Oscar bound

Marisa O’Neil

The day after “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” swept

the Academy Awards, future filmmakers at Orange Coast College started

work on their own masterpieces.

Their 45-second promotional spots may not win them an Oscar, but

the skills they learn in the film and video editing class will set

the groundwork for them to go into the movie business. Students even

learn on the same software used to create best picture nominee “Cold

Mountain,” teacher Bob Lazarus said.

“After this class, [students] can take a more advanced editing

class,” he said. “Then they can really become a Hollywood editor.”

The class meets once a week for a lecture and lab, where students

create their own productions. In addition to the promo spot, they

will make a dramatic piece and a music video.

Most of the students in the class are working toward a certificate

in film and video and want to work in television or the movies.

“I’d like to do editing or production [when I graduate],”

20-year-old Paul Bilson said. “I’d do anything, like weddings or

whatever. But I’d prefer to do something where I could be more

creative.”

For their project, the students are editing promotional spots for

a fictional company, International Motors. Using prerecorded video

and audio clips, they will piece together their first full

production.

“I like the hands-on stuff a lot,” 19-year-old Nicholas Altamura

said. “But it’s tough taking it all in and remembering it

step-by-step.”

The classroom has two dozen Macintosh computers that serve as full

editing bays. Using the latest editing technology means they can fit

more stations in a smaller space and each student can have his or her

own equipment, Lazarus said.

“This is the way the industry is going,” he said.

Though some students come in with amateur editing experience on

home computers, Lazarus said, his class brings them up to speed on

the equipment the professionals use. And once they graduate, they can

start working on those acceptance speeches.

* IN THE CLASSROOM is a weekly feature in which Daily Pilot

education writer Marisa O’Neil visits a campus in the Newport-Mesa

area and writes about her experience.