By Melissa Moore-Randall
The Revere High Filmic Society will produce its first horror film. The club centers around film-making which includes writing original screenplays and filming and producing independent movies with students and staff. The club is run by Paul Amato, who works for the district’s IT Department, and RHS ELA Teacher Laureen McGonigle. Amato’s speciality is audio and video and to help students and teachers with projects that involve video production. He is a self-described “long time movie nerd with a love of horror films.”
The RHS Filmic Society was formed in 2014, along with the then Drama Guild, to its first full-length film, which was something no high school had ever done. “Our first movie “PYG” (short for Pygmalion), was a remake of “She’s All That”. It was filmed over the entire school year and premiered that spring at the former Revere Showcase Cinema to enthusiastic audiences for three sold out nights,” said Amato.
The following year the club wrote another remake called “2:20” based on the film “3 O’clock High”. After another successful premiere, the club decided remakes were not enough, so they began their journey of writing an original movie script. Their third movie, “Heaven Lost”, was a learning process in script writing. “Together we brainstormed several ideas and landed on one that dealt with loss and grief. Again, the process took two years. One year to write and one year to film. Next, the original screenplay, “I’m Q” was born. A film about a high school senior having to decide if dropping out was the answer or fighting to stay in school and being true to himself. We are now working on our next film called “A Strangeness in the Proportion”. It’s a horror movie but it involves a student dealing with the loss of a loved one. Casting will begin at the start of the new school year in September.”
According to Amato, an original film takes two years to produce with the first year working with students with varied cultural backgrounds. “They help provide ideas as we begin the brainstorming process. As the script writing progresses, fewer students are involved just by the nature of the writing process. During the script writing we often find opportunities to bring in additional students to provide input, i.e. current slang. In the second year is when we start filming. Typically the main cast is composed of five or more students plus staff depending on the script. Our settings always involve our high school in part of the storyline to allow for additional student and staff participation (as extras). This allows us opportunities to choose individuals who represent our entire student body.” added Amato.
There are two separate criteria for students who want to be a part of the club. “First are those who want to act. Our hope is to audition students with an ability to act and memorize lines, but who also have designated time for a serious commitment to the project. We are fairly tough when it comes to casting, but everyone gets a chance to try out. Often those who do not become one of the leads have the chance to work as extras. In addition to those in front of the camera, we open up opportunities for students interested in learning how to operate the camera and sound equipment. It’s an awesome experience when we get students that are unsure of themselves but we see something in them that tells us they can do it. With the right direction we often see these students do some amazing work in front of the camera, sometimes as good as any professional out there on the big screen.”
“When we take on a new film project we know it’s a long process with many, many extra hours to get it done. We always get full support from Central Office and RHS Administration at Revere High. Getting their support is key for these projects and without it, we would never be able to complete them to this magnitude. When we work with these students, we are colleagues and not just teachers. It gives them a great experience working that way and it allows us to see what they are truly capable of when pushed.”
Revere High Principal Christopher Bowen shared his excitement, “It’s been so long since we have had the excitement of a Filmic Society film at RHS! So many of our current students were not in the building when the last film was released. I’m so excited for the student body and all the new faculty to see what a high quality production the RHS students and our directors put together!”
You can find their productions on their YouTube Channel which is www.youtube.com/@RHSFilmicSociety
