Patrick Doyle - Writer for Rolling Stone and FHS Alum

Falmouth Students were lucky enough to hear Patrick Doyle, a FHS Alum and writer for Rolling Stone, share his professional experiences. Students learned how Mr. Doyle found his passion for writing while at FHS and then carried his passion forward thru college and into a career. Mr. Doyle also shared some challenges inherit to interviewing famous people like Mumford and Sons, Willie Nelson, and others. Most importantly, Mr. Doyle shared his advice for up and coming writers.

Oh Yeah!

Guest Speaker Thursday

World History students are being invited to hear a guest speaker give a talk in the library on Thursday, Dec 17 during P2 and P6. Reza Jalali, USM Coordinator for Multicultural Student Affairs and FHS parent, will talk about traditional mosque architecture, the unique challenges faced by mosques in Portland, and the experience of being a Muslim in southern Maine. He will be giving the same talk twice, once during P2 and once during P6. Attendance is not mandatory.  

Students should only attend the talk for ONE period. Students who are interested in attending the talk can obtain a permission slip from Mr. Walsh or Ms. Hilinski.

Equipment for Checkout

Perhaps you were not aware that our library supports all your video needs.  Below, you can see what the library has to offer.  All equipment except our editing machines are available for check out so you can film on location if need be.   You can reserve equipment by emailing Mr. Wolotsky.

First, we have two types of film recorders, DSLRs and Camcorders.  A digital single lens reflex camera or DSLR pictured above looks like an old 35 millimeter camera.  A DSLR camera requires more expertise but can be used to capture video with a cinematic effect.  Camcorders, while HD, may not produce as good a picture as a DSLR.  However, camcorders are easy to use and good for almost 100% of your school assignments requiring you to produce video.



Currently, we have two types of equipment that can be checked out to stabilize either type of camera.  We have tripods as seen below.  Tripods can used in a variety of ways and are essential to produce stabile professional looking video.

We also have sliders which can be used with camcorders or DSLRS.  Sliders allow the cinematographer to make smooth moving videos.  A slider can be used on the floor, on a table, or set up on top of a tripod.  They can be used in a horizontal or vertical direction with a tripod.

For students wishing to produce the best quality video  we have some sound equipment for checkout as well.  Pictured below you can see a complete audio set up.  Students can check out booms, mics, mic extensions, headphones, and audio recorders.

Finally, many of your personal computers are not equipped to edit video.  For you we have three machines dedicated to video editing in Anchor Studios.  See Mr. Wolotsky and he will be delighted to make you your own account on one of these machines.  These machines are equipped with both iMovie and Final Cut Pro.

Back at it!

Welcome back!  One gigantic library change this year is the expansion of the tech offices.  Now located in the old tutoring center, the tech offices have expanded.  To go along with their room expansion, the Falmouth Tech Team(FalTech) has more responsibilities. Besides supporting BYOD and approximately two thousand student and staff devices, FalTech is now supporting LCD projectors, copiers, printers, and more.  Additionally, the tech team is going to set up a Help Ticket System which will support all Falmouth Schools in real time.

The old tech office now holds Anchor Studios, our student maker space.  The maker space has video editing computers, a copy stand for art students, a green screen, a large screen TV, and space to meet. Further Josh Simensky(2016) and Harrison Goss(2017) are working to turn the room in the back of the maker space into a full sound proof recording studio.

Films from the First Annual Anchor Film Festival

The first ever Anchor Film Festival was a huge success.  We had eleven films which will be linked below.  Here is a list of awards and the winners.

Best Actor - Connor Piers
Best Actress - Michaela Micalizio
Best Supporting Actor - John Rioux
Best Supporting Actress - Ruth Smith
Best Short Short - Daisey Caxton-Smith Into the Water
Best Cinematography - Tanner Leslie - Deliberance
Best Costume/set design - Michaela Micalizio - Besmirched
Best Editing - Celia De Wolfe- I Dare You
Best Cameo - Jack Simmonds - Kickstarter Video
People's Choice - Others Like
Best Film - Others Like Us

Below you will find links to all the movies shown at this year's anchor awards with the descriptions film makers submitted for the program.

