This year Daphne High School introduced ‘Intro to Film,’ a new class taught by Mr. Hood. The students’ first movie project was to create a one-minute long film. It might’ve seemed like an easy task, but they had to include a fully developed story with a beginning, climax, and ending in under 60 seconds. Recently, the students were given the project to film a movie based on a poem of their choice. Classes had to split up into groups and have a finished project within two weeks. The process includes filming, editing, finalizing, and making sure the poem is related to their film. “I love the whole movie-making process. I think it’s really fun to do, and the best part is I love doing it with my friends,” Anna-Claire Lowe (10) claims. 

However, students in this class don’t make movies all the time. They get to watch films that relate to a specific genre from Blake Snyder’s novel, Save the Cat! For example, the students watched and analyzed Jurassic Park, which fell under the Monster in the House. “I enjoy watching movies that I saw as a kid and looking at how most of them are related by following the same pattern,” says Ryann Sellers (12). Mr. Hood also shows his classes many award-winning short films. He makes it clear that you do not need to be a millionaire, Hollywood director to make movies.

Not only do they see what goes on in front of the camera, but students also get a closer look to see what goes on behind. For instance, they study types of lighting and different cinematic camera shots. Students get one-on-one experience with a heavy-duty camera and multiple film lights. They may also use the recording studio for voice actors or foley work. Finally, students can use a large Mac Book installed with Final Cut Pro to put everything together. “My favorite part of filming would be the editing process. It’s cool to see everything be put together,” states Andrew Crumpton (12). Formatting scripts and creating storyboards are just another thing students do within this class.

This class offers an in-depth course on the process of movie-making. Next year students currently enrolled in Intro to Film will be able to take Intro to Film 2 during the 2020-2021 school year. Students that love to watch movies or find it interesting should consider taking this class with Mr. Hood.