Information provided by Ballard High School

Ballard’s Majestic Bay Theatre will screen the J.J. Abram’s film Super 8 on Saturday, February 20 at 9:30 am. Proceeds will benefit students in the Digital Filmmaking Program at Ballard High School.

If you live in Ballard, chances are you frequent the Majestic Bay Theatres. And if you’ve seen a film at the Bay since last summer, chances are you’ve seen A Trip to the Groovies, the new policy trailer produced by students in the Ballard High School Digital Filmmaking Program.

For years, the Majestic Bay showed A Trip to the Movies to inform audiences of theater rules and etiquette. A mock instructional film set in what appears to be 1960, the trailer follows two children, Russ and Ellen, as they navigate the process of movie-going. When the Bay went digital in 2014, they needed a policy trailer in a digital format. Rather than purchasing a ready-made trailer, the Bay invited the Digital Filmmaking Program at BHS to produce one. The film students were thrilled! After considering various ideas, Ballard’s filmmakers decided to follow Russ and Ellen to the movies again – this time in 1977. The challenging concept required period vehicles, costumes, hair, make-up, and actors who might possibly be the original Russ and Ellen - seventeen years later.

The Majestic Bay was so pleased with the new trailer that they made an immediate donation and also pledged to host an annual fundraiser for the Digital Filmmaking Program. The screening of Super 8 on February 20 is the first such event, and will be preceded by A Trip to the Groovies. So that future audiences will continue to appreciate the parody elements in the new trailer, the Bay also had the former trailer digitized to show from time to time.

Ballard’s Digital Filmmaking Program provides state-of-the-art equipment and professional experiences for students, and has a well-established record of preparing students for college and careers in media-related fields. It is funded largely by support from the Ballard community, thanks to partners such as The Majestic Bay.

For more information, visit www.bhsvideo.blogspot.com.