Video productions class scurried to complete their original pieces for the Slickrock Film Festival during the first week of April. They now await the results which will be announced at the awards show, May 17. Students from Bakersfield to Madera compete for prizes and film-making bragging rights.

Melissa Foth, `08, is entering a documentary about the effects of diabetes. The idea came from Andrew McCormick?s, `09, struggles with this disease.

?It?s not just about winning, but being there for the group and cheering for other people,? Foth said, ?I hope this year we get to win something, but there?s always another chance. I?ve been working with my group for a month or so.?

Twenty campus students will enter into the five categories that include: documentary, commercial, five-minute blockbuster, foreign language and music video.

For the first time, Riley Endicott, `10, is entering the festival in the five-minute blockbuster competition. Endicott has been working for seven weeks on his video about police trying to catch litterbugs during an exchange.

?My movie is called Litter Mafia,? Endicott said. ?I am excited because Danny (Ibarra, `11) and I have put a lot of work into the movie and we hope to be successful.?

As the largest film festival in California, Slickrock received about 175 entries last year and expects the same this year.

Although a finalist in the foreign language division last year, Paige Powell, `10, has recently begun filming in the five-minute blockbuster and commercial categories.

?I?ve been doing camerawork since I could hold a camera,? Powell said. ?Mitchell Callisch and I created an advertisement video about a kid painting an American flag. He is out of red paint, so he uses Heinz Ketchup instead. In a way I?m excited because it was fun last year. We have a good shot at winning, but I?m not excited because I worked a lot on Night of the Stars, which took up time.?

Prizes include a copy of Final Cut Studio 2, Logic PRO and various applications and appliances.

CJ Haydock, video productions teacher, looks forward to the upcoming Slickrock festival as an opportunity to recognize his student?s work.

?We have kids with great abilities and resources; it?s a big opportunity for our kid?s special abilities to be on display,? Haydock said. ?Last year, we entered clueless; we threw together seven films and ended up with two finalists. This year we know what the competition will be like.?