Since 1994 Nickelodeon’s Creative Lab has been working with kids across the country in what could be a course titled Film 101. Led by experienced filmmakers, the objective is for kids to develop and produce short, experimental films–live action and animation.
The result is “Short Films by Short People,” which has been running as a Snick Snack in Nickelodeon’s Snick lineup for the last three years. Now kids can get a full meal and digest all eight films at once in “The First Ever Short Films by Short People Film Festival” (7 p.m. Sunday).
Nickelodeon had to shake up kids’ brains in order to spark good stories fit for film, so Nick’s Creative Lab provided themes. There were no rules that would restrict creativity, but guidelines barred violence and encouraged humor. Amy Friedman, creative director and executive producer of Nickelodeon’s Creative Lab, says that the “Short Films Festival” brings kids’ unique visions and voices to air through their stories and puts them in the driver’s seat. What results is a fresh point of view.
One theme–heroes–sparked 13-year-old Brennan Weir of Monticello, N.Y., to create “Foilman” a 1995 CableACE award winner about a tin foil hero who rescues kids from the dreaded Friday lunchroom special–an animated blob made from the week’s garbage leftovers. Stop-motion animator Chris Gilligan, who directed “James and the Giant Peach” served as Weir’s director along with Agi Fodor, creator and director of Nickelodeon’s Stick Stickly character.
“Finding the right adult filmmaker is always a challenge,” says Friedman. “We want someone who understands that kids are incredibly smart, savvy and creative. We look at directors’ reels and try to find those whose work has a kid vein in them, something playful and irreverent. Filmmakers range from Hollywood types to unknowns.”
Other notable directors who worked on the “Short Films” project include Michael Goldberg, a writer for the film “Cool Runnings,” and Kit Laybourne, creator of “Eureeka’s Castle and co-creator of “Gullah Gullah Island.”
Perhaps one of the best “Short Films” is “The Adventures of Sam Digital in the 21st Century,” which this year was nominated for a CableACE award. Generated by kid-creator Nick Claridge of Toronto and directed by Steve Angel, a Canadian commercial director, “Sam Digital” is a five-minute, live-action film about a girl virus detective in the year 2050. Sam Digital is battling a megavirus that is destroying the Internet World. The film’s intentional absurdity is Claridge’s message to kids to go outside and enjoy the world’s natural beauty.
During each film’s credits, the kid-creators have an opportunity to say something about their filmmaking experience. “Foilman’s”‘ creator Weir ends his short film by saying, “It took a lot of patience and foil to get things just right.”
“Their images of how filmmaking works is very different than it actually is,” says Friedman. “They are always amazed at how boring it is. It takes a long time–usually about five months from start to finish. The kids were always goofing on us about how picky we were because we made them do the same thing over and over. Of course, they were happy when they saw how well it turned out.”
In conjunction with the special, Nickelodeon will offer kids a chance to be a part of the next cycle of “Short Films by Short People.” Those interested can send a postcard to an address that will be announced during the special’s broadcast. One winner will be selected to develop and produce a short film with Nickelodeon at his or her school in 1998.
