By Wade Coggeshall
BROWNSBURG — It’s not like Robbie Nix was born with a movie camera in his hands.
The Brownsburg senior had no filmmaking experience when he moved here his freshman year. He was a jock at his previous school. But Daniel Risk, who was already making a name for himself in video production, saw something in Nix. He encouraged him to enroll in Brownsburg High School’s telecommunications curriculum.
“He had a desire that’s hard to find,” Risk said of Nix. “I always knew it was something he wanted to do. I was glad to be able to show him everything I could.”
Last year Risk won Indiana Farm Bureau’s Project Excel, a statewide creative arts competition for high school students. This year Nix is in the running to bring the filmmaking title to Brownsburg again.
Nix directed the short film “Nerves” for Project Excel. Co-written with senior Cate Gattone, it stars fellow BHS students Tyler Hergott and Emily Myers. Participants were given the theme “secrets” to work with.
Nix and Gattone wrote the script for “Nerves” based on a Walt Disney quote: “Secrets, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C’s. They are Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy and the greatest of these is Confidence. When you believe a thing, believe it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.” The film centers on a guy who’s best friends with a girl. He’s secretly in love with her, but has never mustered the courage to tell her.
With more than 3,800 film entries in this year’s Project Excel, Nix only had expectations of reaching the second round.
“I would’ve been upset if I didn’t,” he said. “Otherwise, I thought that’s good enough for me.”
Results were posted online at midnight one night last month. Nix stayed up to see how far he made it. And that would be Top 10. He, along with the other finalists, will present his film before a panel of judges April 12 at the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center at the University of Indianapolis. The event, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., is free and open to the public.
Drew Varvel of Bethesda Christian School is also in the running.
“I’m honored to be Top 10,” Nix said. “I’ve already surpassed my goal.”
Nonetheless, Nix finds himself among a winning tradition at Brownsburg. The school is establishing itself as a leader in both sports and the arts. With Risk winning Project Excel last year and the boys’ basketball team bringing home this year’s 4A title, Nix is feeling the pressure of continuing the streak.
“There have been people saying to me, ‘You’ve got to bring one home too,’” he said.
But he’s getting plenty of support. Jason Starkweather has loaned Nix professional equipment for every project he’s done. The Brownsburg Police Department is assisting Nix on a film he’s currently producing for school called “Ransom.”
“It’s great to see everyone who comes out and supports Brownsburg — not just in sports but the arts,” Nix said. “It seems like every time I reach out a hand for help, someone is there to grab it.”
It helps that Brownsburg has such a good media program. Led by Eric Esterline, students must maintain a B average or better to remain enrolled. After an initial mass media course, they advance to increasingly in-depth studies of TV production that’s extremely hands-on. Students produce everything from short films to commercials and music videos.
“It’s like Socratic learning, not textbook,” Nix said. “Everyone produces every aspect of their own projects. You learn by doing. It’s very easy to find motivation.”
Risk gives Esterline all the credit for the program’s success.
“He’s one of the greatest teachers I’ve ever had,” said Risk, who’s now studying film at Chapman University in Southern California. “He knows his stuff, and he promotes greatness.”
Before Esterline came along, Risk says the extent of the program was daily announcements filmed and aired during the school day.
“With Esterline, he really expanded the program,” he said. “He gets a camera in every student’s hands and lets them go wild, which you need to have creative freedom.”
Nix marvels at how fast the program has grown. Risk was one of the first film savants to graduate from BHS, and now Nix is attending Bowling Green State University in the fall with a double major in cinematography and political science. Just like he was taught the ropes by those before him, Nix expects future generations to take the program even further.
“It’s like a lineage,” he said.
wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com
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Online:
www.infarmbureau.com/excel
