Hello, my name is Cristina Avila and I was born and raised in Texas. I moved to Ohio in 2015.

Since high school, I have always found myself drawn to movies, music videos, and TV shows.  I always wanted to know what goes on behind the camera, and how and what it took to get a shot done.  Because of this, I joined a technical high school and went for broadcasting communication. I fell in love with atmosphere, but I knew broadcasting wasn’t what I wanted to do. All I knew was that I loved working on set. I enjoyed working with the equipment and working with others who enjoyed the same passion as myself, so I decided to go to Cuyahoga Community College where I’m currently going; they offer a degree for Filmmaker and Editor. 

 I’ve done internships in the past, but to be part of GCFC as an intern, I’m hoping to learn from others that know how the industry works and what to expect once I graduate. And just being able to be part of great group of people who have the same passion as you is really nice. Just being part of GCFC, I’m hoping to strengthen all my skills. 

In my free time when I’m not making videos with friends, I enjoy watching movies of all genres, spray painting art, going to concerts, hanging out with my family and my fiancé. I also enjoy walking with my dog, I enjoy hiking, biking, water sports, pretty much anything that keeps me active I will enjoy. 

Once I finish with school, I’m hoping to be an editor, for either myself or for others for their movies. Script writing is something I’m just getting into, so that might be a possibility as well. I know life will guide me in the right direction, but for now I’m enjoying my journey at GCFC. 

Last week I had the amazing privilege to work on a set with the renowned cinematographer Michael Goi (American Horror Story) and Hollywood Actress Holly Fulger (Ellen). It all started in August when the Director of CSU’s Film School reached out to us students to see if we would be interested in helping Holly run a focus group consisting of a three-camera setup operation. The focus group was held to help Holly find the woman or girl that would be the focus of the pilot for her brainchild, True Beauty Discovery.

At the time, I signed on to be a P.A., but when I got to the school, there was a need for a technical director in order to run the live switcher. Conveniently, during my last degree program, I just happened to be a part of the directing team for the student news. My willingness to jump into technical directing and problem solving was then appreciated when I was asked to be a part of the crew shooting the pilot as the 1st Assistant Director. I was psyched! And then I was nervous. I had never 1st A.D.’d before…

The night before the shoot was a flurry of Google searches: What is a 1st A.D.? How does one be a good 1st A.D.? What not to do when you’re 1st A.D.? And so on. It sort of helped…I figured out that the most important thing I would be responsible for was wrangling cast and crew in order to keep the shoot on schedule. I could do that…probably. I printed out my call sheet, the script, the location break down, the hour by hour schedule, put them on my clipboard and I was ready to go.

The next morning, call time 8:00 AM. I wake up early, I eat breakfast (a feat not often done), get downtown early enough to get coffee, I’m on a roll and the day hasn’t even really started. The second I get there, the Director asks for a call sheet and mine becomes theirs. Lesson #1: Always print extras (The next two days, I did). I then try to introduce myself and instead of saying, “Hello, I’m Madison and I’ll be your 1st A.D. today” my little awkward self goes, “Hello, I’ll be keeping time for you today.” Cue weird look and a hesitant, “Okay…” Facepalm. Lesson #2: Be direct. Awkwardness aside, I called the crew in and we had a good chat and set off on our day.

The first day was filled with challenges in that we essentially had three company moves. ON a student project with one camera and limited cast and crew, three company moves are meh, but we were working with 3 CAMERAS and 20 CREW. It definitely came with some challenges. We lost some time to breaking down and re-setting up cameras by the time we got to the final location. I was getting nervous. My first 1st A.D. job, and I’m already behind.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a proud person. I take pride in my work and I take pride in my problem-solving skills. That being said, we were going to get back on track. I called a company meeting after lunch and I laid it out. “Guys and Gals, we need to try to step it up. This is something that we’re doing together and I know you want it to go well just as much as I do. So let’s keep that team energy going, let’s listen and collaborate and let’s get this job done.”

We wrapped a little of an hour early.

*Phew.*

Michael asked me a question when wrapped, “How do you think it went?”

I said, “I mean, we ended early.”

“Right.”

“And in terms of what we were shooting, the shots looked good. We had three cameras rolling almost at all times and in my opinion, we stayed true to the authenticity of [Graces’] (the subject) answers. I think we did good.”

He nodded. Lesson #2 in practice. Check.

