Second Graders Collaborate to Make Titanic Film

By Head of Community Engagement Gordon Mathis

In September, Mrs. Anderson’s second-grade class unanimously chose to make a movie about the Titanic as their class-wide passion project. Using a script from Storyworks magazine, students researched costumes, set design, props, camera techniques, and lighting design. Students also created background scenery for five scenes, ably inspired by EL art teacher Carmen Gonzalez. Eleven students comprised the cast and crew: two narrators, one camera operator, eight actors.

Before they were able to film, the cast and crew needed a Green Room; the project prompted school-wide collaboration and an Integration Grant. Arts Integration Specialist Peggy Benkeser converted a former office in the Chaddick Center for Fine Arts into a studio, hanging green fabric around the empty room and testing the lighting. Galloway’s Creative Content Producer Clay Randel provided lessons on the use of the camera while Technology Integration & Innovation Coordinator Amanda Edwards helped film in the Green Room. UL band instructor Daniel Solammon contributed the music score. Alumnus Liam Nelson (‘18) also returned to campus to provide insight into the filming process.

 For the past three months, the students worked every Friday on this project. Sometimes there were as many as 20 “takes” of a scene, providing many examples of “bloopers” for a separate out-take film.  Students learned that patience and practice are part of the acting process. “It was actually really fun!” said one student when asked about the filming.

The raw footage is now in the hands of a professional editor, and students will enjoy the red carpet treatment when the film is ready for public viewing in late May. What an exciting, hands-on learning experience for Galloway’s second-grade students – and their teachers!