Finding the correlation between scouting and film was natural for Point Park University senior Mark Christian because the lessons learned as a scout prepared him for his future in film.”Eagle Scouts basically taught me everything I know about planning a movie,” Christian said.Christian, a cinema and digital arts major with a concentration in cinematography, uses these skills in the real film industry, currently filming his feature film, “Requited,” that is based off of his award-winning short film, “The Kid.”Growing up in Georgia, Christian spent his younger years down south until he moved to McLean, Va. prior to eighth grade.He picked up a camera for the first time in ninth grade and shot his first short film, which showed his vivid imagination that has continued with him throughout the years.The film focused on three pirates who were warped into the 20th century and given their own television channel. He began to realize then how much he enjoyed working with a camera.”I really liked telling stories,” Christian said. “I figured that movies are the most fun and entertaining way to do that.”Christian took a film studies class and filmed pep rallies for his high school, but did not get sincere about his career choice in cinema until the end of his junior year in high school.”I knew that was what I wanted to do, but I wasn’t as serious as I am now about it,” Christian said. “I thought, ‘Movies are fun and I would like to do that,’ but now I think, ‘What else would I do?'”His experience with the Eagle Scouts throughout high school helped to prepare him for the work that was ahead of him in filming.Growing up with three brothers and a father who were all involved in scouting, he found himself following the same path.”Every guy in my family is an Eagle Scout,” Christian said. “It’s like you are born into it when you are in my family.”Christian admits that he has learned a lot from this experience. He led a construction project for the Eagle Scouts in which he built an outdoor classroom.As the leader, he was responsible for coordinating a multitude of people, as well as managing the equipment and food that was on-site. This project taught him skills that would be essential for his roles in films.Near the end of his high school education, he applied to numerous colleges including the North Carolina School of the Arts, but ultimately chose Point Park because of the hands-on opportunities with equipment.Christian has now played a serious working role in over 20 films, including eight that are currently in the works.One of the works-in-progress includes Christian’s feature film, “Requited,” that expands upon “The Kid,” a short-film directed by Christian and Madeline Puzzo.The story surrounds three western outlaws in the 1800s in Kansas. Two of the men are brothers, one of which is shot. The other brother is left to decide his fate, whether to kill him or let him suffer.The short was selected for Point Park’s Cinema and Digital Arts Showcase 2011, has been shown in Los Angeles twice at film festivals and was nominated for five awards at the Maverick Movie Awards, including best student film and best cinematography.Puzzo, a senior cinema and digital arts major, worked alongside Christian on “The Kid” as the director and production designer.”He is really fun to work with and he has a lot of drive,” Puzzo said. “You never have to ask him to do anything. He’s normally the one ready to go and asking other people to help out.”Christian is now set to film “Requited” in Arizona this January, which expands upon his successful short film.The film will be shot in an old western town that has been rented out, and all of the funding has been raised by himself and other students through sponsors, donations and a cinematography concentration scholarship.Brian Fuller, a junior cinema and digital arts major with a concentration in cinematography, has worked alongside Christian on a number of film projects and is serving as the assistant camera man for “Requited.””I think he is one of the upstanding cinematographers of the senior class,” Fuller said. “He really knows how to use a camera and he is going to make it in the industry. I have no doubt about that.””Requited” will be Christian’s last film project given to Point Park for academic credit.Following graduation this spring, he has plans to apply to the American Film Institute for cinematography. He hopes to eventually work at a production company or work as a freelancer.Regardless of the specifics in his future, Christian knows one thing; he wants to continue his work in the film industry.”I want to be able to say that I pay my bills by shooting film,” Christian said. “Regardless of where I am working, I want to be behind the camera.”For more information about Mark Christian’s film “The Kid” and to learn about “Requited,” people can visit: www.indiegogo.com/Requited.