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FacebookStudents compete to prove they're not apathetic
by By Kristin Morency, The Suburban — May 22, 2007
Grade 11 students in Annie Krespil’s video arts class have until June 1 to enter their short films in the Apathy is Boring (AisB) video contest. The only guideline for the project is that videos be about “active citizenry and youth engagement,” said AisB marketing and sales coordinator, Avigail Aronoff. “We thought a good format would be a two- to three-minute video, that can be creative or journalistic... We’re leaving it as open as possible for the students; we want to see them run with it,” Aronoff said, adding that it’s the first AisB contest of its kind. “It’s a pilot project, we’re excited to see how it turns out at the end of day... Our eventual goal is to make it national,” she said. Aronoff said AisB, which was formed in 2004 and targets 18- to 36-year-olds, does not try to pressure young people into voting; rather, the organization asks youth why they’re not interested in visiting the polls. “They say they don’t trust the system, they don’t trust politicians... And we say, what are you doing about it if you’re not satisfied? We try to open the conversation in a way that’s fun for young people, through music and art events.” The first-place video will air on the AisB website (www.apathyisboring.com), and the winning film’s creators (students are working in groups) will get concert tickets of their choice and AisB gear. Krespil said the students’ reactions to the contest when she announced it two weeks ago was “quite positive.” For the final class project, students were presented with two options: To make any film “with a powerful message” or to create a video for the Apathy is Boring contest, which all 20 students opted to do, Krespil said. “We’re taking it in steps. It’s a beginner film course, and this is pretty much their first film of this nature. [They’re] developing the message with whatever cinematic techniques they choose,” such as making an impact with different camera angles, voice-over narration, music and lighting, Krespil explained. “They have to bring in some raw footage... They’re working both in school and at home,” she said, adding, “They’re really, really getting into it, students are really jumping in there, I’m very pleased.” “The videos [so far] are very creative, very different. Some students are focussing on their own neighbourhoods and why it’s so important to be heard, the type of difference you can make on a smaller scale and how that’s going to impact socially and globally... Other students are looking into what would interest teens more, by using music, and trying to deliver their message in that way,” Krespil explained. Kate MacGowan, 16, said her group has taken some raw footage of young people “doing things they’re passionate about then combining it all together to show that... you can be passionate about politics as well. “We’ve got skateboarders doing skate tricks, another bunch of shots like of a band making music, things like that, and each group of people is holding a poster with a saying. Like for music we wrote ‘We care’ on a music sheet, for skateboarders they’re holding signs saying ‘We’re passionate’ and at the end we’re going to put it all together in sentences like: ‘Are you passionate? Will you care? Will you vote?’” MacGowan explained. One of MacGowans film partners, Rebecca Besnos, 17, said there are some “really good ideas” in her class. “Everyone’s really excited about the project, we all have a really good attitude, we want to get our messages across,” said Besnos, a Dollard des Ormeaux resident. Catherine Thompson, 16, said “it’s very important for people our age and younger voters to get into it and be aware of politics.” Aronoff said contest videos will be judged by the AisB staff on creativity, editing, clarity of thought, vision and research. “If they can go somewhere with it where we didn’t think they could go, even better,” Aronoff said. |
2007-05-16 11:22:47
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