by Gabby Lewis, staff writer
A fifteen-year-old sophomore writing original scripts, directing his own films, releasing them out into the world, and being immersed in his passion to create: this is Grant Owens, one of our own students here at River Hill.
Owens’s interest in film began in eighth grade when a friend dared him to watch a new film every day of the school year. “It made me really appreciate film,” he says, “so I started writing stories and trying to make it into something.”
Since discovering his passion for film, Owens intends to pursue film as his career after high school. “I really want to be able to direct and write my own films,” he explains. He sees himself being a director and plans to go to college in California at the University of Southern California.
Outside of school, Grant creates his own films, which he posts on his YouTube channel, and he’s also filmed a few commercials, one for a doctor’s office and another for a law firm. His most recent project, a short movie called “Stained Tile,” is his longest and most difficult film yet. The film took about eleven months to complete.
Owens’s filming process is lengthy and tedious but worth it for the finished product. “It all kind of starts with an idea, and that idea branches off into me thinking about different situations and dialogues,” he says. He writes his script, assembles his crew first and then his cast, discusses how the film will be executed with everybody, and then shoots and edits.
Sam Hamer, a friend of Grant’s and senior at River Hill, worked on the sound for “Stained Tile.” Hamer states, “He [Owens] tends to have a positive vibe, and he kept his cool, and he knew what he wanted.”
Grant Owens says that he usually likes darker films more as well as character-driven films more than plot-based films, and he tries to get his films to reflect what he’s thinking through the plot and central conflict. “I find inspiration from times where there’s adversity.”
Owens tends to find motivation to film simply because he feels the need to create something, but he also finds motivation through achievements of his crew, cast, and other peers while filming.
Overall, Grant wishes for his films to have a universal message, something that resonates with all his viewers. He explains, “I want the message to hit home, whatever that message may be. I feel like the best movies are movies where you can take something away from it that can reflect your life.”