Derrick Warfel, our screenwriting instructor, came back in this semester to teach.  He is always a favorite among our students; his passion for writing is contagious!   This semester’s writing assignment is to write a :60 second commercial on one of the programs offered by the Sheriff’s Department.   We hope to produce them during the semester and cut them into our ABOVE THE LINE show.

Thank you Derrick!

The Alumni Group, which is held every Tuesday night (7PM) at Grace Baptist Church in Santa Clarita continues to do well; supporting “our guys” and their families as well as they guys still incarcerated. For the two weeks that Cyndi and I were on vacation, Richard Badger taught on the importance of what they believe and how it affects and guides their lives… positively or negatively.
One of our Alumni, Robert D. helped out as Richard taught.  Thanks Robert.
Last week we celebrated the two year anniversary of sobriety for Bill H. Congratulations Bill. Keep up the good work! 

Everyone is invited to attend our Alumni meetings. Hope to see you there.

Last month in class we produced our 6th episode of ABOVE THE LINE. Our special guest was George Schlatter of LAUGH-IN fame.

 

Good job to our students, much thanks to our volunteer instructors and to all of the Sheriff’s personnel!!    Looking forward to semester #10.

Hollywood Impact Studios celebrated it’s 3rd year anniversary at Pitchess Detention Center, this June. Thank you to all of our volunteer staff, our supporters and most of all God for this amazing ministry. We’re looking forward to the future!!

To all of our Hollywood Impact Studios Dad’s, we’d like to wish you all a very Happy Father’s Day from Gary and Cyndi and the entire Hollywood Impact Studios family.

Our Alumni Group, held at Grace Baptist Church is still struggling to find a full time instructor and admittedly some of our attendance has dropped off a bit, but for those who continue to faithfully attend, we are seeing some real positive results.   Families are getting stronger, men are supporting one another and strong healthy relationships are being created.

We also gave out a very much overdue, “Best Writers Award” to Gerald Grant, who won that award back in our semester #3 class in 2010 for best original short screenplay.   Congrats Gerald!

“All the way to my childhood, I was a very troubled person.   In my family, there was a tremendous amount of fighting.  My brother and I got into some pretty bad fistfights when we were teenagers.  The neighbors would call the police because we would be out in the front yard beating each other up.  When there was any kind of tension or problems my way of solving it was anger, and that was all I knew.  I had some martial arts training; I was in Golden Gloves in high school. I knew how to fight and I got in many fights.  As I got older I found that my behavior as a child carried over into my adult life.  It only got worse when I enlisted in the U.S. Army.  I was always fighting in bars and regrettable, I hurt a lot of people, but most of all I harmed myself.  It landed me in jail.  I managed to alienate everyone who loved me in a very short time.  I felt alone most of my life and very much lost.

When I reflect on what has been a rough go in life, Gary and Cyndi Hall [HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS] reminded me that things in life would break apart and come together many times.  I remember  a video shown by Cyndi that was about the amazing transformation of butterflies and all the astounding things God did when he created them.   When I found Christ, my psyche was like being in the chrysalis.  I am finding that transforming into a new creation does not just happen once, but continually throughout life.   Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear each other’s burdens.   Gary shared with me that it is in the the difficulties of life that we find the chief work of love; essentially he said to comfort each other, again and again.   In that, I learned my trials of life have made me more humble, more contrite and more open to the guidance that I rejected before.   The fire I go through becomes my purifying agent.   What was chaotic at the time, ultimately had a healing effect, and sometimeS, when I am really fortunately, I look up in the sky and see a rainbow.  Then I remember that it could not have happened without the rain.”

Thank you Aaron.  

This semester we’re continuing to teach, editing, acting, careers of the television business, typing, Bible Studies and computer skills.   We’re now at the point where we begin teaching camera and lighting.    Our special guest instructor, Ryan Sheridan, will we be teaching these disciplines again this semester.  They guys really like his instruction.  He makes it so interesting and engaging.   Thank you Ryan!

“The Alumni” is a meeting held every Tuesday night at 7PM with those men who’ve been released from jail or prison and their family members that support them. Two weeks ago, one of our very first students from our semester #1 droppped by to visit. It was a real struggle for him for the first year he was out, but finally he was able to get a part time job in his given trade, butcher, at a grocery store. He has now been out three years, been promoted to manager of the meat market, has gotten married, is plugged in to his neighborhood church. Life is good. Congratuations!