Festival.

A Macomb Township native will join eight other film and TV pros from around Metro Detroit this Friday to encourage teen filmmakers already following their paths as part of the ninth 

Ric Viers, a 39-year-old sound effects designer and author of The Sound Effects Bible from Macomb Township, will share his passion and experience with the aspiring directors, producers and actors gathered at this small-scale version of the Sundance Film Festival.

About 30 films by high school students are entered in the festival, which includes a daylong event with workshops, awards and evening screenings for the public.

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The last day to register to attend the festival is Wednesday, Feb. 1. Registration is $10 per person and can be done online.

News and entertainment        

Entrants, classmates and teachers will gather at the host school for six hours Friday for a day that will include an auditorium screening of all submissions in two categories: news reports or public service announcements (up to three minutes) and dramatic, suspense comedy or docu-drama shorts (five to 20 minutes).

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This is a day for video geeks who write scripts, shoot with their schools' professional-level equipment and edit digitally with Final Cut Pro.

A panel of judges will share comments and later select award recipients. Participants pay $5 to enter a film and $10 to attend.

It's an education event, so there's a limit on boldness. That means no raunchy music videos or edginess that might work on YouTube, though "school appropriate" is defined as equivalent to a PG rating ("some material may not be suitable for children").  

Community screening

Parents, relatives, neighbors and cinema buffs can see winners and runners-up at a $5 evening showcase, starting at 7 p.m. in the school, 4925 Orchard Lake Rd.

Expert advice

Other speakers include:

  • Scott Kodrik, who'll kick off the day with a keynote address, is a 40-year-old screenwriter, director and owner of a special effects company in Redford. He graduated from in 1989.
  • Michael Rubyan, a 25-year-old documentary maker returning to the school from which he graduated in 2005. He'll conduct an afternoon workshop with Prusak, who also makes documentaries.  
  • Aaron Lebovic, a 26-year-old production manager from West Bloomfield. He worked on the Detroit 1-8-7 network TV show and an upcoming feature film, Oz: The Great and Powerful, directed by Royal Oak native Sam Raimi.
  • Harry Akers, a lighting designer who owns Light Works Inc. of Rochester Hills. He'll also talk about the role of grips, who set up lights, camera cranes and tracks, as well as other film set rigging.
  • Gary Schwartz a Detroit animator nominated for an Academy Award in 1983. He's a lecturer at the University of Michigan School of Art & Design, where he graduated in 1979. He has 67 short films on YouTube.  
  • Nik Drankoski of Eastpointe, a sound mixer and music composer.

For more information, visit the event website at OrchardLakeFilmFest.com.


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