Gila Ridge Film & TV student nominated twice for Student Production Award
Gila Ridge High School senior Jeffery Parle, a member of the school’s Career & Technical Education Film and TV Production Program, has been nominated for a Student Production Award from the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of NATAS (The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences).
The chapter includes Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and El Centro, California.
Parle, who is in his third year of Film and TV Production at Gila Ridge, was nominated for two separate submissions in the category of Graphics and Special Effects. According to instructor James Kuzniak, Parle has used this hands-on experience to hone skills in the area of film-making, graphic design, and digital content production.
“Jeffery is an amazing and very creative student and I was so excited to see that he was a finalist in the Graphics/Special Effects category,” Kuzniak said. “We started discussing the possibility of submitting pieces of work into the Student Production Awards category back in August of 2020, so a lot of hours and hard work were put in by Jeffery.”
With Parle having two of the five total entries in his category, he has. 40 percent chance of taking home a first place award.
“When Mr. Kuzniak told me I was a finalist I was very excited, and then when he said I actually was selected twice I couldn’t believe it,” Parle said. “Being able to learn and hone my skills over the past three years with industry level equipment and instruction, I really feel that my skills have prepared me for competitions like this.”
Additionally, Gila Ridge alum Josh Lopez was nominated in the category of editing for a montage he created about the Hawks’ baseball team.
The Student Production Award regional winners will be announced in a virtual gala on Saturday, November 6.