From the 50 Yard Line

As a former film maker and band parent this film is a great representation of the high school band experience for high school students and parents. You don't have to love band music to to be touched the emotion that is captured throughout this season of BOA performances. It's an experience of working hard for a team and succeeding together. It's about the fellowship of life and learning values and dedication at that age. And this film captures the experience of kids working together, playing music together and sharing feelings together. It's great if you win but its the process you'll never forget. Wonderful movie.

This is a true representation of the work that our kids put into their marching band programs. It also lets individuals who have never marched have a glimpse from the inside. Marching Band like so many other activities is one that from the outside looking in people just don't get. Without experiencing it first hand it is difficult to appreciate how anyone can be so passionate about something so time consuming and exhausting. The film "From the 50 Yard Line" lets people gain insight into this world. It allows them the privilege of growing through the process with a fine program. It lets them experience a season through the eyes of the students that we do this for. Thank you to Blake House Media and Dave Johnson for making this film happen!

I am the 2008 tuba section leader for the University of Arizona's Pride of Arizona Marching Band, and I have just seen the viewing presented to a high school band program in Tucson, Arizona. For 8 years now, I have devoted my energy and passion to music and have determined that it has molded my life to the very core. This representation of marching bands and the students who are fortunate to understand and love such an activity is a most outstanding depiction of why the devastation of funds towards music programs is so disturbing. Because of my personal experience, from performing with an award-winning high school marching band to delighting football crowds and Band Day audiences in the renowned Pride of Arizona, I would like to thank the producers of this documentary in hopes of somehow urging those alike who are interested in lighting the fire in school administrators. Thank you for creating this masterpiece; I would be absolutely overjoyed to see this presented to the general public.

The Columbus International Film Festival is taking place this week. Somehow, I've never made it to the festival before; so this year I made every effort to get there. It probably helped that I have a personal interest in one of the screening films, a documentary called From the 50 Yard Line.

From the 50 Yard Line is a documentary on marching band. Primarily, it follows The Centerville Jazz Band (the marching band for Centerville High School in Centerville, OH) through their competitive season. Because, I grew up in Columbus and was very involved in marching band (and its big brother Drum Corps), I actually marched with/was instructed by several of the subjects of the film. That being said, I could go on and on about it, but I'll try to be brief and objective.

First time director Doug Lantz, himself an alumnus of the Centerville Band program, was on hand to introduce the film. The film began with the marching band auditions at Easter and followed the band all the way through their culminating performance at the Bands of America Grand National Championships. The primary intent was to expose the often unrecognized impact of instrumental music education on the development of American high school students.

Stand out segments included deliberately understated interviews with politicians and academics on the unintended effects of "No Child Left Behind" on education, and a recurring man-on-the-street segment called "Bandology 101" which tested average people on their knowledge of marching band lingo. In what seemed like an attempt to even out the piece, the filmmakers spent some time with the Fairfax High School Marching Band (Hollywood, CA) which was restarted this year from an anonymous donation after an 18-year hiatus from instrumental music at the school. Perhaps analogous to the disparities in the programs' budgets and community support, Centerville dominated the screen time 10:1.

During the Q&A following the film, Lantz acknowledged that "there is drama that happens in high school…but we made the decision that we really wanted to focus on the band experience." By choosing to include several students (rather than following the more personal stories of one or two members) the film really does emphasize the communal experience. However, at some points these efforts were taken to the extreme: scenes from the "share session" at the end of band camp (in which each band member was given an opportunity to address the entire group) felt more like a lengthy emotional montage than an image of a group united by their goals. However, the film is still being edited giving it a chance to work out some of the "thematic sticking points".

Most of all, I was impressed by the progress you could see in individuals. A rookie tuba player was featured at the beginning and end of the film with not only a noticeable improvement in his marching and playing skills, but a real transformation from an insecure high school freshman to a confident and coordinated young adult.

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I attended the World Premiere in Providence, Rhode Island. "From The 50 Yard Line" is a movie that every student, parent, educator and school administrator MUST see! This film is able to sum up in an extraordinary hour and a half documentary, the reason why every music educator, music student and parent/supporter makes the sacrifices that they all make for the love of music and why music should be an integrated part of every school's curriculum across the country! "From The 50 Yardline" will become a motivation tool that every music educator can use to motivate his or her students with and community can use to push for the reinstatement or advancement of their local music program. Director, Doug Lantz and his crew have introduced the country to the world of the marching arts and how it can better a student socially, emotionally and academically. Through this awakening, he might just help our political leaders across the country realize how the choices that they have made over the past twenty years have adversely affected or eliminated our school music programs, music's crucial and vital importance in the development of our children and inspire them to help save music education in America! David M. Marshall Director of Bands: Somerset High School - Somerset, MA