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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 2019)
PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, OCTOBER 11, 2019 KeizerCommunity KEIZERTIMES.COM McNary junior to be featured in 45th Parallel Film Festival By MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes Braeden Olheiser has only been interested in fi lmmak- ing for a couple of years, but despite his inexperience, the 16-year-old McNary High student is already getting rec- ognized for his skills. Olheiser’s short fi lm, Tan- dem Thoughts, has been nom- inated for an award for best youth fi lm and best narrative and storytelling at the 45th Parallel Film Festival, which takes place at Salem Cinema on Saturday, Oct. 19. “The fact that this is get- ting recognized at all is an achievement,” Olheiser said. “It was really gratifying when I found out I was nominated. It feels like all my hard work is fi nally paying off.” Tandem Thoughts, which is just under fi ve minutes in run- time, is a drama about a guy who just graduated from high school and is moving to Spain. But during his going-away party, his ex-girlfriend shows up to try and re-kindle the re- lationship. “The entire movie is the confl ict and dialogue between these two people who are at battle with each other on what they should do,” Olhe- iser said. Olheiser fi rst got into fi lm- making after taking a video production class from former McNary media production teacher Jason Heimerdinger — who is now in his fi rst year teaching at San Luis Obispo High School in California. “The second I got the camera, I started hogging it to be honest. Once I got a touch of actual video production, I just had to keep going,” Ol- heiser said. During his freshman and sophomore years, Olheiser spent time behind the camera making a variety of different short videos that featured dif- ferent clubs and events at Mc- Nary. Over time, he began to grow his skill-set. “As an aspiring fi lmmak- er, Braeden was constantly trying to improve his story- telling and cinematography,” Heimerdinger said. “He ap- preciates technical details and would often go the extra mile to get a shot.” When Olheiser got the chance to borrow Heimerdinger’s video equipment this summer, he knew that he had to take advantage. “I’ve done two years of video production and I need to do something with it,” Olheiser said. Generally, one of the most diffi cult parts of the fi lmmaking process is writ- ing the script. Olheiser, however, wrote this 10- page script in just one night over the summer, using a green-apple fl avored Bang Energy Drink as his fuel. He then cast McNary stu- dents Makayla Hadley and Jonathan Echavarria as the two lead characters. “I don’t think it was the quality of the script that they were excited about, I think they were just excited about this other avenue of acting because there aren’t a lot of opportunities in videos here at McNary,” Olheiser said. After three days of fi lming and almost 20 hours editing, the short fi lm starting running on Capitol Community Tele- vision (CCTV) in September. “I had full creative control over what was happening and I had also had help from peo- Above: Braeden Olheiser with actor Jonathan Echavarria on set. RIGHT: Olheiser oversees audition for his next fi lm. ple that I trusted who are very talented people who can give me really good input. I fell in love with that process,” Olhe- iser said. One of Olheiser’s biggest inspirations is Zeek Earl, a 2006 graduate of McNary and another one of Heimerding- er’s former students. Along with his friend, Chris Caldwell, Earl formed the production company Shep Films. In 2018, the duo co- wrote and co-directed their fi rst feature fi lm called Pros- pect, a critically-acclaimed sci- ence-fi ction fi lm. “(Earl) came from the same place that I did and now he’s making out big. He is one in- spirations for what I do today,” Olheiser said. “Because he did it before me, it makes me feel like I can do it. I feel like this is my calling.” Olheiser already has an- other fi lm that he is in the process of making, called As The Crow Flies. He has been much more deliberate with this project as he started writ- ing the 50-page script last December, and held auditions in late September. Similar to his fi rst fi lm, As The Crow Flies centers around two characters pre- paring to leave high school and enter the real world. Even though his fi rst fi lm is up for an award, Olheiser is much more confi dent in his ability to put out an even bet- ter piece of work this time around. “The driving theme behind the fi lm is to not look back,” Olhe- iser said. “I’m very ex- cited about it because I spent a lot more time on it than my fi rst fi lm. I’m much more con- fi dent in the outcome because I really got to plan it. I know a little bit more of what I’m doing.” Olheiser has a con- stant drive for self-im- provement when it comes to his fi lms, which he believes will help him in the long run. “At the end of the day, I still proba- bly won’t be satisfi ed, which is why I will keep moving forward. I want to chase that dream and make something worthwhile,” Ol- heiser said. Heimerdinger added: “Braeden’s technical skills will make him an experi- enced young engineer or tech right out of school.” His net- working and ability to satisfy a client will also take him a long way. It’s a tough indus- try to break in to, but I would like to have him on my side after he’s had more fi lmmak- ing experiences.” Students promote mental health By BROOKLYN FLINT Of the Keizertimes On Monday, Oct. 7, South Salem High School held a student-led presentation for the public launch of Live To Tell. The event had many speakers from the commu- nity who shared their hopes and plans for the future of the organization and their past experience with mental health issues and lack of sup- port. Live To Tell is a non-profi t suicide prevention organi- zation led by Eric Martz, a senior at South Salem High School. The organization works to fund and organize student-led clubs in Sa- lem-Keizer high schools that spread awareness for suicide prevention and mental health. Live To Tell provides clubs structure, funding, and ideas for how to get involved in their school community to destigmatize the topic and change the school culture surrounding mental health. In addition, Live To Tell will work to advocate for students’ interests at the administrative and legislative level as school policies are being written and bills are being passed to ad- dress mental health concerns in the school district and in the state. If you are interested in helping the organization and making a donation, visit the website at livetotellnonprofi t. org or the group’s Instagram (@livetotellnonprofi t) and its Facebook page (Live To Tell). 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