Students become film stars
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ST. IGNATIUS – Dana Goss-Dickie, 15, got the opportunity to watch his script become a film during a weeklong camp at Mission High School.
“It’s good to see my name on it,” he said on Friday afternoon as the project was wrapping up.
The short film script about the experiences of a group of friends needed to be approved by the other dozen students in the class before it was produced. The students received help with production from a program called Media Arts in the Public Schools (MAPS), which is a program out of Hamilton. A GEAR UP grant paid for the camp.
“They bring everything to make the film, including guidance and expertise,” said Alan Pule, St. Ignatius GEAR UP coordinator. “They help the kids with the script, editing software and cameras. This is something most small schools don’t get to do, and thanks to GEAR UP, this is our third year.”
Blazz Wood, 16, and Alec White, 17, traveled an hour and a half one way from Thompson Falls to participate in the program.
“I look like I’m built for football or basketball, but I don’t have the patience for that,” Blazz said. “Acting is what I like to do. Because of this program, I have the power to make a film. I had no idea how to do that without this camp.”
Israel Umphrey, 17, studied his character for hours before attempting the performance.
“I play a schizophrenic,” he said. “I interviewed a psychologist and I spent a couple days figuring out what that would be like.”
Jace Matt, 12, enjoyed editing the film.
“I’ve done plays but nothing like this with editing and the cameras,” he said. “The editing is cool but it’s complicated. There are a lot of buttons to learn. What we are trying to do is to make the film look better by cutting out the bad parts and putting the good stuff together.”
Aaliyah Stults, 14, helped to make sure the film didn’t contain any mistakes during the editing process.
“I’m definitely doing this again next year,” she said.
The film can soon be seen at www.mapsmediainstitute.com under the YouTube link.
