Rock & Roll Space Station: Short film
By Sadie Woollard
Owasso High School has an abundance of talented students. Just a couple of months ago, eight OHS students came together with one common goal: to make a great short film. While it was a short film, it certainly did not fall short. The film was an incredible combination of color, cinematography and the music that the team did themselves. Not only did these passionate teens create a beautiful film, but they also overcame challenges and cultivated close friendships while doing so.
Film poster image provided by Paige Purifoy
Photo of Dayana Rodriguez, Paige Purifoy and Justin Hale taken by Reagan Rozzi
Each and every part of the film was brought to life by not only the people in front of the camera, but also the crew behind the scenes. The main character was Paige Purifoy, with the two incredible supporting roles being Justin Hale and Mela Brylczyk. To create the characters, Rock & Roll Space Station needed a well-rounded team of writers; this team consisted of Reagan Rozzi, Dayana Rodriguez, Sarah Matadi and Josiah Coriell.
A huge piece of the film was the music. Justin Hale and Andy Bird were the two skilled musicians who put the “Rock & Roll” into the “Space Station.” Although everyone had their own jobs, the whole team worked together in editing and post production to tie the ribbon on this cinematic piece.
Josiah Coriell, a senior at OHS and one of the Directors of Rock & Roll Space Station explained some of the steps it took to make the film possible.
“It was a little bit of a rushed process in pre-production phases just because we needed to speed that part up to use the fair as a set which is what we ended up doing,” Coriell stated.
“So we spent a few weeks writing and casting people and finding out what the short film was going to be like, … and then we filmed and the rest of the time was spent in post production,” added Coriell.
The other director, and junior at OHS, Dayana Rodriguez was the initiator of it all. Rodriguez had asked Coriell to help her build her film portfolio for future film school. That simple question had launched an incredibly cooperative project.
Photo of Josiah Coriell and Dayana Rodriguez taken by Reagan Rozzi
“I would say my favorite part was definitely the whole bonding of the crew and just all of us being together and collaborating,” said Rodriguez.
Photo of Paige Purifoy and Mela Brylczyk provided by Paige Purifoy
This was also an important part for Coriell. He went on to share that he was a new student this year and was able to create new friendships that he never would have developed if it weren't for Rock & Roll Space Station.
Coriell was quick to give his crew an abundance of credit. He made it known that the rest of his team contributed to the film just as much as the directors
“It was really a group project. I would say that me and Dayana were, like, leading but we let everyone lead in their own certain areas and it was a good relationship between everybody to get stuff done,” stated Coriell.
Like all great teams, this group jumped over the hurdles and challenges of the filming process together with ease.
“We faced some issues with our surroundings and how many people were [at the fair] and having limited time to film. But we worked through them by having groups lead the camera person through crowds and also planned it all out of how much time we would spend on each scene so we didn't lose time trying to figure out what we were doing,” explained Rodriguez.
Rock & Roll Space Station was a clear example of these students' creative abilities. This crew had a successful first film together and they plan to continue to nurture their skills together and grow as a team with hopes of future collaborations and films.