So the Odyssey Movie Project is over, as is the school year. That’s not entirely true. We’ve entered our four-day exam period, but I don’t count that as part of the year. I still can’t figure out what kind of educational value final exams have–it’s not like the feedback on them, such as it is, is going to be used for much, as the course is over. That might be something for another post.

Right now, I want to celebrate.

Back in early May, 81 students learned that they’d be responsible for creating an original film based on The Odyssey. They were given skeletal instructions and turned loose to get the thing made in about a month and a half. They decided on a basic plot line and spent a couple of weeks writing a script (big shout to Star and Brad at Plotbot for their help) and storyboarding the whole thing.

Then all hell broke loose. There were casting, musical, location, wardrobe, and directorial decisions to be made. There were egos to soothe, shy people to draw out, budgetary concerns to overcome, and camera equipment to reserve. Students asked parents for permission to have an entire English class over to shoot at their houses. Ed’s class dumped my two classes, complete with an honest-to-goodness “It’s not you, it’s us” speech.

Editing hiccups happened. Fights occurred. There were a lot of suspicious looks from teachers in my corner of the building when they walked by. Snacks were eaten.

For a while, I didn’t think either of my classes would finish their appointed movie sections. It wasn’t until I saw all three movies this morning that I believed.

Let me assure you: there is nothing more thrilling than when your doubts are allayed. When the last strains of “Don’t Stop Believing” echoed in the auditorium at the end of the last movie, I finally realized what had happened: They did it.

81 sophomores.

3 fencing foils.

3 dance parties.

Innumerable (hopefully non-adult) shots.

1 dog.

Even the Download Beeping Song sounded good.

Was it a perfect project? Absolutely not. The feedback we’ve gotten has called for more structure, more definite due dates, more guidance. Totally fair. We sort of made this project up as we went along, no doubt. If I were to do this again with another class, say, maybe next year’s sophomores, I’d include strict dates for certain benchmarks to be met (first draft of script, final script, storyboard, shoot schedule, minutes of raw footage, etc). I’d also be much better at ensuring that students were reflecting every day on what had been accomplished, maybe through their blogs. I don’t know.

For now, though, I’m happy that it’s all done. The rest of the end-of-year wind-down seems anticlimactic.

Thanks, everyone. It’s been real.

Download Don’t Stop Believing.