So as my wife and I sit here on our bed at 8:00 on a Saturday night, you would think the lights would be low and maybe some mellow music would be playing. Perhaps a movie, the wafting scent of popcorn, kids in bed, sleeping snugly while the rain faintly beats on our rooftop. Ha! You're taking crazy pills. I'm blogging, she's reading literature on acupuncture, and our house is a whirling mass of 10 year old boys and girls watching movies upstairs and downstairs. It's a High School Musical Late-Over! But not just to watch the movie, no - that would be too 'Old High School Musical'. My oldest and his friends are MAKING THEIR OWN MOVIE!!. That's right, complete with camcorder on a tripod, cries of "Cut" and "Action", casting calls, the cutting room floor, etc. It's all very Hollywood. Tonight was a dining scene, so Brayden and his 3 friends and 2 girls in the cast came to our home, had a salmon dinner, and filmed what is sure to be the dramatic climax of the film. I have no idea what the scene entailed, because we were asked by security to retire to the basement so as not to be in the way of the lighting or trip over any of the foot or two of extension cords. We were lucky enough to make a quick stop at the catering trailer before being bounced to the dungeon. This was the second night of filming. This picture, which will surely be over-budget, has so far two scenes: tonights dining scene, and about a month ago there was a poolside scene which had its own lip-synced song and dance numbers. The main character in that shoot, a girl from Brayden's class named Micah, was actually extremely good. As soon as I am able to get my hands on some footage I will post it. Security is pretty tight.
It's amazing to see creativity and passion collide with the limitations of youth. I can't imagine what kind of powerful and moving films they could make if they were able to drive or stay out past 9:00. Heck, they're still anticipating their first PG-13 film. But I love it. I am so proud of Brayden for getting good friends, coming up with something fun to do, and then doing it. I mean, if I go back to being that age the best ideas I had with friends was a pretty short list:
1. Dirt-clod fight at the dirt pile
2. Pennies on the train track (dependant upon train schedule)
3. Shoot slingshots at dead horse by the train tracks (dependant upon dead horse location)
4. Shoot BB guns at birds quietly eating at backyard birdfeeder
That's all we could come up with.
I now see after compiling this list that Brayden's creativity is from my wife's side.
3 comments:
This brought back TONS of memories of growing up in my house. By the time we had a "camcorder", (a huge camera with tripod, cords, and carrying case for half the vcr unit) our recordable events were pretty much over. I'm the youngest and had quit dance, my brothers were done with organized sports, and my older siblings were happy to record other memorable family events. My point is that my parents didn't ever use it and we did.....ALL THE TIME!
There was a good period of time where my friends and I would come home from school, dress up (huge dress up closet in the basement) and turn on the video camera. We did talk shows, magic shows, beauty pagents, news reports, concert, commercials, you name it!!! All I can say is don't EVER record over what they are doing. We only have one video of all our many hours of playing and it's by far the most dull. I will always regret not keeping those in a fire proof safe. Thanks for the walk through memory lane!
Sounds fantastic! Can't wait to see footage on the blog.
Yes, what a beautiful idea. High School Musical 3, oh wait, Junior High School Musical 1, oh wait, Elementary School Musical 1! Is there a love story in this one? Are the songs original writings? Costumes? Love it!
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