Nick C. was supposed to be acting, in commercials and an ABC movie of the week. But he kept wandering over to the director’s chair instead. “I found myself caring what the shots looked like and how they would look afterward,” he says.
Instead of waiting until he could take off for the West Coast, Nick began writing, filming, producing and directing short films when he was 11. He’s won six national film awards, and four of his films were bought by HBO’s affiliate Web site. Two of his short films ran on HBO Family Channel, and he’s won first prize at five film festivals.
“I knew there was a market [in] children’s film festivals,” says Nick, 17, of Miami. “It’s large, it’s out there. You just have to find the right place to send your film.”
Nick isn’t the only kid who is a budding Steven Spielberg. Lots of other kids are bringing Hollywood home.
Austin J., 16, of Chicago became interested in movie-making through an after-school program. “I thought I’d try filmmaking because I love movies. I like mystery stuff and terror movies,” he says.
Austin joined After School Matters, a program that pays him to work three hours a day, three day a week. With a team of other kids, Austin writes, directs and produces several movies each semester.
A few of those movies were shown on Fresh Films, an online showcase at www.winterfresh.com/films that was launched by gummaker Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. (Currently on the site are two films made by winners of a recent contest. Teens can go to the site, watch the films and vote by Oct. 6 for the one they like best. The winning filmmaker will be flown to Chicago for a premiere party.)
Production is Austin’s main interest, and he says he likes filming scenes on location. Each scene he works on helps him learn more about filmmaking.
Lane B., 12, of Chicago made a movie about a two-headed llama that could talk and eat without offending anyone by gabbing with a full mouth. His movie “Push Me, Pull Me” was shown at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.
“Right after we made it, I didn’t think we were going to do anything with it,” Lane says. “I thought it was just going to be something we show to grandmas.”
The movie was more than grandma material, though, and Lane says kid movies count too.
“Kids are more likely to express their mind in a film they make,” he says.
The untainted kid view is one reason why Nick says people watch films made by kids. “There is a large audience because people love when kids have something to say. They actually do listen,” Nick says.
Classes are one way kids can learn about filmmaking. Lane was in a summer program with the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. He says he learned about moviemaking techniques such as dream sequences and suspension of disbelief.
Watching movies also can help budding filmmakers. Frank Gutter of the American Film Institute in Los Angeles says kids should check out the director’s cut featured on most DVDs. “There is so much raw information on the DVDs that can really help you understand the filmmaking process,” he says.
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Show it off
Dream it, film it and let others love it. Want to have your movies seen by large audiences? Try entering your work in film festivals. Here’s where you can send your masterpiece:
– Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, www.cicff.org
– Florida International Children’s Film Festival, www.kidflixflorida.com
– New York International Children’s Film Festival, www.gkids.com
– Danville International Children’s Film Festival, www.dicff.org
– Carolina Film & Video Festival, www.uncg.edu/bcn/cfvf/
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What’s your story?
Make a plan if you want to make a movie, says Frank Gutter of the American Film Institute. “It helps show you what is working in your story and what isn’t,” he says.
Planning means writing a script and maybe even coming up with storyboards that map out each scene. Not sure how to write a script? Gutter says you can go online and download script examples.
Once you have a script, Nick C. says you should stick with it. “Show it to people you want to be actors,” he says.
When the cast knows its lines, Nick says you can just start filming. “A great thing about being a kid and making a movie is that you don’t have to assemble a crew,” he says. “You can just take your camera and film wherever.”
Computer programs like Final Cut Pro or IMovie can help you edit your movies. But editing your movie doesn’t have to be expensive. Lane B. says kids can use cameras with a fade button instead. “If you hit that, it will fade the scene,” he says.
Once your movie is made, find an audience. Lane says: “Put up posters and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got this film. Would you like to see it?’ “
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Ya gotta be tough
Nick C. stood at the back of the movie theater and listened. No one laughed at his movie. “It completely bombed,” Nick says. “It was one of the worst days of my life.”
Although the audience didn’t laugh, Nick knew his movie “Phone Number” was funny. He entered it in another film festival–and got the last laugh: “It ended up winning the National Children’s Film Festival.”
Getting shot down happens often in the movie-making business. Nick says he’s had “goods and bads” in his six years of filmmaking. Too many kids, he says, quit once the bads outnumber the goods. “Kids give up too quickly,” he says.
“Most of the time you have to deal with someone saying no,” says Frank Gutter of the American Film Institute. “It’s a hard business, but like any art, a lot of us do this because this is what we want to do.”