The next day, I had classes in the morning, so I took on the role of gaffer/grip for the day. Luckily we only had the one location left by the time I got to set. It was definitely interesting to learn about the lighting from Michael and I even got to be creative by improvising a background and dressing the set for an important shot. I even got some props (the praise kind) from Holly, which was cool.

Day #3 saw a still determined, but tired crew and the daunting task of shooting on a hot street and two company moves. I was back to being 1st A.D. and definitely worried about our crew and equipment being put on the line by being so close to traffic that had no regard for us. Luckily, Michael was feeling the same way, and sent someone with his personal credit card to buy us all safety vests.

While we waited, we got an improomptu lesson about safety from Michael. He related an experience of his during one of his first cinematogrphy gigs. They were finishing up a very long day, the weather had turned to pouring rain and the director of the shoot was insisting that they get one last stunt shot. The stunt man was supposed to jump off a building and do some kind of trick, which would be difficult without a torrential downpour. Michael went up to the talent and asked him if he felt comfortable doing the stunt. He said no. Michael said okay, and immediately went to the director and said, “I will not shoot thi. There are plenty of buidlings in L.A. where we can get this shot during pick-ups. I won’t shoot it today.” He said the director hulked out, threw things, but ultimatly they didn’t shoot it.

“No shot is worth someone’s life.” He finished off with, “Always speak up.” Lesson #3.

We then got into shot planning for the scene ahead and he asked if we had a dedicated dolly. No. Okay, then can we possibly have someone ride in a car and get a tracking shot of Holly.

Our camera operators, “Yeah, that’d be cool.”

Me, in my mind, *DANGER, DANGER, DANGER*.

“Um, yeah no, I’m just not comfortable with that” I said.

“No, we can totally do it.” One of the Camera Operators.

“No. I…no. #1: This is not a closed street. We have no control over traffic. #2: We don’t have the proper equipment to strap you and the camera in safely. #3: I’m just not comfortable with it.”

“But – ”

“Okay,” Michael said, “We can try something else.”

Lesson #3 in practice, check.

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. We had some minor bumps, but nothing unmanageable. We shot the scene with talent and wrapped them, and Michael, an hour ahead of schedule, again. I guess I’m pretty good at motivating, or I’m a hard a**. Either way, we got the work done.

The entire shoot was a learning experience. One that I am truly grateful for. Was it a trial by fire, yeah. Good thing I’m pretty good at extinguishing them.

My name is Dominic Michale Joseph Taylor. I’m a sophomore at Trinity High School, and I love it there; I’ve already met a lot of great people.

I went to Washington Park Community School for Elementary and Middle School, where I made a lot of memories and met people I’m still friends with ‘till this day. I have five siblings — my only brother Devin is the oldest, 13 years old, my oldest sister is Emma who’s 6 years old, second oldest sister Juliana is 3, Tessa is 2, and my youngest sister Baby Ava is two weeks old. My mom Angie is a stay at home mom and she is a great mom, always trying to do the best for us. My dad’s name is Davie, but everyone calls him David, and he works at a factory.

I love music, it is my life! My favorite artist ever is X or xxxtentcaion or Jasheh Onfroy, he’s a very diverse artist. He sadly passed away last June, but I will always support him (LLJ). I don’t really watch TV, but I do watch Netflix and my favorite show ever is Stranger Things. I love this show: the 80’s vibe to it, the music, everything about it!

I love film, art, and music, but I think I might go down the film route because while I love music a lot, I can just make that a hobby and my actual job will be something to do with film. I think that is the way to go, plus I don’t know how to play any instruments — I do know how to work and use a camera, and have a little experience editing, so I think I’m more qualified for this than music.

I wanted to intern here at the GCFC because I’ve always had a love for film, art, and everything you can make to express yourself, so I thought this is a good place to start. I have only been here for two days, but I really like it so far, and I hope that it only gets better. So far, I love the environment and the vibe (I hate that word); everything is just going great right now. This internship will help me out a lot because it will show me more into film and much more to make me ready for later in life and my whole career.

In this internship I am most looking forward to how much I am going to be able to do, like location scouting. I’m really excited to see where this is going to take me and how many more doors are going to be opened because of this. Speaking of movies, I am excited that we get to be so active with the movies in Cleveland. My favorite movie right now and maybe ever (don’t know yet) is Avengers: Endgame. I mean, who doesn’t love this movie, there is so much to talk about and it is a great finisher to 8 years of films.

