A Hollywood High makeover of 'Macbeth'

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Brandon Arnold is the instructor for the advanced student film class at East Hollywood High.

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West Valley City » Hans Totterer, 18, aims to earn an Oscar nomination by age 35 -- any area of the film industry will be fine. Christina Ellison, 16, learned being on camera isn't her thing. Josh Sumsion, 18, now is more certain than ever that he'll study filmmaking in college.

Producing "Macbeth," East Hollywood High School's first feature-length film, has left its mark on just about all of the 75 students who were part of the cast and crew.

On Nov. 10, student filmmakers will walk the red carpet outside Salt Lake City's Tower Theatre for the world-premiere screening of their low-budget -- that's as in $400 -- film.

"There were days when I sat scared that we would never get this finished, and it was just going to be something put together at the end," said Sumsion, "Macbeth's" cinematographer. "But we knew what we wanted and held out until the end."

The project was launched about a year ago in Brandon Arnold's advanced film production class at the West Valley City charter school, now in its sixth year. East Hollywood, with a student body of about 300, offers a standard Utah curriculum, with an emphasis on film and media production.

Countless hours of planing, filming and traveling filled the class time for the three-month trimester. Filming, of course, poured out into weekends, vacations, summer break and into the new school year, which means that some of the cast have already

Arnold had been considering requiring a class to work together to make a film for some time. After all, he said, orchestra classes play concerts. Drama classes perform plays. Film classes should make a film.

Arnold selected "Macbeth" to tie in with the school's English curriculum. He adapted the drama into a screenplay, shortening it to just 55 minutes. Students received assignments ranging from production to lighting. "I thought it would be an interesting challenge to see if high-school kids could make something as old and difficult-seeming as Shakespeare come alive and be applicable to modern kids."

A few of the class's theater fans were thrilled to be part of a film version of the classic tragedy, but most students were a bit more skeptical. After all, many of the student filmmakers were used to making zombie-themed shorts, Arnold said.

At first, some of the students dismissed "Macbeth," thanks to what they considered its boring language and wordy story that concluded with the principal characters killing each other, said Sumsion, a senior. Once deep into the filming the project, the drama revealed itself to him. He explained: "I got to see the story more clearly for what it was."

Sumsion, who hopes to work professionally as a cinematographer, was in charge of the film's look, finding the right locations to evoke the post-apocalyptic time period of the film. The film was shot on location in Mill Creek Canyon, the Bonneville Salt Flats, Provo and an empty field behind the school, which is off 2100 South. That the school is in Channel 2's former television studios helped the resourceful crew find many locations right on campus.

"I never even thought about acting before," said Christine Ellison, a junior, of being asked to play Lady Macbeth. "This was the biggest project that we've attempted to do here, so I wanted to be in on this."

A year later, she recounts the challenges of the role, but also plans to draw upon her experience as an actor when she faces an unfamiliar challenge.

As the premiere approaches and the film goes public, students expressed excitement and relief. They hope an audience won't dismiss the film as just a high-school project. They hope their ambition will play well on the big screen.

"We're the next generation of the filmmakers that are going to be out there -- this is our starting ground," Sumsion said. "This is where we are all putting what we can do together. This is the baby to all of our futures."