Welcome to Bethel High

By Nadine Armstrong

The Hants Journal/NovaNewsNow.com

They took learning to a whole new level when the film and video production class of Avon View High School was invited to the set of The Tenth Circle. For many students, this was their first opportunity to observe a made for television movie production, and for others a chance to move out from behind the camera.

The local school was transformed to stand in as Bethel High for the upcoming movie and many of its students were cast as extras. And, to their surprise, a few of the Production students were included in the casting call that morning.

Teacher Steven Van Zoost said it was a prime opportunity for the class to see first hand the number of people, the time and commitment and organization it takes to film such a production. “Students are expected to learn how to layout a story, think about camera movement and dialogue before filming,” Van Zoost said. “Now they’ve seen that on a large scale really helps them to appreciate the need for efficiency and organization when making a video.”

Beyond the technical aspect of the filming two of his students in particular learned that movie making was also about time and patience. “It involved some very long hours,” said Kyle Carrol,” who was chosen as a background actor. “We had to be on set at 6:30 a.m. in the morning and be there for 14 hours.” Although being an extra involved a lot of work, he said it was a worthwhile experience. “It was fun. But I was surprised by the sequence; they would film night scenes during the day and day shots at night. They also had really high quality equipment. It was a good experience and I’m glad I did it.”

Carrol, along with classmate Ian Armour both filled in as members of the Bethel High hockey team and donned ‘Home of the Bears’ jackets during much of the four-day experience.

They both also got up close and personal with lead cast members Brittany Robertson and Jamie Johnston for several shots. “I was fortunate to be included in some longer scenes as a member of the hockey team,” Armour said. He was cast as a friend of ‘Jason,’ played by Johnston, and appeared with him often. He also had the chance to dance with Robertson in a scene where she attempts to make her boyfriend ‘Jason’ jealous. Armour didn’t complain when that scene required nine takes.

Although it must have been thrilling for both young men, they remained production class students throughout the experience. “It was so interesting to see them shoot a scene from some many angles and see so many takes for one scene.” Armour said. “I made a lot of new friends and learned a tons of new stuff. It was an amazing experience.”

Van Zoost spent time with the class post-production to review what they learned at the set and discuss how it could be applied to their own scaled down versions. He said it was a wonderful opportunity and was grateful to Valerie Hallman of Magic Rock Productions for the invite. “She was great. She spent time explaining the set and stayed with them (students) for quite a while.”