The next generation of filmmakers is hard at work at the Jessye Norman School of the Arts.
Students in Jacob Boland’s afterschool photo class are creating a spy thriller called FISHMAN: Agent H2O.
“It’s about an assassin who is a fish, but it gets more and more goofy as it goes along,” said Jacob Boland, whose class encompasses so much more than just taking still photographs.
The main problem the Agent H2O has is he can’t hold a gun because he doesn’t have hands.
Boland’s students are the driving force behind the film. They’ve come up with the ideas, star in the production, have filmed it and are in the process of editing it. Boland lends his expertise to guide them in the process.
“It’s really collaborative,” Boland said.
Over the past few weeks, the students have expanded their computer skills by tweaking the special effects such as adding explosions into the film using footage from YouTube and using editing techniques to make Agent H20 seem to appear out of thin air.
Nathaniel Brown, a Heritage Academy seventh grader, said editing has been his favorite part of the process.
“It’s my first time learning to edit,” he said. “We’ve been filming different angles.”
Boland has worked with students on other film projects.
Each student has created a video on the Jessye Norman garden. And during summer camp in 2022, students made a film called The Heist featuring a pirate baby, a vampire, a mime and two murderers who escaped from prison.
A highlight of summer camp was watching the finished product on the screen at Le Chat Noir, a few doors down from the Jessye Norman school.
FISHMAN: Agent H20 should be completed in time for the school’s spring showcase May 12-13.
To view other completed student shorts, go to the class YouTube Channel.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the publisher of Augusta Good News. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com.
