Two Karamu High School students have proved their natural flair for filmmaking and have the national titles to prove it.
Year 12 media students Portia McLean and Stephen Clothier walked away with two wins at the Cut! 2010 National Secondary School Short Video Competition held in Hamilton over the weekend.
Their short
film Entymology took top honours for the best animated film and best art direction in the competition, which featured the top selection from 70 entries nationwide.
It is no small feat for the Karamu High students. It was the first time Portia and Stephen had made a film. They dedicated hours every day after school over 11 weeks to create the six-minute film.
Entymology was part of a class project and on the advice of their media studies teacher, Tom Hunter, they decided to enter the national competition.
As art director, Portia was in charge of putting together the storyboard and creating the marionette puppets. Stephen, a pianist, composed and performed the musical score.
Portia was at the awards ceremony with friends and family.
"This was our first go at making a movie, so we were pretty stunned," she said about the win. Entymology featured a mixture of two-dimensional stop-motion animation and puppetry.
It was a humorous and slightly gothic tale about the twisted relationship of a ladybird and cockroach who live underground.
Portia created the characters in Year 9 with the idea of writing a children's book. The characters "got a bit creepy" over time and, while the book never eventuated, they proved ideal for the film's lead roles.
The move paid off as judges congratulated the film for its uniqueness and commented: "A little insect smoking and drinking! Love it! This sure stood out, which is great."
In September, Stephen was named Hawke's Bay's Young Musician of the year.
