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This young filmmaker shows he's reel deal

Eighteen-year-old Jesse Newman has attended film festivals and captured awards. Now he sets his sights on college. Look out, Hollywood.

By AUTUMN SIEGEL
Published April 21, 2005

LECANTO - When most teenagers are heading to the movies, Jesse Newman is making movies of his own.

The 18-year old Lecanto High School senior already is a big name in Florida's cinematography scene, with a portfolio of short films and a collection of awards from film festivals statewide.

Newman's most recent award came this past weekend, when he took third place at the Palm Beach International Film Festival for The Recluse, a 12-minute film about a teenage misfit's search for identity. The film was a finalist for the high school division's top feature short film awards.

The film already has been honored by Movie Gallery's Jay Sanders Memorial Film Festival, another international festival, with second place in the high school division. Clips of The Recluse will air on the in-store trailer in 2,500 Movie Gallery video rental stores across the United States and Canada during May.

"You wouldn't think that there would be so many opportunities for young filmmakers, but after some research, I found quite a few," Newman said. "After Daytona (Beach's film festival, in which he won Best Scriptwriting for Never Ever Die), everything's been uphill."

In September, at the Independent Film Festival in Tampa, Newman won the 2004 Florida Choice Award for Moonlighters, an 18-minute film about a desperate teen's decision to break into his ex-girlfriend's house for a final word with her.

Moonlighters has placed at other festivals, as have An American Trailer, a parody of cliche teen movie trailers; and Never Ever Die, a James Bond parody with girls, gadgets and catchy lines.

Moonlighters also received a Best Actor award for its star, fellow Lecanto High student Miles Teller, at the Melbourne film festival on Sept. 11.

"That was a really great award for him because he's an aspiring actor and not many in his station are getting awards," Newman said. "It makes me feel that everybody around me is really accomplished. It helps keep me focused."

""Moonlighters was my first time working with Jesse, but we collaborated so well that it was like we had done it countless times before," Teller said. "Jesse is easy to work with because he is so professional, and he doesn't leave empty spaces. Every shot, lighting effect and prop is accounted for before we started the operation."

Newman said his name recognition among county residents has increased as he makes more films.

"I started out in TV production class at school making short, funny stuff for the morning show, and I'd edit it on the school program," he said. "Now I learn with every film because I'm trying something new, and I know what I need to work on more from the past."

His first film was a spoof on the Blair Witch Project.

His camera angles became more sophisticated. The quality of the tape improved. He edits now from home. "When you get more professional. . . you can have so much more pride in what you're doing, and it makes you more excited for the next one. I feel so much more responsible," Newman said.

His most recent projects have shown his progress. Men's Room is all in black and white, and was the first to be shot on his new camera, a Canon GL2 that shoots in movie frames instead of single shots.

He writes his scripts and chooses his soundtracks. He handles all the roles, from cinematographer to casting agent to sound specialist and, his favorite, director. He fields the Spielberg and Lucas references with a smirk, but their effect is not lost.

"One guy at the Tampa festival told me that if he had my talent when he was a kid, he'd be the next Cecil B. DeMille," Newman said.

Last week, he lectured at the Florida Scholastic Press Association's conference in Tampa, hosted by the University of Florida's College of Journalism. The conference was a think fest for the 300 plus yearbooks, newspapers, literary magazines, morning news shows and other media publications from high schools around the state.

His presentation was about creating narrative shorts in high school.

Newman has learned to market his skills to pay for his continued education.

"I did a wedding video, but those are really hard because it's so important to the family, and you have to meet every specific request," Newman said. He also has created a commercial for Kelly's Gym in Crystal River.

Newman plans to release another compilation of his short films.

"I put together five of them on a disk, and I sold a hundred DVDs. I made $500 profit. That sure beats Burger King."

Next year, Newman will attend Florida State University. He hopes to transfer into the school's competitive film school in his sophomore year. The school funds its film students' thesis projects and sends them to festivals, so a strong movie could get his name known.

Newman said the film school "would be a definite boost toward getting out into the real world." But he is not limiting himself. "I'm already working, winning festivals. Most kids my age who want to get into film are only talking about it."

[Last modified April 21, 2005, 01:05:18]