Filmmaking passion

[Eagle]

Ds6 is obsessed with filmmaking. I'm hoping others will have some good ideas to nurture this passion.

 

He spends hours a day making movies on the ipad. He occasionally videos himself in a creative scene, but mostly he does elaborate setups of his building toys and then films them. Sometimes the commentary is a play-by-play of the action (marble run), other times it is a story with toys as characters (train set).

 

Extended family have nicknamed him 'Spielberg'. Unless he is outside or eating he won't put down the ipad. If he isn't filming his movies or building something to film, he is watching his movies over and over. He is getting quite good at it. They used to be so difficult to watch, but his camera shake is now minimal and he does interesting things such as filming through the window of a building to frame the scene.

 

Can you think of what I could do to help him follow his passion? I don't know if I should be trying to tie something like creative writing in with this or if I should just stay out of it. I originally thought to stay out of it, but it is a fairly consuming passion. Playing with the toys he films is a big deal to him too. He will make a new building for his train set and then can't wait to tell his friends all about it. He thinks they will be just as excited as he is and that they will want to rush over to see it. His best friends are girls and have no interest in playing trains, but he still tells them every detail.

 

Any thoughts?

[J-rap]

At that age, I would just go with wherever his creativity takes him.  Don't put limits or guidelines on it, or even try and direct it;  just let him run with it.

 

My son was like that, although he didn't live in the technical age.  So, he wrote stories like crazy, read books like crazy, and loved drawing.  He also loved building things with Legos.  I just let him run with it all.  He just directed his first feature-length film this past fall.

[Dmmetler]

You might want to get him a camera and software that is a little easier and more flexible than an iPad. Digital video cameras are pretty cheap and would let him explore more advanced techniques. It might be a good Christmas or birthday present. I've found that getting professional (or, at least, a step closer to professional) tools does more for validating passions and letting kids really encourage and grow them than nothing else.

 

Also, a lot of non-profits and educational groups do video contests or simply need video content to support their position, ads for YouTube, and so on. That would give him an outlet and help some really good causes, and would also possibly get him into contact with adults who could mentor and connect him. I've found the non-profit world is willing to take help from kids and build them up and support them.

[EndOfOrdinary]

You could steer him toward the section of the library, or show him how to email a local professional. My son has gotten good at sending a barrage of excited emails to an adult professional until they finally respond.

 

It is also free to set him up his own YouTube feed. He could widen the audience for his videos and not have anything creepy happen if he uses a handle. You would just need to be sure personal info was not being posted and at six that is fairly doable.

[Eagle]

Thanks for your responses! He loves writing stories and reading books. He wants to draw but is frustrated that his drawings don't come out as intended. He is going to a Mark Kistler drawing/animation camp this summer so hopefully that will help. There is a video-making portion of the class and he is SO excited about it.

 

I asked him if he would be interested in a digital video camera and indeed he is. That sounds like a good Christmas gift this year.

 

The nonprofit idea is great for future. I would not have thought of it. At the moment, unless the nonprofit revolves around trains, marble runs, or Rokenbok his videos won't be of much use. I imagine it is only a matter of time until his video interests expand.

 

I have wondered about a youtube feed/channel. He watches (pre-approved) youtube videos about the same subjects he films and they have provided him with a lot of ideas for his own movies. I know he would be interested in making his own youtube movies. I haven't looked into it before as I don't know anything about their privacy or if I can set it for comments needing moderation (by me) before being viewable. Does anyone know more about this?

[Cosmos]

I would not make a youtube channel, unless it's private and shared just with a few close family members. (And I believe you can do that -- we set up one to share piano recitals with far-away grandparents.)

 

I don't think I would want to plant the idea that sharing with a wide audience is necessary. If he's enjoying doing it for its own sake, just let him keep doing it. What if he were spending all his free hours drawing pictures, as some kids do? You wouldn't set up an art gallery for him for strangers to come in and make potentially nasty comments. You would put the pictures up on your own refrigerator, and send a few special ones to grandparents, and let him just follow his passion as much or as little as he wanted.

[ThoughtfulMama]

Along with a handheld digital video camera, I'd get a tripod too. I have a Kodak video camera that I love, and I'd suggest a Gorillapod or something similar too.

[Dmmetler]

There are a lot of historical preservation groups and history groups focused on trains, and the hobby seems to attract a lot of serious amateur photographers, so it may be that there would be serious amateur videographers who could possibly provide those "same minded" people that are so necessary for passionate kids. I have a 40 yr old brother who pretty much channels his inner 6 yr old whenever anything train related is around :).

[Eagle]

That Gorillapod looks neat! I have a boring tripod that sits on the ground, which should be good to start with, but I will keep my eye on the Gorillapod for future. It is neat that you can attach it to so many things.

 

There are a lot of historical preservation groups and history groups focused on trains, and the hobby seems to attract a lot of serious amateur photographers, so it may be that there would be serious amateur videographers who could possibly provide those "same minded" people that are so necessary for passionate kids. I have a 40 yr old brother who pretty much channels his inner 6 yr old whenever anything train related is around :).

We have a model train society here that has trains large enough to ride on. I've tried for two years to convince my parents to get a membership so we can ride the trains. Maybe I need to find a way to sign up myself. Ds would probably love to film the trains, and they may be interested in something like that for their website.

[Dmmetler]

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That Gorillapod looks neat! I have a boring tripod that sits on the ground, which should be good to start with, but I will keep my eye on the Gorillapod for future. It is neat that you can attach it to so many things.

 

 

We have a model train society here that has trains large enough to ride on. I've tried for two years to convince my parents to get a membership so we can ride the trains. Maybe I need to find a way to sign up myself. Ds would probably love to film the trains, and they may be interested in something like that for their website.

I'm a member of three herp groups/herp societies and follow several more on FB. They usually realize pretty quickly that DD is the actual reason we're there. She's finally being accepted by adults more directly, but it's taken several years of my signing up for things so she could participate to get to the point that I'm her tag-along rather than the other way around.