Jayne Armstrong, Post Production Supervisor
Bryce Randle and Tim Leaton, Undergraduate Summer Associates


Picture this: You're in a movie theatre watching a film, happily munching on some popcorn while laughing at a comedy or sipping a soda and shedding a few tears with the characters as you watch a drama. 

After it's over, do you think about the hours of work that went into providing the emotional thrill you've witnessed?  Have you ever wondered what the filmmakers are like? 

According to Undergraduate Summer Associates Bryce Randle and Tim Leaton , the filmmakers think about you!

The two Associates entered the program through different channels (Bryce learned of the program through Brigham Young University where he is finishing his senior year, and Tim, who attends Virginia Tech, won a competition called Film Your Issue, for which he submitted a 1 minute video about an orphanage in Africa), but they both came to The Walt Disney Studios to learn from Jayne Armstrong and many others about production and post-production.  Together they visited and worked on the sets of Pirates 3 , The Guardian , and The Santa Clause while they learned the art of being a filmmaker.

Jayne Armstrong has never before been a mentor to college students in the Summer Associates program.  She laughs now when she remembers that her initial thought was, “How much work is this going to be?!”  But she hasn't regretted taking them on for a second. 

“I would do it again,” she says.  “They were friends and members of the staff.  It turned out to be no extra work, and I learned a lot from them too.”

“Bryce was able to meet the editors of Pirates 3, and they gave him work.  Tim was a production assistant on The Guardian.” 

Tim smiles, “I had to get lemons for Kevin Costner's tea.  I brought him the wrong lemons the first time so I had to go get the right ones.” 

Tim, whose goal is to direct, spent a day watching the production of Pirates 3 , but his favorite day by far was going to scoring stage and watching the orchestra scoring music.  

“It's amazing how much better the music sounds in person.  When you see it as a movie it's mixed with effects, action and dialog, and you don't hear it as well,” explains Jayne.

Although they worked on different projects this summer, the two Summer Associates learned from Jayne and their other mentors on the sets as well as from each other. 

Bryce notes, “We have had different experiences that feed off each other, and we can always use each other for connections in the future.”

Tim and Bryce, who both had experience with filmmaking before arriving, were still amazed at the talent and detail that went into the production. 

“I watched a woman remove dust frame by frame from Ashton Kutcher's jacket.  We couldn't even see the speck as the film played, but when she froze the image, we could see it,” says Tim. 

Jayne replies, “The process is called ‘dust busting.'  She was removing specks from the master.”

All that hard work is often thankless, but the filmmakers are still happy to do their jobs so that consumers can enjoy the end product.  Tim says, “So much hard work goes into the film for the consumer.  It's the nature of the medium that all the work is hidden.”

Bryce also feels rewarded knowing that his work is for the happiness of the consumer.  “I like knowing that what I do, even though it's a small contribution, will make other people have a good time.  Watching the film, will help people to sit back, relax, and enjoy themselves for a little while.”

Watching the box office results has also been part of their job, and since they are working on Pirates 3, they have been pleased to see the numbers, but Bryce has a different idea.  After seeing how much money the Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest made, Bryce says, “I want to know instead how many people saw the movie.  Then we'll know how many lives we have affected.”

Since Pirates 2 has just recently cleared the $400 million mark domestically, the number of lives that our Studio has affected is a high one. 


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