Film students showcase work

Friday, Jun. 05, 2015

SANDY — Blessed Sacrament School its their inaugural Film Festival on May 22. The evening showcased student work, including 6th-grade stop-motion animations, 7th-grade documentaries, and 8th-grade fiction films.  

The Film Production class was taught by Ms. Brooke Parker, and all middle-school students were enrolled during the second semester. Students learned about different aspects of filmmaking, video storytelling, video editing, the history of animation, and enjoyed various guest speakers including speakers from the Utah Film Center, The Good Line and TML Animation Studios, all located in Utah. 

“I came up with the idea of having a film festival at Blessed Sacrament from my involvement during a college media education course, where I mentored students in different middle schools on the making of documentaries,” said Ms. Parker. “Our film festival here was on a much larger scale, so there was more to coordinate but it was a fun experience for everyone involved.” 

To film their own original stop-motion animation movie, 6th-grade students formed groups, came up with simple plots, made storyboards and used green screens. Seventh-graders did an in-depth study of documentaries and then worked individually or in groups to create their own short documentaries, while eighth-graders focused on fiction films and then created an original film.  

More than 70 guests attended the film festival and, along with a panel of judges, were able to screen the films.  

“This was a great experience for our students to combine technology and creativity,” said Mrs. Marcy Mullholand, art teacher, who was one of the judges. “The film clips were surprisingly thoughtful and well-planned vignettes. I look forward to next year’s film festival.”

First place was awarded to Madison Hanna for her memory bank documentary titled, “One Day.”  

Second place went to Victoria Reilly for “My Long Portrait,” a long portrait documentary that also was received the People’s Choice Award.

The third place winner was Isabella McCaffrey, for her memory bank documentary, “Us, We, Me.” 

Courtesy of Blessed Sacrament School