SINCLAIRVILLE - Travis Carlson says teachers at Cassadaga Valley Central School got used to receiving assignments late from him.
The quality of the work, though, left them with little reason to be upset.
''I really enjoy creative work, and I'm definitely geared toward art and creative writing,'' said Travis, who recently graduated from the school. ''I was kind of known for taking those assignments a little far.''
Travis, the son of Jay and Vicki Carlson of Gerry, took one assignment in particular ''a little far'' when his French teacher, Joanne Mancuso, asked the class to make short film versions of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
''We made this fairly long movie - over an hour,'' he said. ''It was very successful and it was so much fun to make.''
Travis and his group spent about five weeks on the project, which included getting St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Jamestown to serve as the bell tower. When the deadline to submit the movie passed, Travis was still trying to perfect the work - much to the chagrin of his teacher.
''I edited and edited and edited ... and it was the end of the marking period and she needed a grade for it,'' he said. ''She got very frustrated, but when we finally released it she was blown away and very happy - she didn't care anymore.''
Filmmaking is Travis' passion, and he has been accepted to Buffalo State College as an honors student to study in its television and film arts program. Only 15 new students are accepted into the program each year ''out of tons and tons of applicants,'' Travis said.
''At the open house, it was the most crowded table the whole time,'' he said. ''I barely even got a chance to talk to the guy, and he obviously wouldn't remember me.''
While he may not have been able to make an impression on the program administrators during the college's open house, he was able to do so through a sample of his work.
The application process involved writing an essay and submitting a creative piece. Travis submitted a piece that he loved so much he actually filmed it twice.
''We made an adventure movie called 'The Codex,' based on a book that I love,'' he said. ''I made it into a screenplay and we filmed almost all of it - and then I put in on an external hard drive which I accidentally dropped, and we lost everything.''
Where many may have been too upset with the twist of fate to continue the project, Travis saw it as an opportunity to improve.
''I was kind of happy, because I had a chance to rewrite it and see all the things that could be better, based on what I'd already done'' he said. ''They always say, 'You don't know how to do something until you've already done it,' so now I knew how to make that movie even better.''
Travis whittled the 90-plus-minute movie down to a 10-minute sample for the application - a process he called ''the most stressful time'' of his life - and was rewarded with acceptance into the competitive program.
Intramural sports are something Travis also hopes to enjoy at Buffalo State, building upon the soccer and baseball careers he had at Cassadaga Valley.
''I looked at the list, and they're all the games that I love,'' he said. ''I don't know how to emphasize that I love playing sports for fun. I would rather be on a varsity badminton, beach volleyball, ultimate frisbee and soccer team. That would be my dream life.''
That desire to do things for fun also applies to moviemaking - a topic which, in conversation with Travis, always seems to come back up.
It was during a trip to Europe as a People To People ambassador in seventh grade that Travis' interest in film was sparked, he said. A gondola ride in the Swiss Alps to a resort that was used in the filming of a James Bond movie, ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service,'' showed Travis the power of movies.
''It was just kind of like a day where you were really awed by the Alps, plus you were into this movie, because they kept showing you clips,'' he said. ''When I got home, I decided to write a story about the Habsburg family and a secret treasure.''
While Travis said the movie was very basic, and even a bit embarrassing in hindsight, it was his start. And when he first showed it to a teacher, Bill Yaeger, the encouragement he received was enough to keep him going.
''He was so supportive of it,'' he said. ''He really took us to a level like, 'Wow, really? You think it's good?' So that pushed us just enough to do another movie.''
Through the years Travis received support from other teachers, including Jill Pearl and Nancy Main, he said, to help him through the tough times and keep him moving forward toward his dream.
''This is what I love to do,'' he said. ''I can't see myself doing anything else.''
One of the things that draws Travis to the director's chair is the control it offers - the ability to take a story in any direction he wants and make it his own. The power, he says, is something he doesn't take lightly.
''I'd rather use that power for good, rather than advertising sex and everything else,'' said Travis, who is an active member of Park United Methodist Church in Sinclairville. ''If I can make movies without even getting money - money would be definitely be secondary to me, because it's really about what (movies) are.''
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If you have an area student you would like to recommend for Standing Out In The Crowd, contact Dave Emke at 487-1111, ext. 253 or demke@post-journal.com. This series of features highlights students who stand out both in the classroom and in their community.
