Life + Arts

Award-winning alum animates UH

Award-winning filmmaker and UH alumnus Adam White held a Q-and-A session moderated by Alfred Cervantes in the College of Architecture on Wednesday. He also presented a few of his works then gave a brief tutorial on Adobe After Effects, an editing software used within the filmmaking business.

“I know (After Effects) is a bit daunting, but I wanted to give you enough information to do it on your own,” White said. “If this is something that interests you, I wanted to point you in the right direction you needed to go.”

White touched briefly on the use of green screen and animated effects, specifically the ones used in his short film, “The Unconscious Sith,” starring his own son Christian. The film won best in show at the Star Wars Fan Film Festival at Celebration V in 2010 and was presented through video by George Lucas himself.

“I had no crew and a lead with a very limited attention span and patience for the process,” White said. “So I knew it wasn’t going to be beautifully shot and I wouldn’t be able to get the coverage I need, so I came up with the idea of making it a comic book. I could jump around in time and go from panel to panel then I could treat it in After Effects so it could look like it was drawn.”

White also shared two short films created for the 48 Hour Film Project: Houston, “Fellowship” and “Morning Sickness.” In these contests, the participants are given a prop, a line that must be spoken in the film and a genre. They then have to turn in a film within a 48 hour period.

White showed also showed a small portion of his award-winning documentary on his son’s autism entitled “Inside Out.”

“I loved making this, I loved making a documentary,” White said. “I had a lot of fun and definitely want to do it again. You can use visual effects and graphics to tell a story.”

White graduated from the University in 2000 and has directed, written and edited several short films. He is currently in the process of editing his first feature-length film, written and directed by UH alum Michelle Mower. The film is titled “The Preacher’s Daughter,” starring Andrea Bowen and Lew Temple.

“It’s been a really fun experience,” White said. “Logistically, doing a feature is where it is most different; the amount of footage you have, organizing everything and keeping your mind wrapped around it all.”

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