Have you ever wanted to make a short movie? On Friday, October 11th, young people learned how to create their own mini-films! Sureya Melkonian, a student at London Film School, gave a twenty-minute presentation about the film industry and how to make your own movie. She began by asking the youths what their favorite movies are. Answers included: “Sonic!” “Minions!” and “Frozen!”  When asked how these animated movies were made, the attendees were stumped. Melkonian eloquently explained how the average feature-length animated film (which is ninety minutes) uses twenty-four frames per second. Prompted by Melkonian, an audience member whipped out their phone calculator to discover that the film “Frozen” had over 155,520 frames! (24 frames per second x 108 minutes x 60 seconds per minute). 

 While nowadays each frame is not hand-drawn, they used to be. Each frame would take around thirty hours to render. Thankfully, modern technology has allowed animators to produce works more quickly. Melkonian went on to show her own projects from when she was a child. The highlight being her video “I Fall to Pieces“, which featured Wikistics and the dramatic namesake song. After showing the video, Melkonian explained how she cleverly used household objects and a sprinkle of movie magic to produce the final result. The video currently has over eleven thousand views on Youtube! 

The session ended with an inquisitive Q&A. Youths left feeling inspired by their newfound ability to create and publish their own creative works. 

After the presentation, a participant chatted with Melkonian about her own short videos. She has been making videos on TikTok for the past four years, with one of her videos reaching over one hundred thousand views! (Her Tik Tok handle is @..lyxbov ). 

The night ended with everyone sharing a meal of delicious chicken wings, cookies, and orange juice! Young people, their parents, and volunteers all chatted as they made their way home, energized by the engaging evening.