Schools
Whiz Kid: The Filmmaker
Every week, Walnut Creek Patch features a young person in our community who is simply extraordinary.
Some kids make films as a hobby. But Max Marriner is serious. He wants to pursue a movie-making career.
Max, a junior at Las Lomas High School, loves movies. The 16-year-old's passion began in seventh grade when he became curious about how films are made. He was fascinated with the logistics, the special effects, the behind the scenes of Hollywood feature films. Max was especially curious to learn how actors portray the characters they play in films.
It all started when Max signed up for film-making at Walnut Creek Intermediate School.
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In 2007, he won a PTA Reflections contest for a film he made, receiving a state-level medal of honor.
For Max, it's all about quality. (Editor's Note: Check out Once More With Feeling, linked to this story. It is Max's quietly affecting and humorous look at a young man searching for the courage and inspiration to audition for a play.)
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“I devote myself to one project at a time to obtain the highest quality film I can produce,” he said.
Max would rather produce and create one great five-minute film than a couple of “lousy” 20-minute films.
Filmmaking requires lots of specialized technology, including editing software. Max occasionally uses a Canon HD camcorder and edits with Apple’s Final CutPro, but most of the time he uses a Panasonic camcorder with iMovie.
Most high-school students are not sure what they want to major in once they reach college, much less what they want to do with the rest of their lives. But Max knows exactly what he wants to do. “I want to take this passion and expand it as my full-time career."
Max plans to attend film school after graduating from Las Lomas. His top choices are Evergreen State College in Washington and Sante Fe University of Art and Design.
For now, he stays busy as the head of the film department at Las Lomas High, as well as the coordinator of the school's annual film festival in May.
Max’s favorite quote? “If Michael Bay (director of "Pearl Harbor" and "Transformers," among others) can do it, so can I.”
If you know a kid, from pre-school to high school, who makes you think "wow!"--and for any number of reasons-- let Walnut Creek Patch know! E-mail editor Martha Ross at martha@patch.com
