Cold air blew into the entrance of the ice cave as spotlights guided students to the snow-filled opening in downtown Fresno. Students soon found themselves in an isolated winter wonderland inside the Cornerstone Conference Center on the night of the annual campus tradition; Night of the Stars (NOTS) premiered on Jan 20.
NOTS provided students an opportunity to dress up in their finest outfits and spend time enjoying the company of friends while watching movies filmed by their classmates.
?I had a lot of fun at Night of the Stars because it was fun being around friends and seeing a lot of people outside a school environment,? Nick Methgen, ?10, said. ?My favorite part about Night of the Stars was the movies, and I have to thank the freshmen directors, Paige Powell and Matthew Stumpf, for making our class movie.?
Changes from last year were the separation of the movie viewings and banquet. Students ate in the Cornerstone Conference Center and then went to neighboring Wilson Theater to watch the movies. Decoration was a huge focus with the addition of a chandelier, benches, light poles and even a gazebo for photos.
?I went off my sister?s wedding as my inspiration for the decoration,? Jessica Berg, ?07, said. ?This year, I realized all the hard work that is put into Night of the Stars.?
Seniors Nick McAllister and Jessica Berg won the awards for Best Actor and Best Actress. Senior Jason Harris and freshmen Nacoya Villegas took Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Juniors received their only award for Best Soundtrack.
?I?m sad that this is the last one [NOTS], but I am happy it ended on a good note,? Berg said. ?The food could have been different but over all it ran smoothly.?
All the awards were voted on by a panel of teachers and parents who viewed the films a couple of days before the NOTS event.
The seniors also won Best Cinematography while Powell picked up Best Producer and Best Screenplay. The sophomores, however, won Best Picture and the People?s Choice Award. Andrew Rurik, ?09, won both Best Director and Best Editor.
?The entire process took about five weeks which included writing, shooting, editing and finalizing everything,? Rurik said. ?I am very excited in winning these awards.?
Rurik has been making movies since seventh grade. He received the majority of his experience by helping the video department at Hume Lake.
?For next year there should be a more strict regimen on the timing on the movies, and more deadlines because we had months to work on it,? Rurik said. ?I plan on working on my class movie next year because I have passion for making movies.?
