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Cinematic Arts student creates Vine video with Ron Howard

Caleb Natale and Ron Howard
Liberty University junior Caleb Natale shows some of his Vine videos to Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard.

Caleb Natale, a junior Liberty University cinematic arts student, was invited to the Twitter headquarters in New York for a workshop featuring Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard. While at the social media hub, Natale was given some face-to-face time with Howard to make a six-second social media video promoting Howard’s latest film, “In the Heart of the Sea.” (Watch the video below.)

“It was a pretty crazy, big, humbling experience to see this person who has been in the industry for a long time, making these huge movies, right there in front of you,” Natale said. “It was definitely one of the cooler things I have done in my life.”

Natale was invited because of his relationship with executives at Vine — a social media platform owned by Twitter where users create and share six-second looping videos. Natale, a New York native, has visited the headquarters before to network. Natale and nine other prominent “Viners” were handpicked to spend time creating videos with Howard.

The workshop featured a formal session with Howard speaking, followed by a Q & A. Later, Natale and the other Viners were given 40 minutes to create videos and interact with Howard, as well as share some of their work with the Hollywood legend.

“Being able just to show (Howard) my content was just amazing,” Natale said. “(Seeing) him watching my videos and being like, ‘Oh, play that again,’ that was pretty amazing.”

Natale has been an aspiring filmmaker since he was a child. Specifically, he enjoys editing and camera work. Until recently, he did not know exactly what he wanted to do with his filmmaking career. Then his Vine following took off.

“At first, (Vine) was really a side hobby,” he said, “but now I definitely see my passion in this. I prefer these short video narratives.”

Natale does not plan to pursue work on Hollywood films; he would like to stick with creating shortform content. As he continues studying at Liberty he also works, creating short videos for brands.

“It’s a way to make a living,” he said.

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