I hope you enjoyed my blog, watch out for more of me! 

Katarina was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She went to Brecksville Broadview Heights schools, where she participated for years in the music and drama program. Besides being in choir from 5^th to 12^th grade, she also participated in show choir, musicals, and local theatrical productions. Katarina always enjoyed performing, but also excelled as a writer since childhood.

Her parents, Vasilije and Jelica, emigrated to Cleveland from Former Yugoslavia. Her mother came in 1969, at 14 years old, and her father came in 1979, at 27 years old. They got married in 1980 and started their own family and dental laboratory technology business less than a decade later. They raised three daughters, Katarina being the youngest. Katarina’s oldest sister, Aleksandra, is a business professional with education in International Business. She lived in Spain for 6 years after finishing her masters, doing strategy implementation consulting for Fortune 500 companies and startups in Europe and USA. Her other sister, Nikoleta, is a physician completing Dermatology residency and soon starting a Dermatopathology fellowship. Katarina and her sisters played basketball and tennis competitively growing up, and always enjoyed swimming on family vacations and hiking and biking at The Cleveland Metroparks while at home together. Katarina and her family are also big Cleveland Cavaliers fans and have many memories going to season and playoff games together having grown up with season tickets.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Neuroscience from Baldwin Wallace University in 2016, before completing a Post-Baccalaureate in Health Sciences in 2019. Katarina is a published author in a scientific journal for her work in Clinical Neuroscience research. She is fascinated by human behavior, which ultimately drives her curiosity and passion for storytelling. Katarina participated in the music and drama program throughout her time in college, where she took voice lessons and courses in music and theater performance plus production. Katarina has experience working with other nonprofit organizations in the past, such as The American Cancer Society, YMCA of Greater Cleveland, and now the Greater Cleveland Film Commission. She hopes that her role as an intern at GCFC and her role as Board Secretary of Women in Film and Television Ohio will bring new opportunities as she develops her place in the film industry.

Katarina wanted to intern at Greater Cleveland Film Commission because she wants to help Cleveland become more known and respected in the film and television world. One great thing about Ohio, is that our budding film industry has both Hollywood skill and talent with Midwest prices and perks. Since the recent efforts of the GCFC and others successfully secured 2020’s Motion Picture Tax credit, Katarina wants to be a part of expanding its funding pool to sustain the Ohio tax laws relating to film production that have always encouraged filmmakers to come here to shoot. She is proud to join the Greater Cleveland Film Commission in helping drive economic development in Northeast Ohio through the film and television industry, and she believes her diverse background in the behavioral and health sciences will allow her to apply her knowledge of human behavior to business in this industry through marketing and other means.

Keep up with what Katarina creates on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Hey guys, my name is Milan Hargrove. I’m a 15 year-old sophomore at St. Martin de Porres High School and I’m a returning GCFC intern from last year.

At the GCFC last year, I learned new things about the business world and how I should present myself in the world. I learned most of that information from FilmSkills.  FilmSkills videos are about working in and around the film world and how to use different tools when filming. I also learned how to get a job in L.A. or in Cleveland and how to prepare myself for a job.

I decided to come back to the GCFC because I enjoyed building relationships with the staff here at GCFC and learning things about TV, media and more. I also really like it here at GCFC and enjoy being a part of the GCFC.

One of my favorite days here at GCFC last year was when I met Snoop Dogg. Yes, I actually met Snoop Dogg. Crazy right? I never thought that I’ll meet an acutal celebrity at my job. I’m not promising you that you meet more celebrities here, but that day was pretty cool and was a forever memory.

Some parts I know more about the film industry are how the GCFC show different locations to directors. They take pictures of different locations and decide where in the movie scene the locations goes with the most. Before GCFC, I didn’t know that. This year at GCFC I hope to learnmore about how film directors cast actors for movies and what process the actors go through.

Hi! My name is Madison Woods and I was born and raised in Cleveland, OH. I am currently in my second year at CSU studying Writing and Directing in the School of Film and Media Arts. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts and Studies from the University of Kentucky as well. Go Cats!

I love to play and watch sports, including racquetball, dodgeball, kickball, and volleyball and my favorite sports teams are the Browns, the Indians, the Kentucky Wildcats (football and basketball) and the Dodgers. Some of my favorite things to do are play board games, go kayaking or sit by a campfire.

