By Nick Smith
Not all heroes have capes. Some have to animate them.
By day, William Legarreta is a superb Digital Video Technology Instructor and Career Technical Education (CTE) Department Chair at Niceville High School. In the evenings he’s a one-man studio producing motion graphics and animation.
‘I’m pretty boring,’ he says with his trademark modesty, ‘all I do is work.’
Legarreta’s teaching job takes up most of his time. He is devoted to his 9th thru 12th grade students, who gain certification in editing software (Adobe Premiere), video effects (After Effects) and graphic design software (Photoshop), which are all used in the filmmaking industry, especially at an emerging level.
Effectively, Legarreta teaches the students the same skills he uses to earn a living in the evenings. ‘The program is amazing and the kids love it,’ he says. ‘It’s a college level course taught at high school. They’re engaged in what they do, with wonderful results.’
Legarreta, who is of Puerto Rican and Italian descent, didn’t always want to be a teacher. He attended Sanford-Brown College in Orlando (then called IADT Orlando) for web design, earning an Associate’s Degree. ‘I hated it. But as I learned more, I started to animate things in Premiere and After Effects.’ The potential for animation piqued his interest more and more. By the time he’d attained a Bachelor’s Degree in Multimedia, he realized that he was a graphic designer at the core. ‘3D, design aspects… the more I learned, the more in love with it I fell.’
When Legarreta moved to Northwest Florida there wasn’t much need for multimedia design. ‘I struck out trying to integrate into local business,’ he recalls. ‘They could have used me but multimedia is a weird area they didn’t connect with.’ That has changed over the past several years, as businesses realize how important digital media can be, and how one man can make a difference to their trade. When asked, Legarreta describes himself as, ‘a walking talking studio. Video, audio, animation, if you need it to show up on a screen, I can do it.’
While he shopped for work, he was encouraged to teach by Shane Sauer, who had been teaching the video program at Niceville High and was moving into the corporate world. ‘This wonderful teacher was positive I was going to do really good,’ says Legarreta. So as Sauer moved out, Legarreta moved in.
‘I’m methodical, super OCD organized, and I love what I do so it’s a good fit,’ the instructor says. He’s backed up by the CTE Program led in this district by Lead Specialist April Branscome. ‘I’m pretty blessed to have entered my first teaching job where I can get what I need. A lot of teachers can’t get pencils; I have a room full of brand-new Mac computers and a giant interactive TV bigger than I am in a huge lab.’
Legarreta’s kids fall in love with the classroom and benefit immensely from CTE, which is geared towards tech instruction at a young age. Many of his students have gone on to colleges like SCAD (The Savannah College of Art and Design) and two to three gain employment in the multimedia field each year. ‘One former student, Rae Jenkins, is working remotely for a company in Los Angeles doing motion graphics for The Muppet Show. That’s a surreal experience for me since I grew up with it.’
Along with the technology at their disposal, Legarreta’s infectious enthusiasm inspires the students to excel at all kinds of digital storytelling, from drone simulations to their own versions of the TV shows Naruto and South Park. ‘Mr. Legaretta has the unique ability to inspire and motivate his students to give their best effort on every project he assigns,’ says Principal Charles Marello. ‘Once he instructs them and gives them direction, he allows for some student creativity and lets them make each project their own personal experience.’
Although Legarreta doesn’t intend to teach forever, his influence will remain as the High Schoolers develop their skills. By learning digital skills, they will have a valid voice in the future of storytelling.
‘We have to transition with the times,’ says Legarreta, with regards to his own work as well as CTE. ‘So many people I knew growing up did not do that. We have to be ready and open to changes, and take the opportunity to adapt to new technology.’
To see William Legarreta’s own work, visit https://www.virulentmedia.com/