[conf] Scenarios USA & Global Kids premiere 3 youth films in Second Life
On Wednesday December 17, Global Kids and Scenarios USA presented the virtual premiere of three youth-written films in Second Life. The screening brought together around 50 teens and adults on both the Teen Grid and Main Grid of Second Life. The audiences got to watch three short films on the subject of "The Real Deal with Masculinity" written by teens in Texas, Cleveland and New York.
A report on the event follows after the jump...
All three films this year were very entertaining and insightful examinations of how young people experience masculinity and male stereotypes and roles. The short films all leave you hanging and wanting the stories to continue, which is the sign of a good film.
It was really neat having Amina and Tiauna, two of the youth screenplay writers from NYC, and Rob York, managing producer at Scenarios, in the audience during the film showings. They provided live commentary in the open chat about the films as they were showing, kind of like listening to the commentary on a DVD but more immediate. The teens chatted about which scenes they had written, little factoids about the sets and the actors, and other useful information. Meanwhile Rob typed about the production process in the three different locales.
After the screening, Amina, Tiauna and Rob York answered questions from the two audiences.
The process of how these films are created is really fascinating. Rob York explained that every year Scenarios USA holds an open competition for screenplay ideas for teenagers around the United States. Three winning submissions are chosen from three different regions of the United States, through a lengthy vetting and consultation process.
The winners are paired with accomplished directors who help them refine their ideas into a more workable script, which is then produced by Scenarios using professional actors, film crew, editors and producers.
The virtual audience was very curious about the teens involvement with the film-making. Amina clarified that the teens did all of the writing of the films and were involved in the editing process.
Another teen asked what the teens next project was going to be. Amina typed that "currently a few of the writers and myself are working on making our screenplay into a feature film." Tiauna explained that she has always wanted to be in the film business for her whole life, so she sees this as a big first step for her.
One teen asked what message the teen writers wanted to convey from the film. Tiauna talked about how masculinity was a part of everyone's lives, whether they were male and female. And that there were ways to take masculinity and use it in positive ways.
All-in-all, it was a very rich experience for us at Global Kids, Rob, Tiauna and Amina from Scenarios, and the teens and adults from Second Life. While there were certainly technical difficulties -- particularly for some of the teens from Scenarios in other locales -- we see a great potential for these kinds of multimedia, youth-driven virtual events for the future.
