TMI student named finalist in film contest

April 27, 2010 - PRLog -- TMI sophomore Tyler McCardle was named a finalist in the San Antonio Neighborhood Film Project for his short film, “How to Spend a Day in San Antonio for Under $5.”

Cosponsored by the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs, the San Antonio Museum of Art and the San Antonio Film Commission, the contest’s purpose was to highlight three new online neighborhood discovery tours – West Side Murals y Más, Echoes of the East Side and Downtown North River Tour.

Competition was open to student, amateur and professional filmmakers. Their work was judged by a panel of 12 professionals, including actor Jesse Borrego of “Dexter” and “Fame,” Grammy Award-winning musician Henry Brun and award-winning journalist and filmmaker Sylvia Rincon.

McCardle, age 16, was one of five finalists in the North Side category. His four-minute film took the viewer on a trolley ride, with visits to the Alamo, River Walk and San Antonio Public Library. The production team included co-director Brandon Burgman, a sophomore at Churchill High School; actor Daniel Villarreal, a sophomore at Central Catholic High School; and crew member Will Frost, a sophomore at TMI.

“We got the idea to do a tour for under $5 because there are a lot of great, free things to do downtown,” says McCardle. In fact, since everything but the trolley fare was free, he had his actor buy a $3  raspa, “just to show he’d still have money left over.” The filmmaker himself was working under some limitations: Because McCardle was using a borrowed video camera, he and his team had only one day to complete their film, meeting in the morning to plan the project and filming in the afternoon.

Earlier this year, McCardle headed a team that won second place in the SA48HR Film Experience, a local filmmaking event that challenges contestants to produce a short film in 48 hours. Meeting the requirements of short-film contests, he says, “has taught me the importance of planning and editing.”

As a participant in SAY Sí, a multidisciplinary student arts program, McCardle is working on a documentary and plans to take part in a group film project this summer. After graduating from high school, he plans to attend film school. He hopes to direct feature films, “but I want to work in the filmmaking industry in any way I can,” he says.

From nearly 50 entries submitted to the Neighborhood Film Project, 15 finalists were chosen, representing the three tour areas. The finalists’ films were screened at an awards ceremony was held March 26 in the Museum of Art.

To view McCardle’s film for the Neighborhood Film Project, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrIb4IxdCGg or http://vimeo.com/9914991.  For San Antonio Neighborhood Tours, visit http://www.saculturaltours.com/.



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About TMI – The Episcopal School of Texas: Founded in 1893, TMI is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory school for grades 6-12, with optional Junior ROTC and boarding programs. For information, visit www.tmi-sa.org or call 698-7171.