Pointless
Directed by John Rioux

Michael Smith needs a pencil. Now, Michael could just go and buy a box of pencils, but who uses money anymore right? "Pointless" follows Michael's decent in a life of pencil-based organized crime.
Pointless (Final Edit).mov


Blood Red Tide
Directed by Thomas Hiscock

After discovering that his girlfriend has cheated on him, Dustin Foyer demands an answer.  The answer he gets is not the one he wanted to hear, and in a moment of bloody passion, Dustin kills her.   Filled with anger and sorrow, he attempts to make amends in a final act of love.
Blood Red Tide (Final) .mp4


I Dare You
Directed by Celia De Wolfe

Filmed entirely on an iPhone, "I Dare You" follows three girls who are leaving for college in a few weeks.  They decide to do something crazy and memorable to cap off the summer.  The girls embark on a dare challenge in which they must keep a video diary as proof of their adventures.  All goes wrong as one by one, they suffer the sinister dangers of their summer escapade.
I DARE YOU.mp4


La Porte Bleue
Directed by Alex Levy and Noah Peterson

This film began as a project for screenwriting class.  The goal of the movie was to make a film with the title "The Blue Door"  in one class period.(80 minutes)  We decided to take this concept in an experimentally French direction
The Blue Dooralexnoah.mp4
Into the Water
Directed by Daisey Caxton Smith

This film is a murder mystery.  It is set in the present, and is in black and white.  The film is about a missing case who later is revealed to the big audience to be dead.
Go to the water.mp4

Pokerpalooza!
Directed by Alex Britton

After a man is murdered by a hitman he wakes in purgatory, in which he is given a deal by a mysterious group of people. If he wins the poker game he will go to heaven but if he loses he will go to hell.  Can the man win a game of poker without dying?
PokerPalooza!.mov

The Blue Door
Directed by Michela Micalizio and Emma Nonni

This film is the result of an eighty minute film challenge in screenwriting class.
dabludoremma.mp4

Besmirched
Directed by Michela Micalizio

A young man is stalked by a masked figure. What is it? What does it want?
besmirched.mp4


Others Like Us
Directed by Evan Hill

Two siblings have opposing views about the concept of unconditional love, after their sister is kicked out of the house, as two best friends spend their last hour together before one goes off to war. Simultaneously, both pairs are listening to radio broadcasts that could change how they perceive their place in the universe.
OTHERS LIKE US.mp4

Deliberance
Directed by Jack Britton

A man struggling with a recent breakup is confronted about his denial.
DELIBERANCE.mp4


Plaster the Wall
Directed by Tom Adams

In a mockumentary setting, film club head Dan Wolotsky(played by himself) pushes the members of the club to generate a script for the upcoming film festival.  The only idea stems from John(John Rioux) who pitches an absurd yet popular possibility.  Stefan, (Stefan Joyce) on the other hand, secretly works on his own script, and pursues to win the club over. Which project will be chosen is the dilemma Dan Wolotsky faces in "Plaster the Wall".
Plaster the Wall.mp4

Library Makerspace - Anchor Studios

             Our library maker space is currently focused on student film and video projects.   This year we named our maker space, Anchor Studios.  Currently the space has tripods, audio and film equipment, a green screen, and space for collaboration and filming.  The space is there to support staff and students both with the regular curriculum as well as independent projects.
             Next year we are going to expand what Anchor Studios has to offer.  Thanks to FEF(The Falmouth Education Foundation) we have acquired funds to create a space where students can work on art projects and also photograph and film their work.  The plan is for the current studio space to be shifted to the current Tech Help space.  This move will give the maker space more room and therefore the potential to offer more opportunities to students.  Further, the new maker space will include a converted network closet to a small and somewhat sound proof room for audio recording.

An example of a copy stand

Our current maker space

Next year's maker space

Believe it or not this will become a sound room for recording Audio.
Once cleaned out there will be plenty of space.