- Winners at the recent film festival in Shreveport are, from left,Conner Harper (Vinton) actor, Gavin Dugas (Sulphur) writer director editor, and Kharma Little (Sulphur) actor. (Special to the American Press)
Students from Calcasieu Parish won big at the recent Film Prize Jr. Film contest and festival in Shreveport.
The students won the Shane Brown Memorial Founder’s Circle Award for the “Best Stop-Motion/Animation” short film.
These students are from Sulphur and Vinton high schools, and were encouraged to submit their work to this festival by their Television Production teacher, Pamela Dixon.
“The Film Prize Jr. Festival was an exciting experience for the students,” said Dixon, who teaches at Sulphur High School. “They got to see their films shown to audiences on a big screen.”
“The students felt like royalty.”
This is the first year that Dixon has brought students to the Film Prize Jr. Festival, and she plans to make it a yearly tradition.
The winning film, “2 Minds 1 Murder,” was written, filmed, produced, and edited by Gavin Dugas, Sulphur High School graduate. “‘2 Minds 1 Murder’ was technically something I had in my head for a few years. I had always wanted to do a detective story, and this seemed like the right time to finally realize my vision,” said Dugas. “I was incredibly excited when it got an award. There were around 70 films and around 8 got an award.”
Dugas said the experience of filming was “incredibly fun and incredibly stressful,” but filming with friends made it worthwhile. “Filming with them made the whole process better.,” he said. “Conner Harper and Kharma Little, who are in TV production with me, were great in the film.
Harper, Vinton High School graduate, and Little, Sulphur High School student agreed. “I always enjoy working with friends because they are people I can count on that share the same passion as I do which creates great teamwork and perfect feedback,” said Harper.
“It enhanced the experience overall because you didn’t have to worry about getting along,” explained Little. “You could just have fun as a team of friends rather than just people who were forced to do a project together.”
Harper and Little both acted in “2 Minds, 1 Murder.” This film was produced with a group called Chillnxd, which is based off of Dugas and Carson Brackeen’s youtube channel.
Little also produced a film called “Bad Day,” with her group Waffles Rebaked. “Although it didn’t win any awards, it was still really fun to make!”
The students that participated in this festival learned their skills from Dixon’s TVP class at Sulphur High School.
According to Dixon, students learn how to use professional field and studio cameras, video switchers, audio mixers and other video gear.
“They learn video composition, how to properly and creatively frame their shots; how to effectively edit video using Adobe Premiere Pro, an industry standard editing software that they can become certified in, giving them an industry-based certification. They learn how to generate video or news story ideas, gather information, interview people on camera, film events, live stream sports and other events, write scripts for news or promotional content, produce newscasts, anchor newscasts,” she explained. “But most of all they are learning communication skills, how to tell a story or articulate information in a relevant way to a target audience, skills that will benefit them in any career path and everyday life.”
While Dixon’s class is focused on the technical aspect of filmmaking and television, she believes that the art of film is a powerful medium. “It’s in that art that determines how well you can appeal to an audience and maintain an audience’s attention,” she said. “The way the video is presented can evoke feelings, educate, change minds, entertain, inform, and unfortunately sometimes misinform.”
Her students agree. Little finds that film is important because it allows you “to express any and every emotion through the screen,” while Dugas believes “the importance of film to me is letting people show and express stories and ideas and just push the limits of the human mind and create new things that have never been dreamed of.”
“Film is such a rich form of art because of every person’s different view on it,” explained Harper. “You can look at this festival as an example. There was drama, horror, documentaries, and comedies like mine. Being able to show people the unique perspective that I have about film makes me so happy.”
Little will be entering her senior year at Sulphur High School. After graduation, she intends to attend SOWELA for a degree in film or graphic art.
Dugas and Harper are currently interning with CBS Lake Charles. Dugas will be attending LSU in Baton Rouge to continue his education in film, while Harper plans on attending SOWELA.
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