|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
March 2, 2001Molding young mindsAfter-school club digs into claymation projectsBy SHELLEY R. BURGESSRecord-Eagle staff writer SUTTONS BAY - A little green man with orange hair and a purple coat walks up to a park bench. He looks around and, seeing no one, spray paints a streak across the bench only to turn around a find himself face-to-face with a police officer. No, it's not the plot of the latest sci-fi movie. It's a claymation creation by some Suttons Bay Middle School students. Local professional photographer Ken Scott found out by chance that his son Trevor, 13, was interested in making claymation videos and decided to nurture the interest. The result was a state award for Trevor and the formation of a creative group of middle schoolers with the same interest. Trevor won $100 from the East Lansing Children's Film Festival for a short claymation film he created called "Coil." "I did that (made the film) when I was watching a movie," Trevor said. "I just don't get how it could have won. I was just messing around." The clip has no plot, Trevor said. It was simply a series of experiments - a boater rowing through wavy waters, a coil springing out of the water. Trevor and Ken plan to attend the film festival which takes place March 16-18 at Michigan State University. Trevor has not yet decided what he'll do with the $100. The media club usually meets after school on Mondays, and Scott pretty much lets the students do their thing. "I try to feed them ideas," he said. "Sometimes they accept them, and sometimes they know what they want to do." There is no structured agenda to the after-school meetings. Ken teaches them what he can about using the equipment and helps with technical difficulties, but he gives the students creative freedom. "It's fun because we kind of clash with our ideas," Trevor said of the group. "It's harder to work in a group than it is alone, but it's more fun." The students meet in the high school's media room where they set the stage for their movies. They create characters and creatures from wildly-colored clay and then go to work. Anna Livingston, 13, decided to join the group after hearing about it from friends. "I like that it's kind of challenging," she said. Ellen Posner, 12, said she had seen claymation movies before and became interested. The more often the group meets, the more she likes it. "We get better as we do it. So you know next time you do it you can do something better," she said. "It's kind of nice knowing there's something you can do." To make a claymation video, the scene is set up with the characters made out of clay. The students then film a short clip. They stop the camera, make minor changes to the characters' legs, arms, eyes, mouths - whatever will be moving in the film. They then tape another short clip, stop the recorder and repeat the process. When the recording has ended, the characters look like they're running, talking, eating, or waving on their own. The students are learning all aspects of film making, including the filming, editing and voice-overs. "It's very creative because you always kind of make something different," said Sebastian Smith, 12. "We start with one really small idea and kind of add onto it as we go." |