My son Liam loves to make movies with his friends. On a playdate they will ask to borrow my camera and start shooting some (usually ridiculous) storyline (that often ends in a massive wrestling scene).
That’s Liam on the left shooting his brother skating at the ACC last month. Putting him in charge of the video shoot served two purposes; it enabled me to take still photos, and enabled Liam to forget how much he would have liked to have been the one skating at the ACC!! The bonus was that Liam got some great video of his brother racing around the ice, and had fun downloading his creations at the end of the day.
What better way for he and a couple of his ten year old buddies to spend the day this winter break, than making a movie and watching a movie?
A new Canadian company called The Director’s Cut has an exclusive deal with Cineplex theatres across the country. Workshop participants aged 7-12 arrive at their neighbourhood theatre in the morning, work in film crews inside the Cineplex Party Room to create a claymation, stop motion or film all morning and for part of the afternoon. They eat lunch and then head off to the theatre with popcorn and a drink in hand to watch a current release (my son got to see Fantastic Mr.Fox). At the end of the day, the junior filmmakers leave the workshop with a dvd of their creation in hand.
The total cost is under $50 for the day, which I consider quite a bargain since the last time I took my kids to the movie I felt like I need to take out a second mortgage to cover the admission and concession stand costs.
My son and his friends describe the experience as “cool” and have a better understanding of what’s involved behind the scenes of the blockbusters they enjoy.
I just hope Liam remembers me in his Oscar acceptance speech!
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