Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 1, January 2003
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Ballard High students learn film-making
By NIKKI SCHORMANN
Viewers watch as a salmon struggles against the river's current, and a child's voice announces the impending dangers against salmon in the Pacific Northwest.
This isn't a public service announcement one would see on TV it's an award-winning short film titled "Salmon," which was produced by students in Ballard High School's video production program.
The program began at Ballard High in September 2001, and with a grant from the Ballard Foundation, it was able to add equipment to give students more opportunities to do hands-on video film production work.
The video production program starts students off with an introductory class that focuses on the critical analysis of media. Students are also required to keep logs, which document their experiences with media. Young people are targeted by the media, which "gives them distorted images of themselves," said teacher Matt Lawrence, who oversees the video production program.
Students have a "natural tendency to produce what they've seen," which is why it is essential to combine media literacy with video production, according to Lawrence. "It's pretty incredible that they were ever separated," he said.
In early January, Ballard High's video production classes will hold a series of public screenings titled "Friday Night at the Movies," which will show examples of work BHS students have done, as well as "glimpses of youth media from other programs" says Lawrence. Students and community members are invited to attend.
Other schools have programs comparable to the video production program at Ballard High, but none are quite like this. At other schools, these types of programs tend to focus on the technical aspect, says Lawrence, but at Ballard High, he hopes to also create critical audiences, who are able to assess what they see in the media.
In addition to analyzing media, students in both the introductory class and advanced class, which was added this school year, produce several short films. Students in the introductory class create three productions: a news broadcast; a commercial or public service announcement; and something that tells a story, which could either be a music video or a short film.
The advanced class spends more time in production, creating informative videos to be broadcast to the entire school.
Recent broadcasts of student-produced videos have included advertisements for the school's fall musical, "Where's Charley?," a junior class holiday activity, and a piece about Ballard High's bowling team.
The advanced class also produced public service announcements for community service groups, such as the Ballard Food Bank and Mothers Against WASL. A free screening of the PSAs was held for Ballard High students after school.
Students enter their productions in various film festivals throughout the year.
Lawrence was amazed at the work that his students produced last year. One public service announcement, "Salmon," which was produced by students in the introductory class, won first place in the most competitive category at the Seattle Teen Video Festival, also known as Bumpfest. The video competed against entries from teens from all over Seattle, including community college students.
Films by Ballard High students have also won recognition from other venues. For example, some works were selected to appear on the Youth Channel, which was started in Manhattan and provides time on cable television for work produced by youth. These works are shown in Seattle, Atlanta, Denver, New York City, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
This year, Lawrence's students plan to enter some of their productions in a youth film festival that is held in conjunction with the famous Sundance Film Festival.
Professionals aid the students, and speakers, who include screenwriters and directors, appear in class about 12 times per semester. A professional advisory committee also assists the students. Professional film makers from PBS and American Productions advise on the curricula for the class, as well as teach students how to be competitive in the industry, which they have already begun to work on.
Lawrence's previous experiences and connections have also helped his students. He was one of the original writers for The Onion, a weekly satirical magazine based in Madison, Wis. He also created educational television programs for the University of Wisconsin and taught media literacy to students there.
His connections with a group of independent filmmakers helped Ballard High junior Jesse Harris receive a paid internship on an upcoming film, titled "Inheritance."
Ballard sophomore Amanda Bolin received an internship at the 911 Media Arts Center's Young Producers project last school year, and was then asked to teach for the project this past summer.
It is clear that many of the students have gained critical experiences by working with video production, and they certainly enjoy their work.
"It's an electronic art form," says senior Maura Warren. "It allows you to express yourself in an unconventional way."
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"Friday Night at the Movies" will be held in the Ballard High School auditorium beginning in early January. For more information about "Friday Night at the Movies" or the video production classes at Ballard High, contact Matt Lawrence at 252-1000.