KCSM puts spotlight on student filmmakers

The series teams Bay Area film professionals with student filmmakers to discuss their films and offer advice on their future projects in half-hour segments.

Two students, Jasper Anderson of Woodside High School and Emily Grandcolas of Burlingame High School participated in the series, having access to cinematographer and director Hiro Narita among other film professionals.

The series will feature Anderson’s film "The Misadventures of Mr. Thistleton” and Grandcolas’ film "With a Little Help.”

Grandcolas, 14, will be a sophomore this year and loves to watch movies. She got inspired to make films by taking a class in high school.

"With a Little Help” is a mix of live-action shots and claymation that took the student a full day to make. It’s a film about an artist who can’t figure out what to paint and gets unexpected help from some a claymation character. The film runs just under four minutes and was shot on tape.

"It’s really exciting to share something you’ve created, to entertain and bring someone joy. If people enjoy the work, that’s the best part,” she said.

Anderson, 17, has been making short movies since he was 10 years old and gets the whole family involved in his productions.

"The Misadventures of Mr. Thistleton” is a silent comedy and stars Anderson’s great uncle, George Habeeb. It’s the story of a 90-year-old man whose day goes awry. The film, just under 3 minutes long, took a week to plan, two hours to shoot and another two weeks to edit.

Anderson enjoys every aspect of filmmaking, from storyboards to editing, and plans on making it his career.

"I really enjoy going through the whole process,” Anderson said.

The series will feature the work of 26 high school students and will start airing in October.

Besides Narita, whose credits include "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” and "James and the Giant Peach,” students were also mentored by other film professionals including San Carlos Councilman Brad Lewis of Pixar. Lewis was a producer on the Oscar-winning "Ratatouille.”

Berkeley screenwriter Terrel Seltzer, location manager Rory Enke, visual effects wizard and animator Webster Colcord, sound designer Andrea Gard, visual effects digital supervisor Michael Sanders, sound designer Andrea Gard , documentarian Gary Weimberg, editor Ken Schneider, indie producer Kari Nevil, visual effects supervisor Dave Codeglia, animator Webster Colcord and expert propmaker Sean House all mentored the students.

"I was frankly amazed at the quality of these films,” KCSM executive producer Dante Betteo said in a press release. "All of these youngsters can have successful careers if they keep producing work like this.”

Seven of the 26 student filmmakers were honored at a Spotlight! awards ceremony in May. The ceremony was filmed by several of KCSM’s camera crews, and the resulting show, which will include all the winning 3-5 minute films, will be broadcast on the station in August.

KCSM’s early morning and day programming lineup consist entirely of college-level telecourses. Much of the station’s primetime and weekend hours were once devoted to PBS programs but will be replaced by local content and other non-commercial programming . KCSM’s 500 kilowatt broadcast signal covers the counties of San Mateo, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Solano, Sonoma and Napa. Additionally, KCSM is carried on 60 cable systems in the Bay Area.