My favorite movie of all time is Bridesmaids. I love the way the writing, directing and performances came together to make, in my opinion, one of the funniest movies of our generation. As previously mentioned, I’m a big TV head. I love many shows; Glee and Teen Wolf were my high school favorites. I binged 5 seasons of Pretty Little Liars on Netflix in two days one finals week at UK. Recently, I’ve loved American Horror Story, Stranger Things, Derry Girls, Glow, and I am working my way through The Boys on Amazon.

I wanted to intern with the Greater Cleveland Film Commission because they are an incredible resource and powerhouse for films in Cleveland. I believe I can learn endlessly from the staff and network with people I might not have had access to before. I hope to learn more about the production processes and how they’re made possible by the GCFC, and I hope to make friends and long-lasting contacts during my time here.

I’ve loved TV since I was very young and want to pursue a career in writing, directing and acting in television and film. I currently study acting at the Houde School of Acting in Cleveland. Ideally, I’d love to become one of those “do-it-all” producers, and to support that, I am learning about every integral part of film production to make sure I’m the best producer I can be!

Thank you for reading. I look forward to getting to know you too

Check out some of Madison’s Writing/Directing and Acting work below!

LABRYS Teaser from Sickening Pictures on Vimeo.

Hello! My name is Sam Butler and I am a recent graduate from the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) with a BFA in Photography and Video. I was born and raised in Cleveland and have always been interested in visual art and story-telling.

It’s hard to pick a favorite movie or genre because each one serves its own purpose, but I have always been a fan of independent films. Throughout school, my love for smaller films only grew as I slowly learned how much goes into making a short film. Some of my favorite directors are Andrei Tarkovsky, Barry Jenkins, Yorgos Lanthimos, Greta Gerwig and David Fincher. I’m a big fan of A24 and have watched nearly everything they’ve produced.

Now that I have more free time, I’ve been watching a lot of shows that deal heavily with lighting and set design so Euphoria, Insecure, Atlanta, Legion, and Homecoming. 

I wanted to intern at GCFC because it allowed me to get a better understanding of what happens when companies want to film locally while also gaining more knowledge on the ins and outs of film production. I’m hoping that I walk away with a better idea of how the film industry works as I take my next steps forward as a filmmaker.

During my time at CIA, I was able to learn just how much goes into making a short film while simultaneously getting to play the various roles in film (i.e director, editor, sound, gopher). While I love being behind the camera and told myself for the longest time I wanted to be a cinematographer, I found a passion for directing and have begun shifting my time between both.

As an artist, I want to use my platform to create work that I deem not only important to me but also the people I work alongside in hopes of reaching larger audiences.

Check out Sam’s BFA short film A Frame of Mind.

My name is Joseph Byers, I was born in Cleveland, Ohio. I lived in the Westpark area for pretty much all my life. When I was little my family did not have much money, so we used to go see movies almost every weekend.

When I was 18 years old, I tried to join the Army. I enlisted as an 11X, which was a subclass of an infantryman. Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away and I was unable to leave for basic training. A few years went by and I was still unsure of what I wanted to be or what I wanted to do with my life so I re-enlisted as an 11X again. This time I went through with it. Joining the military was probably one of the most rewarding and difficult things that I have ever done in my life. Removing myself from my family and going out into the world was very difficult, but it had to be done.

The old neighborhood that I grew up in was beginning to change drastically and I didn’t want any part of it. During my time in the Army, I was sent to Ft. Benning, Georgia for my basic training and had to stay there longer for my AIT (Advanced Infantryman Training). After that, I was told I am going to ship to Fairbanks, Alaska. I didn’t even know that there were people that lived there let alone a military base. Once I made it there, I’ll never forget, it was 11 o’ clock in the morning and it was still dark. The military experience after I was sent to my unit was an eye-opener. I realized it was going to be a lot more difficult than I expected. During the first month, I was promoted to team leader and oversaw my first 2 soldiers. After doing about 3 months of training, and getting to know my team, we deployed to Afghanistan. 

