The Fulton Films Premier of Blast Off!

ove over Stephen Spielberg, and, hey, George Lucas! You might consider postponing the Attack of the Clones premier. You can't compete with Fulton Films' massive student movie production entitled Blast Off! You might as well fold up your camera tripod and find another line of work. Here's the best part: Ironically, with the aid of newly acquired technology, the creative students at Fulton Elementary used the exact same film techniques used by such special effects filmmakers as James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator, Alien II, The Abyss) and Barry Levinson (Men In Black, Wild, Wild, West!).

By employing technology now available on a desktop computer, the students could put themselves aboard the Space Shuttle that had landed in the Fulton parking lot (it was a Matchbox toy photographed close-up). Young actors could walk on the surface of Mars, or even float in zero gravity!

Green screen, or chromakey technology is made possible through the use of digital video editing. The students photographed each other against a green screen. In Fulton's case, this was a wall covered by sheets of green construction paper in Mr. Smith's (at right) classroom, and then, in the computer, they substituted the green with another image... even another video clip of other actors. The process is called image compositing. Suffice to say, it's movie magic, and Fulton students now know all the secrets.

This was all made possible through the efforts of some very creative teachers at Fulton, Jeff Dyer and John Smith. Plus, the art and music teachers provided critical support. Ultimately several if not all of the teachers and most of the students in the school had something to do with the film.

Fulton is an Outward Bound Expeditionary Learning school in our district, and every year the students embark on major integrated learning projects. Last year it was a stage play they wrote and produced themselves from scratch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. This year, it was a movie project. Jeff Dyer, a very creative person, himself (he's a cartoonist and avid authority on the art of comic books), teamed with John Smith who wanted to involve his science curriculum which covers the solar system and our neighboring planets. What better way to learn about the solar system than to require the kids to write their own script, produce sets, and ultimately act in this special-effects laden film extravaganza?

The premier, April 10th, was a production in itself. Jeff Dyer secured a large-screen projector which he plugged right into the DV camera the students used for the project. The picture was huge and spectacular on the screen in the darkened gymnasium. A professional sound system was installed to amplify the full spectrum of digital audio. The only thing missing was popcorn. And the media showed up! No it wasn't Joan Rivers on the Red Carpet for Entertainment Television, but it was television! Channel 40 sent a crew of one to capture the moment for their evening news. So we asked the reporter what he thought of the show After all, he's probably an expert since he was operating a video camera, and he said, "Wow! It's fantastic!"

Cast members of the movie included practically the entire school, especially for the playground shots where the Space Shuttle takes off and lands. Even the Fulton principal, Roy Hanson (at right), had a part as Bill Snoresville, astronaut and guest lecturer who puts the kids to sleep during a science lecture, and then... oh, sorry, we don't want to give too much away. You'll have to see the movie.

Even with a "cast of thousands," the core group of about a dozen producers and actors took the bows at the premier, and answered questions from the audience (just like at a real Hollywood premier). "How did you simulate floating in space?" asked one audience member.

"We sat on a stool and pretended we were weightless by moving our arms legs and head," said one of the young actors. "And then we moved the camera around and upside down."

But here was the best question of the hour, asked by a very young student in the audience who was obviously serious. "How did you travel to the planets and come back again?" obviously the illusion was good enough for this kid to believe they actually traveled through space. There's no business like show business.