Jerry Woods leads a make-a-movie class at the San Tan Charter School. At the end of the four weekly hour-long sessions, the seven students will have made a short film in which they are all involved in all aspects of the production. (Tom Blodgett / Community Impact Newspaper)
Jerry Woods grew up in Detroit and loved the movies, something he took from his mother.
“I was the boy who had seen all of Humphrey Bogart and Ernest Borgnine’s films before I was 15,” he said. “I went back and looked at them all and just absorbed.”
It has taken a while to develop into a career, but Woods finally has a film production company and an after-school program for children ages 7-13 about film and visual production, Six Pixels Studios East Valley / Phoenix, made.
Six Pixels offers courses in filmmaking, stop motion, photography, YouTube, and more. It works with schools to organize after-school clubs. It is currently located on the Recker campus of the San Tan Charter School and across the Gilbert line at the Leman Academy of Excellence in Mesa.
In addition, students can attend classes online, in face-to-face private groups, at summer camps, and at birthday parties.
“What attracted me is the fact that it teaches kids, and I liked the ages of the kids,” said Woods. “I think children naturally learn faster than when I was a child.”
Growing up in the 1970s, Woods was particularly enthusiastic about two films from 1977: “Star Wars” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. Woods said he loved watching documentaries about the making of these films.
“Steven Spielberg became an early influence, and I couldn’t learn enough about him and his shooting and approach,” said Woods. “George Lucas, the same.”
But Woods’ life took him differently for most of his career. He spent four years in the Army and four years in the National Guard to help fund college. He then spent more than 30 years in Corporate America, primarily in human resources.
His breakthrough in film came when Honeywell fired him during the pandemic in May 2020. The severance payment gave him the start-up capital to set up his own production company with a friend and to buy into Six Pixels, an aspiring franchisor.
“I was starting to realize the fact that I love film and love filmmaking,” he said.
Nu eer Legacy Entertainment
Woods and his business partner, Georgia film editor Rory Christian, cited their production company as a nod to their legacy. (‘Eer’ is an African word that means honor.) Here’s what they have in the works.
- A short film in post-production
- A documentary is wrapped up
- Looking for a feature film opportunity
www.nueerlegacyentertainment.com
Six Pixel Studios East Valley / Phoenix
248-345-5424
https://six-pixels-east-valley-phoenix.business.site
Opening times: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sun. closed.
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