Grades 7/8: Filmmakers Screen Movies in Fries Theater

Seventh graders in the documentary filmmaking class and eighth graders studying fiction filmmaking will screen their work for an audience of their peers at a Middle School assembly today. All year, teacher Dan O’Neill led students through lessons on filmmaking equipment and the specific techniques and skills needed to make different genres of movies.

Documentary filmmakers studied interview techniques and camera angles that are along the lines of investigative journalism, shares Mr. O’Neill. “Their topics tend to be on the more serious side.”

For example, Mrs. Tera Malyszko (Grade 1 teacher) met with students about her experiences as a college and professional basketball player. The two filmmakers on that shoot, Jade Crichlow (7) and Malin Thompson (7), also interviewed kindergartners, a fourth grader and Di Nestel, director of programs. “We used a lot of different camera angles and the over-the-shoulder perspective,” says Jade. Their film examines whether women have the same opportunities and compensation as their male counterparts in professional sports.

Mr. O’Neill says documentarians have also “really enjoyed” interacting with Lower School students and getting authentic footage of them at play and in the classroom. One pair of filmmakers, Cece Hecklinger (7) and Ellie Goldstein (7), created a film about Graland’s maintenance team and included the perspectives of young students, older students and adults.

Robert Grawemeyer (7) learned about the importance of good editing as he spent hours matching music to his footage. “The lighting outside was also a challenge,” he says. “Some days it was sunny and the light was warm, then the next day it was cloudy and cool.”

Eighth graders, several with a year of filmmaking under their belts, spent time on script writing, storyboarding and acting in each other’s fiction films. Some, like Chase Reiman (8), became “master editors” along the way. 

Parodies were a popular choice for their films. Levi Gillis (8) and Micah Kress (8), inspired by the Twilight Zone series, created Midnight Zone, a sci-fi look at alternate dimensions right here on the Graland campus. They infused creative use of color, shadows and editing to set a spooky tone and mood.

Another film about sneaker shopping is a parody of a popular YouTube series. Filmmakers David Gebremedhin (8) and Tomas Alberola (8) had a lot of fun making their movie and playing with camera angles to mimic and mock the original short films.

Eighth grader Jack Pashel’s film included a great deal of improvisation on the part of the actors. They adopted a variety of personas and were filmed against the green screen to portray everyday people who are taste-testing unusual foods. He hopes the comedy is a hit with his peers and younger students.

The middle school invited fourth graders to this assembly for a peek into what’s ahead for them at Graland, and Mr. O’Neill hopes they will be inspired to take filmmaking in Grades 7/8.

Break a leg today, Graland filmmakers!