BELLA VISTA — Three Gravette High School students are recording history in the form of a documentary film - for fun.
Zak Heald, 16, Sayer Smith, 17, and Connor Houtchens, 18, are making a documentary about Bella Vista’s attempt to annex Hiwasse.
Heald, who runs his own production company - Intercut Productions - making commercials for area businesses, said an employee of the school said the boys should film what’s been happening with the annexation process in Bella Vista and Hiwasse.
The group said they plan to have a full-length film when finished.
The annexation process continues to forge new ground in the history of the two land areas.
They attended meetings held in Hiwasse and Bella Vista, including gatherings of Hiwasse residents and Bella Vista City Council meetings.
Together, they have produced a number of narrative films and a YouTube comedy web series entitled Sayer’s Short Shorts. They hope to enter the fulllength film in Fayetteville’s Offshoot Film Festival in October.
Heald lives in Bella Vista, Smith in Hiwasse and Houtchens in Gravette. They each have their own opinion on annexation.
Smith doesn’t like the idea of his family’s farm being part of Bella Vista. His family farms 1,000 acres that has been and hopefully will continue to be passed down through generations.
Heald said although he is attempting to stay neutral for the film’s sake, he agrees with the now-common term “land grab,” and does not see this as a productive move for Bella Vista.
“Normally you can tell which way the filmmakers are leaning, you can’t prevent that,” Heald said. “You lean toward the side you believe more in.”
Houtchens agrees Hiwasse would be better left alone to remain as it is now.
“We all had a pretty good political understanding before we went into this,” he said. “(We’re learning) how a city operates as a whole.”
Through filming live meetings and interviews, the students are learning the “reality of only getting one shot with no retakes,” said Heald.
It’s been difficult to get the entire story together in his head, Heald said, because the boys can’t always be there for everything.
“It’s a story that’s happening live around us,” he said.
The trio uses a handheld camera, an audio system and an editing system for the footage.
Their parents have been supportive during this process. Smith says his parents encourage him to have a career in the acting business. Heald said his parents were scared of investing in his company at first, but he thinks he has proved this area can support a business like his. Houtchens said he hasn’t done anything like this until this year.
“My dad wishes he would have done stuff like this when he was in high school,” he said.
The boys are not naive about their dream jobs and maintain realistic goals for their lives after high school. All three said they plan to attend college after graduation.
Smith would like to become a nurse anesthetist but is starting to get into being a DJ in the area. He also works on his family’s farm.
Heald plans to major in cinematography and said his dream job would be working with Sherwood Films, which makes Christian films.
Houtchens is entering college next fall and plans to go into medicine.
“As much fun as (making movies) is, I think too practically,” he said.
The boys agree they would love to make enough money off their YouTube series to live comfortably. Their clips have had enough viewers on the website that they are now eligible to be paid.
News, Pages 12 on 02/08/2012