If you saw the Industrial ISD Facebook post of senior Isaiah Reyes becoming a back-toback- to-back state film champion in Austin at the University of Texas campus, the header said it all.
Three years. Three titles. One champion.
Reyes spoke about what was of real importance to him concerning the win.
“It feels good because of the payoff from all the films I’ve made, and even if I didn’t get first place I’d still be doing it because it was fun to make those films in general, and I want to keep doing it. I want to thank God for having me in his plan to win these awards.”
The inspiration behind each film’s theme are telling stories of what Reyes himself fears. Sophomore year: a fear of anxiety; junior year: a fear of the dark; and senior year: a fear of the future. He’s fearful of what the future might hold for him, and how much he’s willing to sacrifice for his job or career.
“So it manifested into how much the main character was willing to sacrifice to achieve his goal, which was a revenge story,” Reyes said. His silent film, a stop motion animation, is titled Nothing Else Matters, and about a samurai swordsman who wants to get revenge on the man who killed his father.
The swordsman has trained his entire life to achieve his goal, and at the end he realized the man he wants to kill is a father with a son. So the swordsman realizes if he achieves his goal, he will become the same person who killed his father, making an endless loop.
Therefore, the swordsman forgives and is able to move on.
“It took about twothirds of the year to make it,” he said. “I don’t know exactly how many frames I made, but it was definitely over 1,000 for less than a minute. This time I had 24 frames per second instead of 14-15 per second like I did with my first two films. The film was originally four minutes and 24 seconds, but I had two shave it down to three minutes for the state competition.”
Reyes thanked two of his classmates, Ruby Gonzales and Clayton Joines, who helped him with the script and set design, respectively.
Then Reyes would check in with his film advisor and teacher, Alicia Miller, who watched several scenes and gave him critiques.
His sets, which ranged from a couple of feet to the length of a full-sized conference table, were first constructed at the school and then he moved them to his house when he started filming.
“I think I have better organizational skills and also better communication from last year to this year. My communication isn’t super good but it’s getting better,” he said.
“I’ve also been better at the technical aspects of film, like set design and effects, and smoothness.”
Reyes wants to become a filmmaker and director and attempt to make his own films and possible movies in the future. If money wasn’t an issue, he’d love to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, which is one of the top art colleges in America. A second choice would be the First Institute in Orlando, which is a 10 to 12 month program dedicated to educating people about making films.
When asked if he’s overcome his fears due to his films, Reyes said yes, sometimes, but his movies have allowed them not to control his life.
“I want to thank my family, especially my dad because he gave me so much support. It was really hard staying in my room and animating the figures for more than seven hours a day,” he said. “It was fun to have my dad critique things on what I should do and how to make the film better.”
Isaiah is the son of Scott and Carissa Reyes, and he has two older sisters, Isabella and Victoria.
“I’m proud of contributing 20 points every year to Industrial ISD for winning the state championship. It’s weird that it’s sort of a silent contribution because not everyone knows about it,” he commented. “But I want these three state champion awards to be a message to people to reach their own aspirations. If you’re good at something you should probably do it.”
