Burgeoning art form at Old Town High puts students on film

An artistic renaissance is quietly blooming in the halls of Old Town High School. The medium is not the paintbrush or the chisel, but rather the movie camera. Supported by teachers and staff, many students have taken to filmmaking as a favored means of artistic expression. Many movies are made for assignments and class projects. Others are created independently by students with a simple love for the art.

Old Town High currently offers a writing class that has begun to delve into photography and video. During the first semester, the class was devoted solely to writing. This semester, students are exploring the use of cameras as a tool of expression, and their projects require them to combine their writing skills with still photography and video.

Many classes at the high school, while not directly linked to filmmaking, have begun to embrace the use of film for projects. Teachers in several English and history classes assign films each year. Some courses even require them, a move made possible by the loan of cameras from the library.

Film projects allow students to present material in diverse, captivating ways. The growing popularity of student movies stems largely from a greater availability of camera equipment. As the prices of cameras and software have dropped, more students and families have been able to purchase them. Sophisticated computer software has put technical expertise in the hands of teen-agers. These factors have helped facilitate a jump in the number of independent films in production.

At Old Town High School, one of the first student films was “The Brink of War,” produced by Matt Tyler and Mitchell Wark. Designed as a Spanish project, it soon became much more as the two poured their time and effort into it, far exceeding project requirements. Taking advantage of Tyler’s new editing software and a digital camera, the two were able to produce a clean, professional film with music and visual effects.

Completed in November, “The Brink of War” is approximately 15 minutes long. The film describes the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 and the actions of world leaders. The film proved so popular in Spanish class that it was shown to the entire student body.

Tyler loved the process of making a movie, saying, “It’s America’s art form … the ultimate marriage of photography, acting, music and storytelling.” Now he creates films for school projects whenever he can. He and Wark have another drama in the works, this time completely independent of school.

One student in the writing class, Greg Greenman, is another budding filmmaker. For the past two years, he has been creating movies for projects, refining his techniques with each film. Last May, he produced a comical, 10-minute feature on the early 1900s for a U.S. history project, with Keenan Goslin and David Petrell. Now, he is embarking on an ambitious independent film with Kristen Osborne and Sean Barry. The pervasive influence of drugs on American life is the focus of “Fire in the Eyes of the Innocents.”

Another student group is also making an independent film. Candice Hamm and Fred Greenhalgh have written the script for a yet-to-be-named futuristic fantasy. The film will portray a grim, emotionless future for humanity. The pair have worked together on school films before, including a production of a Monty Pythonesque revision of scenes from “Hamlet.”

One of the youngest filmmakers at Old Town High is sophomore Matt Chilelli. He loves the freedom and creativity that movies allow. He claims sophisticated equipment is unnecessary to produce a good film, saying a producer’s resourcefulness will pull him or her through.

“A movie requires careful planning, but imagination as well,” said Chilelli, who is well known for the humor in his films.

With encouragement from their teachers, Chilelli and the other student filmmakers have become familiar with the movie medium and are able to fully express themselves. Already experienced with the various aspects of filmmaking, these young cinematographers have great plans on the horizon. Look for more from them.

Student Union is written by students at Hampden Academy and Brewer, Old Town and Orono high schools. The weekly column is a joint effort among the schools, the Bangor Daily News and Acadia Hospital. This week’s column was written by Old Town High School’s writing team whose members also contribute to the school newspaper, The Screamer. Their adviser is Karen Marley.