SEE CORALINE AT THE MAJESTIC BAY - AND SUPPORT BALLARD'S DIGITAL FILMMAKING PROGRAM

Ballard’s Majestic Bay Theatre will screen Coraline on Saturday, October 28 at 9:30 am. Tickets are $10 each.  Proceeds will benefit students in the Digital Filmmaking Program at Ballard High School. 

If you live in Ballard, chances are you frequent the Majestic Bay Theatres.  And if you’ve seen a film at the Bay, chances are you’ve seen A Trip to the Groovies, the policy trailer produced by students in the Ballard High School Digital Filmmaking Program. 

For years, the Majestic Bay showed A Trip to the Movies to inform audiences of theater rules and etiquette.  A mock instructional film set in what appears to be 1960, the trailer follows two children, Russ and Ellen, as they navigate the process of movie-going.  When the Bay went digital in 2014, they needed a policy trailer in a digital format.  Rather than purchasing a ready-made trailer, the Bay invited the Digital Filmmaking Program at BHS to produce one.  The film students were thrilled!  After considering various ideas, Ballard’s filmmakers decided to follow Russ and Ellen to the movies again – this time in 1977.  The challenging concept required period vehicles, costumes, hair, make-up, and actors who might possibly be the original Russ and Ellen - seventeen years later.

The Majestic Bay was so pleased with the new trailer that they made an immediate donation and also pledged to host an annual fundraiser for the Digital Filmmaking Program.  The screening of Coraline on October 28 is the third annual event, and will be preceded by A Trip to the Groovies.  So that future audiences will continue to appreciate the parody elements in the new trailer, the Bay also had the former trailer digitized to show from time to time.

Ballard's Digital Filmmaking Program provides state-of-the-art equipment and professional experiences for students, and has a well-established record of preparing students for college and careers in media-related fields.  It is funded largely by support from the Ballard community, thanks to partners such as The Majestic Bay.

BALLARD FILM STUDENTS WIN NATIONAL AWARD FROM ACADEMY

When the envelopes were opened at Emerson College in Los Angeles on Oct. 3, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) announced Comeback, a dramatic short by Skala Leake, Aaron Miller, Cameron Miller and Avery Davis, as winner of a National Student Production Award for best Audio/Sound.  In addition to working with the audio recording and mixing, Avery Davis composed an original score for the film. 

This is the second year NATAS has given student awards at the national level, and the second year Ballard film students have been among the winners.  A minority of regional winners from 19 NATAS chapters across the country are nominated at the national level.  Comeback was also nominated for best Writer and best Short Form Fiction film.  Another film by Ballard students, 9066 (by Maya Konz, Bailey Wall, Kajsa Woolford and Nolan Baker) was nominated for best Long Form Non-Fiction film.  The films were judged by members of the Academy, as well as college media professors.  Both films can be viewed on the Digital Filmmaking Program’s vimeo page at www.vimeo.com/bhsfilmprogram .

For more information, and to screen the national awards presentation, visit http://emmyonline.com/nationalstudent .

All of Ballard’s honored productions had their premiere at the Ballard Film Festival (BFF).  The next BFF will be on Saturday, February 10 at 7 pm in the BHS auditorium.  Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults, and will be sold at the door.