The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Video lands four a free trip to Moscow
Blue Tubes students will be returning close to graduation
MIDDLETOWN — A 30-second video created by Middletown High School senior Carson Fitzner was exceptional enough to be chosen for an eight-day trip with three other students to Russia next month.
He’ll join junior Matt Tomer, senior Jon Monahan, sophomore Monica Flores and their Blue Tubes TV club adviser Lauren Pszczolkowski on an all-expensespaid journey to Moscow June 11 to 19. They’ll be meeting Russian students, hope to attend the World Cup and go sightseeing, in addition to their assignment: interviewing people at the soccer tournament and on the street.
The five also will likely be able to shadow a Fox News or Telemundo producer to find out first hand what it’s like in the media business.
If all goes well, they will arrive back just in time for graduation on June 20.
The trip is made possible by the Eurasia Foundation of Washington, D.C., which was so impressed with Fitzner’s video that they selected him and other students from high schools in Texas and South Carolina as contest winners.
The four are students in Pszczolkowski’s Morning News class, as well as members of the school’s Blue Tubes video club, which produces TV segments for the community on the local Public Access channel.
“Sports Unites Us” shows MHS students playing soccer, golf, tennis, football and other sports. Fitzner used a filming device, directing the athletes to aim the balls used for each sport as close to the same portion of the screen as possible, to make it appear like a continuous flow. It also looks as though the kids are throwing the balls through the screen at the viewer.
“I don’t think any of us will believe it until we’re on the plane.”
Lauren Pszczolkowski, Blue Tubes TV club adviser
The 30-second video took him about 20 hours film and edit, including getting to and from each location.
“He’s so organized,” Pszczolkowski said. “He had a list. He arranged everybody. He had a plan. That’s half the battle. After school, he would just pop to whoever he had scheduled.”
“The planning is the hardest part,” Fitzner agreed.
“Carson’s naturally talented,” his teacher said. “He spends a lot of time in the planning stage and a lot of kids skip that part. That’s why he ends up with such good end products. He puts the effort in in the beginning, which is so important. The kids don’t want to do that.”
He had only two days to finish the project because Pszczolkowski hadn’t realized the deadline was so near.
“He whipped it together, like Carson always does. Next thing you know, I was getting a phone call that they liked it so much and invited us to Russia.”
Fitzner has his own business, Fitzner Productions, and produces videos that highlight student sports, music videos and commercials. What began as doing work for family and friends has grown into a roster of business clients.
The contest was meant to explore different cultures as a way to unite students through sports. Contestants could also choose to create a video centered on athletes with disabilities.
They’ve secured permission from their parents, gotten passports, but they have very few details, and won’t until a week before they leave.
That’s because so many things are up in the air, an Eurasia representative told Pszczolkowski.
The students will have a translator and have been briefed on some culture differences, such as that Russians have a tendency to stand much closer to people than Americans do.
Each was also taught not to approach people they don’t know and say, “How are you?” Something so common in America actually offends Russians, Pszczolkowski told them, because they perceive it as an affront.
She advised them to use a more generic ice breaker such as “Hello.”
The visit is the first of a two-phase project. Next year, those who aren’t graduating will work with the Russian, Texas and South Carolina students to produce TV episodes.
Every year, Pszczolkowski and her kids travel to a Student Network Convention conference. They’ve already gone to Nashville, Tenn. and California on similar jaunts.
Getting permission to go to Russia wasn’t easy. Their parents were hesitant to give the go-ahead for a number of reasons — most importantly, two will be cutting it close. Moscow has a seven-hour difference. Their flight is scheduled to come in on the 19th, but if there are any hitches, they risk missing commencement.
“They needed to make an educated choice about whether they would be back in time or not,” Pszczolkowski said. “Even if we have to go from the airport to graduation, they can dress in the car — whatever we have to do to get them across that stage.”
“This is a serious life decision they had to make (between) a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — or graduation. There’s a lot of stress over it, but the organization is trying to get them back on time,” said Pszczolkowski, who has another reason to ensure they return as expected. She’s also the senior class adviser.
“Russia is so different from here and none of us have experience with anything like that: to work with the Russian students, and getting to film all the different things, and getting back to show all our friends and family,” Flores said.
“It’s crazy we have to pack for a place we’ve never been before,” she added. “We have to get our stuff together and we’ll be studying for finals, and I already have quizzes going on right now. So it’s going to be a lot, but worth it once we’re there.”
The students are going to wing it and not prepare questions, just like some reporters have to do.
“We could be interviewing them about how they keep the grass so neat,” Tomer said. “It’s Russia. Someplace none of us has been before.”
“We’re not really sure what to expect, but I’m sure we’ll be fine. I don’t think any of us will believe it until we’re on the plane,” Pszczolkowski said.
View the video at Sports Unite Us on YouTube.