Attempts to grow film industry in LA
Some parents think that their children spend way too much time on the computer. But the Satellite Center is trying to show parents that spending some time on digital endeavors may not be such a bad thing.
“A lot of parents…wish their kids would get off of the computer,” said Brian Gough, an online facilitator for the center who helped organize the event. “When you get them in touch with other kids and people in the industry…the parents can see that this is a kind of job that their kid cold have – they could make a living in this.”
The center has held a Video and Animation Festival for the past five years, but this year’s event went above and beyond what has been previously done.
The festival aims at bringing industry professionals into the area to meet up-and-coming young talent and to give students an outlet for their creativity.
It began as an event only for St. Charles Parish high schools, but this year it accepted about 100 entries from eight New Orleans metro area schools.
For only $1, community members were invited to watch over three hours of video submissions and 45 minutes of animation submissions during the festival on April 16.
Gough said that about 200 people attended. Included in attendance were Dr. Stacey Simmons, director and founder of the Redstick International Animation Festival in Baton Rouge, and ABC 26 News anchor Michael Hill, who acted as master of ceremonies.
The two guests made a huge difference to the festival, according to Rhitt Growl, digital media facilitator at the center who helped organize the festival.
“It stepped us up a notch and made us look like a real legitimate festival, like we wanted to,” Growl said. “Having them there really captivated the audience.”
Gough said that the festival aims at retaining young people who are interested in film and media in Louisiana to help economic development.
While the overall video and animation winners were both from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, local students brought home prizes in the smaller categories.
For the flash animation category, Ricky Hu of Hahnville High won and Renetta Hood and Ruama Marciana of the Satellite Center were runners-up. For the 3D animation category, Logal Loup of the Satellite Center won and Justin Harris was runner-up. Barbara Maikell with the Satellite Center won runner-up in the PSA/Commercial category.
Maikell said that the festival opened her eyes to other possibilities in video and animation.
“I really liked it because I got to see work and creativity from other high schools and got to compare where other regions of schools are as far as technology and creativity,” Maikell said. “I realized that regions and places can have their advantages and disadvantages for creativity.”
Festival organizers plan to continue growing in the coming years.
“Our goal is to eventually have a state-wide contest for high school-age kids,” Gough said. “We want to link them up with people that work in the industry.”
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