Hiding Under My Desk

Getting ready for a Make-a-Movie birthday party is always a creative process. I always read through the script to make sure I feel it is tailored perfectly for the birthday boy or girl. If we're doing SPACE: The Movie, and the child playing the Commander is a girl, then I'd better go through it and switch all the 'him's" and his" to "her's" and "she's.'

I'll never forget the party where the Scientist character was played by a sweet little girl, yet the script referred to her character as a boy throughout. And wouldn't you know it, but I didn't even catch this until I was at my computer editing the footage??!! I wanted to crawl under the desk and just sit with all my wires and cables hoping the world would forget I even do Make-a-Movie birthday parties!!

Luckily, the family who hired me for this party was the most understanding and accommodating family I have ever worked with. This proved true when I rang their doorbell to deliver 15 freshly burned DVD's with a lovely printed sleeve that read "SPACE: The Movie" starring... "Misspelled Birthday Boy's Name." With no desk to hide under, I crept back to my car and hightailed it back home. Once there, I crawled back to my computer, and relaunched Final Cut so I could correct his name in all the titles. Fifteen freshly burned DVD's later, I trundled back to my ultra-patient customer to deliver the perfected DVD's.

I've never been one to describe myself as a perfectionist, but when it comes to spleling, I mean spelling, and a customer is the victim, there's no choice but to crawl out from under the desk and make it right.

Happy Movie-Making!

Kids Who Enjoyed a Day of Acting

Making movies with kids is so rewarding because of the sheer enjoyment the children express afterwards. All you need is a strong script, filled with smart, funny characters, and a few exciting props (what child doesn't get excited to use cell phones or walkie-talkies!), and your movie making experience is ready for "Action!" www.makeamoviestudios.com

Acting Like Kids OR Why kids LOVE to Act!

Pretending. Make-believe. Fairytales. Storytime. All of these child-activities are a form of acting. You might wonder about adult actors who do the same thing in their multi-million dollar movies. Is becoming an actor a path to never having to grow up? Maybe - and who could blame Dustin Hoffman for diving into the role of Mr. Magorium? Or Nicole Kidman as Samantha in Bewitched?

Remember when, as a child, your mother would read aloud a story to you? Think of those images that formed in your head as you imagined how the scene would look, or the color of a character's hair, or the scowling expression on the witch's face. What if someone invited you to come up on stage or to stand before a camera where you could pretend to be that character you so vividly saw in your imagination?

Kids have so little power in their everyday lives. But when they are given the opportunity to act, to perform a story, everything changes. Through the characters they create, the stories they tell through their performances, children can feel the power of personal expression. And isn't that what Dustin Hoffman and Nicole Kidman do best? Expressing the many facets of their personalities and their abilities for all the world to see.

Where there's pretend play, there's freedom.

Make A Movie with Your Kids

For the past six years, I've been making movies with kids. Birthday parties, movie workshops, bar mitzvah's... I like to think of myself as one of the most prolific movie directors in the world's history. I've made close to 100 movies with close to 1000 children! And each movie was made with an original script (written by me.) All my movies have strong characters, well plotted story lines, and a "G" rating! And all our movies have had premier nights: big screen, surround sound, packed audiences, popcorn, drinks, prizes, speeches!

Through the years I have written over 30 original scripts. These stories are geared to what interests children, mostly because the elements in each script came from brainstorming sessions with groups of children. I've decided to make the scripts available for anyone to use. You can visit www.makeamoviestudios.com to read the script descriptions, and even see clips of past movies I've made.

For a fun family activity or a unique classroom activity, Make-a-Movie scripts and kits could be what you're looking for.

Let me know if you have any experiences working with kids making movies. I'd love to hear them...