I used to love “borrowing” my parents’ camcorder to record my own horror movies, often using my siblings and neighbors to play zombies, Martians, murderous butlers, and other fleeting obsessions. It was my favorite childhood hobby, and watching the featured short films in the Lompoc Library’s upcoming Youth Filmmaker Showcase reminded me how much I loved that pastime.
The films were created as part of the California Listens 2019 program and will be screened at the library’s Grossman Gallery on Sept. 21. Participants of the youth workshop—co-sponsored by StoryCenter, the Califa Group, and the California State Library—were between the ages of 10 and 14.
“The instructors from StoryCenter usually work with adults; however, they adapted their process for the children’s attention spans,” said Rachell Frazian, Youth Services Librarian at the Lompoc Library.
Frazian facilitated the two-day workshop and was the first to fight for the library’s inclusion in the statewide program.
“I applied for the workshop to come to Lompoc because I wanted to offer the children here a fun experience that would give them a chance to explore ideas they might not normally bump into,” Frazian said.
As part of her application to the program, Frazian offered the library’s Bookmobile as a recording studio for participants to narrate their films. Her efforts were successful, and the Lompoc Library was one of the six libraries in California to be chosen.
Ten participants—Rebecca Sandoval, Orlando Ruiz, Miguel Angel, MacKenzie Gonzales, London Wingate, Langston Tucker, Ismael Ruiz, Isabell Meza, Dakota Flint, and Harry Slikker—ultimately signed up for the introductory course, in which no prior filmmaking experience was required.
“For most of the participants, this was an introduction to writing a narrative short film,” Frazian said. “Some of the participants had experience making YouTube videos with their phones; however, the process of writing and recording a script was a new experience for everyone.”
Although the short films created differ in genre and content, one aspect that ties each together is narration. After writing their own scripts and compiling either video footage or slideshow imagery, the 10 participants read their narrations aloud during recording sessions in the library’s Bookmobile.
“The kids loved being in the creative driver’s seat,” Frazian said. “They chose their subjects, their words, and their images, then put them all together,” she said. “Some made stories about their interests, including music, sports, and family. Others created fictional stories.”
One such fictional tale was Angel’s The Little Pig Who Decided to Have Fun, an original fable about a young pig, Luisito, who feels excluded because his mother won’t let him play in the mud with his peers. The end result is simple, charming, and genuine, and Angel’s narration helps emphasize his story’s universal appeal—it’s pretty easy to put yourself in Luisito’s hooves.
Gonzales narrates her fairy tale, The Golden Quest, with equal earnestness. The story centers on a princess during her journey to find buried treasure, intending to keep it for herself at first. But new friends and perilous struggles along the way change her selfish mindset for the better.
Nearly half of the featured films are non-fiction though, including Flint’s piece on Certain Sparks Music, in which she documents visiting the store for her first guitar lesson. In How I Got Into Basketball, Slikker describes his first experience playing ball at the Boys and Girls Club of Lompoc.
One of the biggest strengths of Sandoval’s Universal Studios is it resembles a journal entry—raw, in the moment, and down-to-earth. The intimate detail of Sandoval’s younger brother becoming more and more afraid as the line for Harry Potter progresses is just one of the story’s many nuances.
“The most unique feature of the workshop was of course the children’s stories,” said Frazian, who’s excited to cheer on the young filmmakers at the showcase this Saturday. “The children’s films reflect aspects of Lompoc’s diverse communities—including language, culture, background, and interest.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood is bringing popcorn. Reach him at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 19-26, 2019.
