Buchanan High seniors given NATAS 'Award of Excellence' for their work

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Two seniors at Buchanan High School are graduating on a high note after taking home top honors in a regional video competition.

The number of awards on display at Buchanan High School is about to grow by two.

Senior Grace Persons put her personal touch on a music video she entered into the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Northern California Chapter competition.

She was drawn to the music and came up with the concept.

"All I could think of when I was listening to it was this little journey of this little character just going about his day," Grace said.

She chose to challenge herself with a new skill and created her video using clay and stop motion.

The time investment ended up being more than she bargained for.

"Three months for about a minute and a half video," Grace said.

The countless hours of work paid off when it was given the "Award of Excellence" in the music video category against other entries from all of Northern California, Reno, Nevada, and Hawaii.

"Finding out that I won on such a massive scale, I was like, that's huge to be recognized because I always struggle to recognize myself," Grace said.

She wasn't the only winner in her class.

Named alongside her in the fiction category were Senior Noreen Marquez and Grace Nishanian for their short film called, "Dear, Darla."

"Essentially, a boy who has a crush on a girl in his neighborhood but he's a little bit shy, so he decides to confess his feelings through a love letter," Noreen explained.

Noreen's brother and his girlfriend were the actors in the film.

She and Grace Nishanian faced challenges getting moving shots on the bike, but also found working with family can be fun.

"There was so much laughing in between takes and all of that," Noreen said.

The light-hearted shoot became even more special when she learned she received the "Award of Excellence."

"It felt so worth it because it was so much fun to me, so getting to have a reward kind of for that fun was really cool," Noreen said.

The two films will now be entered into the national competition against all 19 chapters across the US.

Winners will be announced in the fall.

"Whatever happens whether we win or not - I know we had a really great time making the video," Noreen said.

Grace said she's happy either way too.

"I don't know if I'll win anything. Maybe I will, maybe I won't, but I'm excited to see how it turns out," Grace said.

The young ladies are headed to college in the fall, and both plan to major in film.

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