By Natalie Scott
BANGOR, ME- On Wednesday, February 22nd, the Gracie Theatre welcomed Travis Trudell. Trudell is a lighting instructor for the Maine Media Workshops. He held a discussion with students from Husson University, as well as people from the community. This event was open to the public and did not require a ticket or any sort of payment. The reason for attraction was the fact that Trudell has previously, and is currently working on Hollywood films. He works as a gaffer and grip for these well known films. Trudell provided the audience with a live presentation revolving around the business of lighting for the big films he has worked on.
The people of the audience who attended this free filmmaking workshop and presentation even got some one-on-one time with Trudell. He offered them to ask any questions they desired during a set time after his lecture. The audience asked him questions involving film etiquette,
techniques, safety, and his experiences as a filmmaker. He even discussed his accomplishments, as well as his struggles while working in the film industry. He tells his students that they may not get a job right off after graduating, so it’s important for them to get all of the work and experience they can get while in school.
Trudell discussed his love for film and why it is so important. He explained how film is so amazing because you can take something and turn it into something you’ll remember and share it with people around the world. Throughout Trudell’s ten years in the film industry he has worked on many well-known films such as; Shutter Island, Black Mass, See Kate Run, Stronger, Cadaver, The Social Network, and so much more. Trudell even worked on the hit 2016 film Ghostbusters which was very popular as well as successful. Even though Trudell has been working on Hollywood films for ten years, his career started about twelve years ago and has only gone up from there.
Trudell may be a big Hollywood film maker, but he is really known for his keen sense of humor as well as his unique style of teaching. “One of the classes I teach is called location lighting. We really explore what it means to be on a location and to work with light, going into an unfamiliar enviornment, seeing how it can serve the story that you’re trying to tell. We’re using lights like the Lite Panel Astra’s, we’re using the Arri sky panels, their C series, LED Renal Units..” Said Trudell as he spoke about one of the classes he teaches. He also explained how it is important to give students hands-on time with the equipment. The first day of classes they are one-on-one with many of the lighting kits that the school offers.
People who attended learned a lot about the day in the life of a Hollywood filmmaker. Although it may have been exciting to in the same room as someone as successful as Trudell, they also got to know the rules and duties of a gaffer. If working in this field is something you’d love, this filmmaking workshop would have been very entertaining for you and may have been worth your time.
