The band is even more amazing from the sidelines, and the band’s “Joy of Life” was truly a highlight of every halftime as junior and filmmaker Jack Elliott could tell you—he was there for every game. As a retired saxophone player, junior Jack Elliott was no longer a part of the music, though his role on the field was equally as enticing. With a camera by his side and an idea, Elliott spent his summer and the band season preparing for his band documentary.
The documentary, titled “Defining the Standard” after the band’s motto, encompassed the achievements of the school band and what the motto means to them. Elliott followed the band to competitions, including Bands of America, and his documentary made it to semi-finals in the UIL film process.
“I did everything by myself,” Elliott said. “It’s not like a group project or a business where you can divide up the responsibilities. It’s like a piece of artwork.”
His entire life, Elliott has been interested in the filmmaking process. In fact, his interest was kindled at a young age when he decided to make a music video for a contest and ended up winning a car.
“I didn’t do this to get a bunch of hits on Youtube, or make money or sell a film,” Elliott said. “I did it to experience it and see what it was like.”
Although Elliott enjoys the filmmaking process, he is more interested in the editing overall. He uses Adobe Premier Pro to edit and is involved in Audio/Video production class.
“I think it’s great,” Audio/Video Production teacher Aaron Stahlecker said. “It’s setting a new status quo for our program as well as showing the rest of the world that we are a force to be reckoned with.”
While he enjoys filmmaking, Elliott doesn’t plan on limiting himself to just movie production. Right now he is leaning toward sound design and editing.
“I’m interested in so many things that I think I’ll probably pick something that’s a little more stable,” Elliott said. “Film is just a toss-up. No matter how good you are, it’s just the people you know. You never know if you’re going to be famous or not.”
Though the documentary is one of his bigger projects, Elliott doesn’t plan on stopping there. He plans on making and editing many more productions, including a movie to be started this summer.
“The difference between a huge movie and a small production is just the amount of money you sunk in your cameras and equipment and the talent of the actors and writers,” Elliott said. “The process is still the same, just on a different scale.”
Defining the Standard can be found on YouTube.
“I was proud of what I made and I wouldn’t have done much different if I had a chance to do it again,” Elliot said. “I was happy with it.”