‘Brick by Brick:’ Emerson student documentary explores why we love Fenway Park
Fenway Park – it’s the site of countless home runs, corny yet endearing Jumbotron proposals, and a century worth of memories, and since Boston’s beloved ball park recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, a group of sports-loving Emerson College juniors decided to make a documentary on its “emotional allure.”
Little did they know that after a year of on-location filming and editing, they would hit it out of the park.
The 25-minute documentary “Brick by Brick: Stories of Fenway Park” was picked up by the New England Sports Network, and it will air on Tuesday night.
“It hasn’t really hit me yet,” said co-producer Luke Fraser, an Emerson junior who also works on Yawkey Way. “I spent my whole fall semester working on it, and have had plenty of sleepless nights.”
The student filmmakers talked to dozens of fans, ball players and sports reporters about their first experiences walking through those green gates, and why the historic park has their lifelong loyalty.
“It focuses not so much on the chronological history, but why Fenway is still there,” said Jacob Ouellette, co-producer. “Like all big sports fans around here, we love (Fenway). It’s actually the first place we all hung out as a group,” he said, referring to his fellow filmmakers. “That proves a point about what the park can do.”
The group created a production company, Red Seat Productions, for the film, but to Fraser’s delight, the students were able to use Emerson’s movie-making equipment.
“We didn’t have a budget,” he said. “I think it came out really well given it was the first time any of us were doing it and none of us knew what we were doing.”
Like his film’s subjects, Kyle Brasseur, the film’s associate producer, recalled his first experience at the park.
“It was early morning, so I was grumpy, but as soon as I got there, everything just kind of clicked. It’s an unreal sort of place. Something about the energy, the history; there is this feeling of family.”
The film airs Tuesday at 8 p.m., Wednesday at 3 p.m., Thursday at 4 p.m. and on March 1 at 6 p.m. on NESN.
The film can also be seen on YouTube.
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