Photo by Joe “Milk Sculpture”

During my time in Afghanistan, I was promoted again to the Senior Vehicle Commander of my company. I oversaw every Stryker vehicle, every other vehicle commander and driver in my platoon. Unfortunately, seven months into my deployment, my truck was hit by an IED that killed my PSG, which was sitting three feet away from me and injured everyone including myself. My whole team was Medevac’d to Germany where they stabilized me and sent me back to the United States. After my surgery, I spent most of my time trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I went to about five different colleges for different things but didn’t stick with any of them. Just within the past two years I found what I love to do, and it’s recording any and everything.

Finding my new passion brought me back to life and allowed me to try and return to my normal self after my injuries. I am now attending Full Sail University online, and am enjoying every minute of it. Currently, I am in Fundamentals of Production one and am in the process of making my second short film. Being behind the camera has given me purpose and has allowed me to find my creative self which keeps me going every single day.

Find Joe’s Business Page on Facebook, and subscribe to his YouTube Channel. Check out some of his YouTube videos below!

Hi! My name is Michael Doerge, I’m a Digital Media Production major at Kent State University, with a concentration in Digital Film.

I was born and raised in Medina, here in Northeast Ohio, but I moved to Kent in 2018 to pursue my degree. I have 3 siblings: my older sister, Caralyn, works in Cleveland and is a prolific local theatre actress; my older brother, Billy, works with my dad and uncle in Strongsville and is an avid hunter (he just got engaged to his girlfriend, which is very cool); and my little brother, Jacob, is still in high school, pursuing a career in computer science. My parents, Bill and Mary, are NE Ohio natives as well, living in Strongsville for most of their lives and proud supporters of their very busy children.

I love movies and I want to be involved in the making of any of these kinds projects. I’ve always loved writing and around my senior year of high school I started teaching myself how to write screenplays via youtube videos and by reading scripts of my favorite movies — which is a great segway!

It’s really hard to have just one “favorite” movie, but Rian Johnson’s Brick (2005) is what I have to put at #1. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in Johnson’s debut feature, it’s a super-low budget indie detective story that turns its limitations, in terms of budget, into creative fuel and shows that you can make something really intense and awesome without millions of dollars. It’s a big inspiration to me. More recently, I just saw It Comes at Night (2017) and that movie freakin’ rocks, you should go watch it.

I wanted to intern at the GCFC because it’s the most accessible way for me to get my foot in the door in the film industry. I wanted to meet people and get involved and start working with professionals and get experience. I was born and raised in NE Ohio so it’s just a great fit. I’m excited to get to work in the industry in whatever capacity I can, and to get to know people that work here and to find out how to make this a full-time career. As I said before, I love movies and I love making movies! Which is also a great segway —

— I want to make movies! I aspire to be an independent film director and/or screenwriter. I’ve been a writer since I was very young, and ever since I took up filmmaking late in high school it’s kind of become an obsession of mine over the past 4 years. It’s really become my medium for expressing myself – specifically with screenwriting. I just started pre-production on my senior thesis project at Kent State right now, and I’m excited to start production in January. I’m super excited to graduate and start working my way into my career!

You can subscribe to my Youtube channel; I post my class projects there if you’re interested.

Check out a video from Michael’s channel below!

Hello! My name is Faith Starks and I am a senior at Trinity High School from Bedford Heights, Ohio. I love to read, listen to music, play soccer, and skateboard, but most of all I love film!

As a child I always loved sitting on the couch with some snacks and watching movies with my family, that interest has stayed with me since. As I got older, I got into editing videos of my favorite movies, shows, and celebrities, learning the mechanics by downloading programs and watching youtube tutorials on how to use them. Showing my mom the videos I created led her mom to sign me up for a program that taught the fundamentals of media production such as research, editing, camera work, lighting, etc. I have been lucky to work on small projects with that program and even work with the 41st and 42nd Cleveland Film Festival, interviewing filmmakers and creating videos from it.

As of now, I aspire to be a cinematographer or a video editor. Currently, I’m watching The Handmaid’s Tale and Euphoria. My favorite show of all time is Orphan Black and my favorite movies are probably Wonder Woman, The Perks of Being A Wallflower, and The Favourite. I love superheroes and sci-fi the most so I hope to one day be apart of the making of a sci-fi production.

I wanted to work at the Greater Cleveland Film Commission mostly because it looked like an interesting place and had something to do with film! I’m hoping to learn a lot more about film and get experience in anything I can during this internship. I am super excited!

Check out Faith’s CIFF41 CIFF² Student Vlog – The Revival