Film classes at Collegiate are very popular and they are growing. We have expanded the number of film classes and constructed a new room to house state-of-the-art computer editing systems for our film students. In class, students work with the same editing and screenplay software that they will use in college. Students will create commercials, parodies, documentaries, and more.
Collegiate graduates have often discovered and developed a passion for film production, and many have gone on to study at the University of Southern California, Vassar Film School, Boston, Florida State, and the University of Kansas, just to name a few.
Ryan Kuhlman, Class of 2000, now works for Sofia Coppola’s film production company in California. Marie Antoinette is among the films on which he has worked most recently.
Marc Havener, Class of 1992, graduated from the University of Kansas in 2005 and has to his credit such films as Fun with Dick and Jane, Wedding Crashers, The Whole Ten Yards, House of Sand and Fog, Old School, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Showtime, and Legally Blond.
After moving to California his junior year, Scott Stokdyke went to Harvey Mudd College and worked as an engineer before moving into visual art effects. In 2005, Scott Stokdyke (’87) won an Academy Award for his work on Spiderman II.
Blake Webster (’98) is another WCS graduate who is pursuing a successful career in the industry. He lives in Los Angeles, and has been involved with Jimmy Kimmel Live and Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. Blake gives full credit for his success in the industry to Collegiate and specifically, to videography teacher Gary Buettgenbach. “ I think of Mr. Buettgenbach and Video Magazine when I think back to high school…that was the best experience that I can imagine having as a high school kid wanting to do what I am doing. It was like boot camp, but not boot camp, because it was so much fun. It was such an opportunity. I know I would not be here if it were not for what Mr. Buettgenbach’s class gave me: the opportunity to learn, to do, and to love."
