Film Festival Fun

I struck up a conversation with a high school student last Friday, noticing him working on editing a movie. Turns out, he was doing the final cutting for a student-made film which was a part of a theater class project (Harker Heights High School in Killeen Texas) and would be shown at their film festival the next day.

We talked about video, films, photography, and such. He asked me if I had done any video. Though very little, I  have played around with it some. He told me I really ought to give them something of mine to show in the film festival as well. Why not? It would be something different for them: all theirs are full cast and crew types of productions, whereas mine is a one man show used mostly for creative experimentation.

Long ago, I mentioned a mini-documentary film I wanted to make. I thought up a mini storyboard (to fit my mini documentary), prepared everything I needed, did all the shots, then just about killed myself trying to make my software work. It was not to be…then. Now, though, I figure I could just whip it up in iMovie. I was right, iMovie made things nice and easy, but only having a day, I just could not get it completely done. Good news is: I should be able to finish that up soon and share it. The other good news is: I had another short film I could share with the film festival.

Here I present, not only my directing debut, but my son deftly plays the antagonist with the skill of a boy twice his age…which was only one at the time.

I just thought out the content I wanted, the transitions I wanted, and filmed it in three or four consecutive clips. I removed a little on the beginning and end of each take, but for the most part just pasted them together. I wish I could take credit for my son’s performance, but he just seemed to know what to do.

Cooper Strange Written by: