Everyday while volunteers built the playground at , students from Shawn Pickul’s Digital Media Productions class were right there with them, documenting the build from empty lot to.
“I thought it would be cool to see it from start to finish,” said Jolene Brandimarte, an eighth-grader at and a member of the class.
“I thought it would be cool for people who couldn’t be there, they would still be able to see the park being built,” said Bailee Miller.
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The semester-long class took about 10 hours of video footage and 1,500 still photos for the finished product, a 20-minute video that also incorporates footage from the first build in 1991.
Twenty-two students were able to go out to the build to shoot video, but each student in the class had the opportunity to help edit the final product.
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“They had to figure out which pieces to put in,” said Pickul. “It was hard to figure out which pieces are the better ones.”
Miller and Brandimarte did the narration for the finished film. They also had the opportunity to interview volunteers during the build.
Their favorite interviewee: Keith Omlor, chair of the Friends of Fullerton.
“He was our favorite,” said Bailee. “He knew the most facts.”
It was the Friends of Fullerton who first approached the school about documenting the build. WAMS had adopted the playground as a community project. Earlier in the year, the students donated $650 to the build. As part of the project, the middle school signed up students to help with the build.
The Special Needs class went as a group to help with the build.
“ Amanda Fletcher’s dad suggested it,” said Principal Carole Butler. “The class does community outreach and real-world experiences. The students were able to participate and give back.”
The project also helped the students in the Digital Media class grow as videographers.
“I got to see how much they changed,” said Pickul. “At the beginning, they were nervous; by the end they were getting in close to their subjects, they were willing to get in there and interview people.”
A copy of the DVD will be presented to council at tonight’s meeting. Another copy will be put in a time capsule to be buried at the park.
“We are a part of history,” said Pickul.
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