THE WORK
Class Collaborations
The ExLabs team of Fall 2022 worked in tandem with the communications team and entire school to capture ONE DAY of ESA experience from dawn till dusk. The soundtrack was specially written and recorded by our very own music teacher, Mr. Bill Smith.
The ESA Alma Mater described in visuals by ExLabs students of 2020. This is the result of a week's worth of posts on Instagram, where ExLabs students highlighted many facets of our school experience through each stanza of the alma mater.
ESA Experience Videos
beginning level Students in ExLabs are asked to create videos that Examine one aspect of their ESA Experience.
CLIENT PROJECTS
Second level students are required to work with a client on a specific project. Whether the Falcon Club (Booster Club) wants a promotional video, the study abroad program has a trip to be featured, or the communications team wants to run an ad in the movie theaters, Esa students rise to the challenge and create content with a purpose.
AWARD WINNERS
When students get to the advanced levels of ExLabs, they are pushing Independent Projects as far as they can go. Ultimately, they are encouraged to submit to film festivals and see what lands an entry, and then, sometimes an award!
INDEPENDENT PROJECTS by Advanced ExLabers
Advanced students are encouraged to produce work that is independently driven. From the idea to the script, from the storyboard to the production, students write, communicate and drive the video to is final form. Constant communication and feedback from the instructors keep the project moving forward and the student feeling supported.
DRONE DOWN
A series of moving photographs accompanied by text that leave viewers questioning our relationship with learning.
A campaign about thinking differently about your morning commute to school. Created by Nick Schutte, ‘17
DOCUMENTARY
The ExLabs team works in real time to document and capture the story of Big days. Sometimes it becomes a competition for who’s video makes the final push on our platforms.
360 Virtual Reality
Buc Buc is a tradition, like many at ESA. Have a look around by dragging your video perspective around with your mouse.
A little ESA field day fun. Produced by Peyton Feuer, ‘17
For his senior show, Oliver created a 360 experience featuring his classmate, Anne Marie Lahasky, dance.
PROJECT X
For a continuous 24 hours students moved through the day with a hyper-awareness of the habits and/or rituals in which they partake. Looking through the lens of their actions and observing their world from the sense of touch, sight, or sound allowed our students to build a diary of visuals that tell a unique story.
Exhibition Reels
The most recent work of our ExLabs creatives placed into a single reel. These reels are made for our annual trip to ISAS Arts Festival or for our ESA Senior Arts Exhibition. You will watch everything from ESA Experience videos, challenge videos, client pieces to independent shorts. Sit down with a cup of coffee and enjoy the show.
SEMESTER BRIEF - Get Out
Students walk through the entire production process with one brief over the course of the semester. This gives the instructors and students the benefit of taking their time through each step of the process in order reach a deeper understanding of our mission.
WORKSHOP PROMPT
Concept: To bring forth the idea that ESA is not just a school but rather an experience with our complete surroundings. The first video was created during an in-school workshop that asked students create content inspired by literary quotations. The Second, “Welcome to The Wild” was created in response to a prompt asking students to show a foreign investor why a school in the middle of nowhere is worth investing in. “Get Wet” answers a question visitors to ESA’s campus often ask, “What do students do when it rains at ESA?”
ONE TAKE
Based on a vlog submission by one student, the craft of the one-take became a hot topic for an afternoon class discussion. The next thing we knew, we had a musical promo for the school’s Facebook page.
STUDENT SUBMISSIONS AND ACADEMIC CONFERENCES
Students are encouraged to make work that not only shares the ESA story with the world, but would also be eligible for submissions to film festivals or competitions or serves an academic purpose.
MOVING PHOTOGRAPHS CAPTURE MOMENTS OF CLARITY
A series of moving photographs that ask viewers to rethink their experience with a school.
Anigifs and Cinemagraphs
EXER: OLIVER VREELAND
This series is all about the elements of nature. Each element is implemented into a gif (candle represents fire, lake represents water, leaves represent earth, the movement in each represents air). And, to connect this back to the ESA experience, ESA is the air; it keeps us moving, regardless of our situation (element).
ExEr- isabelle berthelot
These three gifs are about the irony that we experience in every-day life.
Blake Feuer
The moving images below are meant to represent the divide between the time we take studying and the time we take to simply be teenagers.
EXER: PEYTON
Concept: This series was based around the faculty of ESA and their extracurricular activities, which add depth to them as teachers and mentors in and out the classroom.
Nick Schutte
These are just little moments that I enjoy or find funny about the ESA experience.
