Making Music Videos by Lara M. Schwartz

One of the greatest rewards for us here at Random House is to hear that one of “our” books has had a profound influence in your classrooms. We recently received an e-mail from Jeff Kuhr, a film/media teacher at Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Kansas sharing the work his students have done over the past year. The Focus Film Festival, which began with 14 films five years ago and most recently boasted 92 student entries, combines the young talent of students from fifteen different high schools in the Northeastern Kansas region. The result was an awards ceremony attended by over 200 filmmakers, family members and community enthusiasts—a celebration of creativity, initiation, and raw talent. (more…)