Preparations for third film festival begin at Blessed Sacrament School

Friday, Jan. 20, 2017

SANDY — Seventh-grade students at Blessed Sacrament School chatted animatedly as they sat in their seats, learning about documentaries. Brooke Parker, the technology and film teacher, flicked through slides projected on a whiteboard, explaining the various kinds of documentaries. One of the last slides contained a name: Eadweard Muybridge. The unusual spelling was too much for a few students, who erupted into giggles.

Amid the students whispering different pronunciations of the English philosopher’s name, Parker explained how Muybridge disagreed with a friend over how a horse runs: Muybridge insisted there must be a point where all four of the animal’s legs were off the ground, which his friend said was ridiculous. 

The students quickly launched into speculation, talking with other classmates or just thinking aloud, regarding this theory. Then Parker showed an experiment Muybridge conducted to prove his hypothesis.

In 1872, Muybridge set up a multitude of cameras at the end of a race track, and took photos in quick succession. Parker showed the photos Muybridge had taken. The students gasped as they pointed to one of the pictures where indeed all four of the horse’s legs were off the race track. 

The result of Muybridge’s test, Parker said, were one of the first instances of film in history. When quickly flipped through, the still pictures galloped to life. 

The students received the ensuing “film” of the running horse with a general buzz of appreciation for a rudimentary example of an art form that they know well today.

Parker’s class was great because “we get to learn where it all started, … why and how film was made,” said Natalie Lamb, who alongside her classmates will be creating a documentary of her own in the class, which is part of Blessed Sacrament’s literacy curriculum.

“In the past, literacy only included reading and writing,” Parker said, “but now, in the 21st century, it’s important to know all forms of media.” 

The film elective classes help students learn about this medium, she said; she teaches a different aspect of film for each grade. Sixth-graders study animation, seventh-graders focus on documentaries and eighth-graders learn about fiction film. 

The study of film history is the beginning of Blessed Sacrament’s Film Festival, Parker said. For much of the third quarter of the school year, students learn about film. During spring break they will create a film of their own, Parker said, and when they return after the break they will edit their video for the festival in May. 

The festival will be hosted by a panel of judges, who will award prizes to the best videos in each category. 

The classes help students understand what film is about, Parker said.

“Most kids are used to being passive viewers” and experience film as entertainment, without understanding what they’re watching, she said. The film festival and the classes that she teaches alongside it help students “become media literate,” she said. “Plus, they just really enjoy it.”