Friday, November 27, 2009 10:03 PM CST
Area youths create stop-motion movies during film festival workshop
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — When you are directing a short film about a Civil War battle, you might not expect a giant banana to show up and start attacking your cast of soldiers.
Co-directors Elliott Griffin and Spencer White, both 13 and from Charleston, faced this dilemma as they used various props available to them earlier this month at the Embarras Valley Film Festival’s youth stop-motion film workshop.
“Spencer wanted to include the banana, but I kept saying no,” Elliott said of their directing dispute.
Then, Spencer pointed out that their battle scene, set in Virginia, already included a giant Lego crocodile laying waste to their army of plastic toy soldiers.
“I was not too sad about adding a banana at that point,” Elliott said after realizing how much leeway they had with their Civil War script.
Elliott and Spencer were among 20 area youths that took part on Nov. 7 in the festival’s second annual stop-motion film workshop at Eastern Illinois University’s Tarble Arts Center. Their works premiered on Nov. 14 during at the Charleston Carnegie Public Library. The films also have been posted on YouTube: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=-qhupGaNP7U.
Instructor Paul Brown said the young filmmakers took photos, uploaded the images onto a computer and used video editing software to create a film. The finished products include titles, end credits and background music.
Brown said the workshop’s theme focused on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War to match the theme of this year’s festival, but the youths could use the available props to branch out into the directions of their choice.
“It really runs the gamut. It is just limited by their creativity,” Brown said.
Elenor Methven, 14, of Charleston said she and her co-director, Hannah Poulter, took inspiration from their camera tripod looking like an alien. Their film comically pits the alien against a toy soldier and a paper clamp rabbit, a hard-working cast that is thanked in the closing credits.
“A big thanks to King Bob the Bunny for his courage to blow up, Soldier Jim for tripping the alien, and the alien for letting us trip him. Let’s hope that he does not kill us all.”
Brown said the workshop gave his EIU students experience working with youths on video production. He said the program also gave the youths exposure to the digital arts, which could become a hobby or perhaps a career for them.
Spencer already had posted short films about clay zombies on Facebook, and Elliott has joined him there. Elenor said she has continued making stop-motion films at home, using Legos as props.
Brian Benson, 15, of Bloomington, Ind. said he had fun filming a toy dinosaur race during last year’s workshop and filming a guide to making a paper airplane this year.
Benson said he wants to make films professionally someday, adding he is already planning a longer stop-motion film at home. He said the main challenge is moving the props by small increments to create the movement that shows up in the finished film.
“It’s pretty simple even though it takes a long time,” Benson said. “It takes a bit of patience.”
The other workshop participants included: Michael Bryant, Logan Malcome, Flor Anne Laribee, Jesse Wilson-Brown, Dylan Harper, Sean Sloan, Riley Cutright, Kaleb Reed, Tanner Bartlett, Jenna Hiser, Ryan Robison, Olivia Norris, Gina Liu, Katie Cutwright and Zoe Wavering.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 238-6861.
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