Graduation: Latin School Class of 2014

While birthdays are annual events, It's but once a person Graduates from high school.  This fact would logically lead to a big party surrounded by all of your friends and family; or it would if the lion's share of your friends were not also graduating the same week. This is an example of logistics trumping sentiment. Friends can't attend your party because they are having their own, and like you, they too are juggling grandparents' schedules, other family members' ceremonies, and dreading any mistake that results in hurting someone's feelings. Just imagine planning your wedding in the same week that eight of your close friends have scheduled their own "Special day."

While there is a certain safety of only having a small family dinner, the desire to have at least a few of your child's friends on-hand is natural. So when the opportunity to merge our plans with the arrangements a few of Lane's friends popped-up, it seemed like a great idea. It took a bit of work (none of which I did) to pull-it-off; but I thought it went quite well. The food was good, people all got along well, even the weather cooperated.  

Now I will shut-up and post pictures.

Lane J. Lubell Graduates

Am I proud of Lane graduating High School?

No!

 

I understand if that strikes some as an odd thing to say, it's just that I never had any reason to contemplate the possibility that he would fail to graduate. As I have explained to Lane frequently, this is perhaps the downside of possessing a record of high achievement - expectations tend to get rather lofty. Sure I get that there is something inherently unfair about me suspending the hoops so high off the ground- But damn it, you keep jumping through them.

I don't want anyone to think that I'm not extraordinary proud of Lane, that I don't get how hard he works, or that I don't appreciate his accomplishments. While I am in the habit of "reminding him" of items that he, or I, put on his "To do list," I do also write him lengthy texts filled with glowing praise. When I take issue with his overly brief responses, he will reply "Dad, you're the only one that sends an 800 word text."

OK, so getting a diploma I took as a given, but I am proud of how well he did, and how that success opened the doors to Northwestern. I'm in awe of the dedication to complete, and the caliper of writing in his 3 act play. I am genuinely impressed by the laser-like focus he direct towards his films and other writing projects. I do understand the daunting task of opening Avid Media and needing to find, match and sync several hundred audio clips to an equal number of video clips, knowing that upon completion, hundreds of hours of editing await. I was thrilled watching him and his friend Hunter perform songs at Old Town School of Folk Saturday night, great job Lane finding a woman that can really sing.

But what might impresses me most is Lane's sense of empathy and loyalty, it is sincere, and I have no question that it explains his ability to surround himself with such a great group of friends.
One more thing: I cannot adequately convey how much happiness he brings to my life each and every day. He is a best friend, an artistic collaborator, a person that never disappoints and one that I know will never stop making me proud.

Now I can go home and get upset that he didn't put back my WaWa and overdrive pedals.

 Ed and Steven drove in in order to celebrate Lane's graduation, I know Lane appreciated them being able to watch him step forward to the next stage of his life.

Lane is going to miss the comfort of having an apartment to hang-out in each day after school. 

When my and dad gone most of the winter, he had the place to himself, when they were home he had the joy of their company.  

Chicagoland High School Film Festival 2014

05/16/2014 UPDATE
HAND SPRINGS TOOK FIRST PLACE.

I am proud to say that Lane's short film "Hand Springs" has been accepted as a finalist in the Chicagoland High School Film Festival.
Needless to say, this would not have been possible without the performances of Erika Marks, Riley Nelson and Cullen Welch. They put in a lot of time and dedication, for no compensation, even arriving on "The Set" for 7:30am shoots on some of the very last summer days before the school year started; giving up what otherwise would have been their last opportunity to sleep-in.

Thanks to the Max McMahon and family for putting up with Lane "Kicking them out of their own home"; so he can shoot a few scenes there.

The 2014 Chicagoland High School Film Festival will be held at the Latin School of Chicago’s Wrigley Theatre (59 W. North Blvd), on  Friday, May 16th, from 6:30-9:00 pm.  Created by and for Latin School students in 2002 as Zwinglifest, the event has since expanded to include students from both public and private schools, giving young filmmakers the opportunity to share their expressive voice while gaining insight from an expert panel of some of the best in the business. 

PREVIOUS WINNER INCLUDE STUDENTS FROM:
 Benito Juarez High School/ Street Level Youth Media
 Francis W. Parker School
 Glenbrook North High School
 Hinsdale Central High School
 Lake Forest High School
 Latin School of Chicago
 New Trier Township High School
 Palatine High School

In past years there have been some very talented filmmakers, each creating impressive work resulting from up to hundreds of hours of effort, making this something worth attending.

The Laramie Project,

It's had to believe, but this will be Lane's last performance in a play at Latin (Well unless you count "The Morgans," the play he wrote that will have a staged reading next month).
Because I was getting a bit sentimental, I decided to design this poster to have something to look at to remember.

• The Laramie Project, 7 p.m., Wrigley Theatre, Latin School of Chicago

Latin Class of 2014

Latin School, as a part of celebrating their 125th year, commissioned a company to come out and take a photo of all of the kids and teachers, K-12, to line-up to spell out the 125. The photographer made use of a large Cherry-picker to get to the height needed to get the shoot. But then they realized that the process of getting some 1,200 people to crowd together in carefully designated positions, dictated by several math teachers capable of factoring in perspective, was an event worthy of documentation. Based on two previous, unsolicited, short videos of parent "Pot-Luck parties," coupled with the understanding that Lane knows how to make movies; the task fell to us to make the video.

The head of the committee emailed me an example of a college that had spelled-out their age, and was asked to "Make something like that." The heart of the video was time lapse footage condensing the event to three minutes. That seemed like a logical approach which led to several issues, the need to obtain a camera that was designed to shoot time-lapse, the need to guess how long the process would take in an attempt to select the best interval to compress the action; and finally, how with my pronounced fear of heights was I going to shoot from a 60 foot elevation. Lucky for me, Lane had the answer to all three questions; he used a GoPro camera to shoot time-lapse of a construction site while at an internship with a video production studio; he calculated the interval needed, and he was willing to go up in that cherry-picker. The only thing was, as a student, he needed to be IN the photo; so he had to set up the camera, confirm it was working correctly, then ride back to the ground to be a member of the class. So we decided that I would be down on the nice safe ground with the Canon 7D on a tripod,he would set the GoPro and help in shooting the kids arriving, and being arranged, including close-ups,till the moment he had to join the seniors in the photo.

The editing, took a while because of the need to cut 45 minutes of footage from the 7D down to under 3 minutes, That's cutting that involves both aesthetic choices as well as providing a fair distribution of ages and perhaps not cutting the wrong people. This is version of the 125 video Latin has on their website. They made Lane use their fight song instead the better music he had planned- Something about alumni and money. But I understand the difficult nature of being the head of the committee having to please so many people; so the plan was to give them what they wanted. They asked us to help, and after all that the school has done for Lane; we were looking at this as gift, and would cut it anyway they requested.

http://youtu.be/GXcWkngeHPM

Moments after, the plan was to shoot a photo of the senior class. Well, as long as we had the equipment set-up, it seemed natural for Lane and I to shoot a video for the class of 2014. I hope it will be fun for the class of 2014 to see now, and bring back memories years from now, in a way that a single still photo can't match.

2012 Chicagoland High School Film Festival

For the second year in a row, Lane has a film that's been selected

as a finalist in the Chicagoland High School Film Festival. 





2012 Film Festival Finalists


Academic Integrity by Geoff Neal, Hayden McAfee, Frank Henderson, Jacob Hellinga, Patrick McGrail Lake Forest High School 13:11

Derivation by Nhan Huynh. Palatine High School 2:21
Robin and Her Wolf  by Lane Lubell. Latin School of Chicago 12:55

The Following by Jess Greenthin. Palatine High 1:02

Heart and Soul by Anna Price. Palatine High School 3:18
Bridge by Devitt Conboy. Fenwick High School 7:00

John Shepphard Skate Contest by Patrick McGrail. Lake Forest High School 3:54

HIV/AIDS Awareness 2010 by Brittany Hardaway. Dunbar High School 2:51
Letter From a Stranger by Grant Terzakis. New Trier High School 11:47

Q-Tips by Brittany Hardaway. Dunbar High School 1:00

The Dream Act by Nayelly Trujillo. Juarez High School/Street-Level Youth Media 7:00

Room For One by Andre Kaplan. Latin School of Chicago 5:40

Party at the School by Brittany Hardaway. Dunbar High School 3:43

Invite your friends, family, teachers and neighbors–this is a celebration of you and your work.

Tickets are only $3.00 for students and $5 for adults. Tickets can be reserved or purchased at the door.

We will have popcorn, water and a few concessions available to purchase.

Chicagoland High School Film Festival 2012

6:30-9 PM Friday, May 18

Wrigley Theatre,

Latin School of Chicago

59 W. North Blvd.

Chicago, IL 60610

March 2011

Ilene and I took a tour of the new 9 million dollar addition to Latin's science lab, floor to ceiling whiteboards,
30 foot wide LED video walls with live feeds from CERN,
3D projectors, walls that move so spaces can be reconfigured at will.

I wish I could go here,(Save for the homework) but I'm even happier that I can give this opportunity to Lane.

http://www.latinschool.org/ftpimages/348/misc/misc_80264.pdf

Faculty Presentation re Science Facilities on Prezi

http://prezi.com/ghlnf13lqado/faculty-presentation-re-science-facilities/

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