Just Yell Fire
Encyclopedia
- For information about the album similar to this name, see Yell Fire.
Just Yell Fire is a freely distributed 2006 film aimed at teaching young girls to defend themselves against attackers. Started as a school project by Dallas Jessup, then a freshman at St. Mary's Academy
St. Mary's Academy (Portland, Oregon)
St. Mary's Academy is a Roman Catholic high school located in Portland, Oregon. It was founded by twelve sisters from the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in 1859. It is an all-girls' school with approximately 630 students from all over northern Oregon and southwestern Washington...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, the project grew to include the celebrity endorsement of Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
and Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
of the television show Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
.
The video teaches viewers weak points on an attacker's body and how to effectively cause enough pain to those points to escape. It also tells viewers how to avoid becoming a target for rape and kidnapping to begin with.
The film's title references a point made in the video: that yelling "help" or "rape" may frighten potential witnesses or rescuers away, while yelling "fire" tends to draw a crowd.
Inspiration and development
The idea that would become Just Yell Fire began when Jessup saw a news report including footage of Carlie BruciaCarlie Brucia
Carlie's Law was a US Congressional bill introduced by Representative Katherine Harris , with the support of Nick Lampson and Marsha Blackburn in response to the kidnapping, rape and murder of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia by Joseph P. Smith, who was released on probation at the time of Carlie's murder...
being led away by Joseph P. Smith. Jessup contacted Chad Von Dette, who had instructed her in Filipino street fighting, and asked him to develop a method they could teach which would allow young girls to avoid Brucia's fate.
The project was originally going to be made on a much smaller scale. Jessup recruited Catherine Wehage, a friend, and together they planned to use home video equipment to shoot the project in San Diego, Von Dette's home city, during their spring break. When those plans fell through, the pair and their mothers used the additional time to begin expanding the idea.
The script was then reworked and taken to Clackamas Community College, where Wehage's mother worked. Jessup's mother attended a workshop at the college to learn about pre-production, and it was Clackamas music instructor Brian Rose who brought his friend Takafumi Uehara into the project to direct. Uehara, in turn, brought in other professionals to aid in the production.
The celebrity connection came through Wehage's cousin, who works on the set of the television series Lost. Through him, the girls were able to ask for Lilly and Holloway's aid in the project.
Production and distribution
Principal shooting was done over a span of five days in June 2006, primarily on the campus of Clackamas Community CollegeClackamas Community College
Clackamas Community College is a community college located in Oregon City, Oregon, United States. It is located at the junction of Oregon Route 213 and Molalla Avenue, nearly at the southern edge of the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area...
in Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
. Holloway and Lilly's segments in the video were shot separately from the rest of the film, in Hawaii, while Lost was on hiatus.
The film was completed by the end of the summer. After showings in late September and early October, Just Yell Fire was released for free online download. As of April 2008, the website has exceeded 5,000,000 hits, and over 425,000 DVDs have been given away or downloaded.
Jessup and fellow actor Matthew Wadzita continue the project speaking at schools, summer camps, and to groups. The presentation includes a showing of the film, a question and answer session, and then every girl there receives a DVD.
Jessup has developed a training course for PE Teachers and Coaches training them to in turn train students in the Just Yell Fire self defense techniques.