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A Video Camera and a Good Idea Are All You Need A video camera and a good idea are all you need. When I was a child, I had a friend who was before her time. At the age of 8, she created an art installation in her back yard that involved caging bumblebees and hand-painting numerous rocks. That was very unusual back then; for the most part, our art dreams didn't go far beyond the world of Crayola.Today, kids get to make movies. The advances in video technology and the moment-by-moment evolution of the hand-held video camera -- now available at a discount store near you, often for less than $300 -- have revolutionized the art of the moving image. With a video camera and the right computer software (another hundred bucks or so will get you that) you can film, edit and produce a video. Oh, and you have to have a good idea. But when did kids even want for those? Some people look forward to Christmas, others anxiously await their birthdays. A day I really look forward to is coming up in May. That is when I get to serve on a panel as a judge for the annual Rod Serling Video Festival. What this means is that I get to spend an afternoon watching videos made by kids. It is a blast. The panel includes local artists, a dancer, a Harley-riding high school biology teacher, video technicians for local media outlets, media personalities, and even a movie-making intellectual property lawyer, among others. Binghamton High School's Lawrence Kassan, who organizes the festival and screens the numerous submissions, picks the finalists we watch. Made by kids from ages 5 to 18, acted out or hand- or computer-animated, they are delightful, innovative and inspired. The only bad part is that they can't all win. Whether it is a simple concept such as Dancing Fruit, an animated entry by Maine-Endwell Middle School students that won an honorable mention last year, or high concept, such as Silence, the 2003 best of show winner by Shane Johnson, about a young man who dies in a war (it seems very prescient now), these are works in which heart, imagination and, yes, silliness are showcased. The great thing about being judges is we can make up award categories to fit the submissions we get. That is why in 2002 we had a "best social commentary" category, and last year we gave an award in the category of "best use of special effects and fight choreography." Long before the Twilight Zone, Binghamton's Rod Serling had his creative roots in our area. He was a junior high school reporter and then editor for the Binghamton Central High Panorama. His is a wonderful local legacy that continues through the contest. Who knows how many of the Rod Serling Video Festival award winners will go on to write screenplays, act or direct? This year's contest entries are due by May 1. |