Pictured are Fairfax Academy students in teacher Matthew Balthrop’s Professional Television Production class, with a still scene from one of their horror films in the background. Photo Courtesy of Sasha Abiaad
All three levels of the Professional Television Production classes at the Fairfax Academy recently presented original horror films they created based on only two sentences given to them by their teacher, Matthew Balthrop, a new addition this year to the Fairfax Academy family. The project’s goal was to fully portray these sentences via a short, horror film.
The students were responsible for every aspect of the film from concept to completion, including directing, filming, some of the acting and the editing. The films had to be under two minutes in length and maturely deal with a story topic, such as horror. In addition, student filmmakers collaborated with the Academy’s Musical Theatre and Actor’s Studio class to recruit the actors needed for some of their films.
In the end, they screened their short films for the entire class and gave each another constructive criticism based on what they’ve learned in class so far this year. Students were also required to professionally participate in a question-and-answer interview session with Balthrop and their fellow classmates regarding their horror film and the film-making process.