Young filmmaker Harry is an Animation student with Sparks Film School Glasgow South
We sat down with Harry to find out about his experiences as a young filmmaker and Sparks Film School student.
Young filmmaker Harry is an Animation student at Sparks Film School Glasgow South
What was your first day at Sparks Film School like? Tell us about your first day joining Sparks as a young filmmaker and animator…
“I first joined the Sparks Film School family around a year and a half ago. I remember being so incredibly excited to finally learn how to make my own cool animations! My first real experience was joining one of the Easter holiday camps, which ran for five days.
I actually have a funny story from my very first morning. I was walking up to the front door, feeling a little nervous, when suddenly someone started shouting my name to get my attention. When I walked over to them, we both realised they had mistaken me for someone else!
But it turned out to be a total blessing in disguise. We started chatting right there, laughed about the mix-up, and soon after, we became really good friends. It was the perfect start to my Sparks Film School experience
What first interested you about animation?
I have always loved drawing and a lot of my free time is spent making up my own comic books and stories. Before joining Sparks Film School, I was already experimenting with filmmaking at home shooting short videos and animated films featuring my toys.
When my mum found out about Sparks and told me all about their animation classes, I thought it sounded perfect. It seemed like the ultimate mix between my love for drawing and my hobby of making toy videos. I thought I’d give it a try to see what it was like, and now I absolutely love it.
How have your animation skills developed over your time as a young filmmaker with Sparks Film School?
My skills have grown so much since I started. I’ve learnt a lot of the technical secrets behind stop-motion animation and I’ve also had the chance to do real editing, which helps bring the whole story together.
Learning how to smooth out the movements of the characters has been a game-changer. Because of everything I’ve practised, I feel a whole lot more confident with my animation and filmmaking skills now than I did a year ago.
What has been your favourite Sparks Film School production you have worked on?
I really liked the King Kong vs. Godzilla film that I got to make. We designed a massive city background, and the whole plot was just King Kong and Godzilla battling it out in the middle of the streets and destroying all the buildings around them. Animating the destruction and the fights was really cool to pull off!
Honestly, I just generally enjoy coming to the classes every week because you get to make a lot of friends and the environment is always really fun. Project-wise, I also loved creating my own special remake of Avengers: Endgame. I brought in my own Lego sets to use as the characters and the scenery. It required a lot of patience to move the tiny pieces frame by frame, but it was so much fun to make and the final film turned out looking great!
Do you have any advice for other young filmmakers interested in Sparks Film School?
Go for it! Don’t be nervous at all, because it’s really fun and you will make loads of new friends on your very first day. It’s the perfect place for people who love animations, drawing, and movies, so just go for it and see what you can create!
Find out more…
Sparks Film School offer weekly filmmaking and animation classes for young filmmakers aged 5-18 at a range of venues across the UK.
If you’d like to take part, you can find your nearest Sparks Film School here >>
