Feature Articles… 13

Fine Arts Documentary Finding Focus

The 2020-2021 school year was filled with uncertainty. The members of the Fine Arts Department found themselves faced with the possibility of not being able to deliver performances. Rather than ask themselves, “why can’t we?” they asked themselves, ``how can we?” As a result of this conundrum the dynamic documentary, Finding Focus, was created.

Blessed Trinity Dance Director, Joy Clift, said, “we decided the documentary would be a better option for all student performers so that our work could actually be seen and heard.”

“It was definitely off-setting to do a documentary instead of a full blown performance. We had rehearsals and tech, weeks before performances during my freshman year. However, with the documentary, we were constantly filming and obtaining footage,” said McKenna Wallace, a junior in the dance program.

Clift added, “none of us had actually done something of this magnitude in film before. It was a really amazing experience where we, as teachers, were literally learning on the fly. We had to become solid sound techs in order to record our students’ voices, and then figure out how to lay those soundtracks into the film and edit all of the clips to match the sound.”

Finding Focus, with a total run time of 96 minutes, encompasses all that Blessed Trinity Fine Arts has to offer: dance, theater, chorus, band and visual arts. Needless to say, it presented a unique opportunity for the student artists to be both a performer and an audience member. “It was very weird to watch the documentary as part of the audience. When performing live you don’t necessarily have the opportunity to go back and watch yourself. You leave everything on the stage,” Wallace said.

The Blessed Trinity community was able to watch Finding Focus on a large screen that was set up in the horseshoe.

Wallace said, “I think the documentary was really special. However, I look forward to going back to performing live with my friends, as it is something that I’ve always loved.” Clift added, “it definitely opened our eyes to new methods of showcasing Fine Arts.”