The Santa Clarita Media Collaborative held its inaugural NextGen Media Makers Festival on Saturday at the Canyon Country Community Center. The festival aimed to celebrate local junior high school and high school students interested in the media industry through awards for their original projects and offer a space to network and connect with industry professionals.
NextGen Media Makers Festival is the first of its kind in the Santa Clarita Valley and the competition’s goal is to highlight and recognize local talent, said SCVTV Executive Producer Jessica Boyer.
“We need something that builds community and connection and something for students to compete locally who maybe can’t afford to go to (the Student Television Network convention),” she said. “Going into the media industry, whether you’re in news or production, it’s a challenging industry to get into and it doesn’t often come with a lot of encouragement or support.”
“The more we can create a supportive environment, create opportunities, a better climate for the future of the industry as a whole and wellness for people that are in it,” she added.
Placerita Junior High School eighth graders Maddie Smither, Anoushka Chitre and Cadence Zakar were filled with inspiration and excitement as they walked out of the festival with numerous awards for their original media projects for their school’s media department.
The three girls, who will begin their high school journeys in the fall, left the festival with a better understanding of what career pathways they can take if they wish to pursue media and that the teamwork mentality and knowing your peers is a necessary skill to succeed in the industry.
“You have to understand the person next to you if you want to create something. When you know them and once you know that they’re telling their story, you help them express it,” said Chitre.
“They’re the driving force behind it and I love seeing the growth that they (experience) throughout the year,” said Paul Kass, advisor and teacher for the school’s media program.
All three students hope to pursue different areas in media as they go into high school, and they plan on taking the skills they have learned and implementing them in their future endeavors.
The three students weren’t the only ones who walked away with awards on Saturday evening. A total of 101 students from schools including Castaic High School, West Ranch High School, and Castaic Middle School were among the local talent that took home awards in different categories including silent film, short film, broadcast show and public service announcements.
The media professionals present to connect with the students were post- and pre-production professionals, individuals in film and news. Representatives with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees were also available to share information about union workers in the industry.
Committee member and producer Thresa Richardson wanted to bring in professionals to connect with the students so they could see the many different careers that exist in the industry and how creating great films and other media components are a group effort.
“Anybody with a smartphone can make a movie, can make content, but it’s very isolationist … Film and television storytelling at its finest is a collaborative, it’s a group effort,” she said. “That was magical, to have them connect to people who love this opportunity to tell a story and to understand that they can be even better storytellers.”
