He's already asking me about motion tracking and rotoscoping!

in which case.... when it comes time to upgrade pass your old kit down.

if he's in more of a hurry, show him the tools, how to use them by learning the 'basic rules' of production, such as camera handling, 3 point lighting, dof, l and j cuts, etc., etc., and that less can be more, and to think about value adding in any form, from getting sponsorship through to having a saleable product...

and if he hasn't been put off / bored / walked out on you, hand him the business and retire ;-)

one of my daughters old boyfriends was an it specialist (aged 23, back in the early 90's with a degree in something computer'ish) used to drop into the studio quite regularly when he came round to pick her up (always asking intelligent and interesting questions about all aspects of tv production). after a couple of months i happened to ask him if he knew anything about video programs as i was (trying to!) learn after effects - the guy i usually had do my 'serious' fx had just moved interstate. he said no, that he was into some sort of data bank management for a large corporation, but he love to have a play if i didn't mind....

suffice to say i ended up employing him after just a month - he picked after effects up so fast it was almost unbelievable, he then moved on to lightwave and within about 3 months he was highly proficient in both, and more importantly, loving what he was doing!

of course all fairy stories must come an end.

about six months after starting work with me one of the big computer game builders saw one of his 3d animations somewhere (he was always credited for work he did), and made him an offer he really, really couldn't refuse,
however, the offer he made my daughter was refused - she had no intention of marrying someone whose first love was (now) obviously a pc or mac!
and i learnt just enough of after effects to muddle through till i found a replacement.

there's a moral somewhere here?

Totally unbelievable: everyone knows that Nerf guns don't emanate bursts of flames. :)

Props to your son! That was WAY better than my first video as a kid. I hope you have the budget to support his budding interest.

He seems to have gotten everyone into the act. Take the editing machine away from him and make him the producer. That's where the money is.

Just remember, when he is rich and famous, he has an obligation to support you in the manner to which you would like to become accustomed : )

:-)

OK, my son has taken a break from his usual Quintin Tarantino violence and done a music video:



No input from me whatsoever. I am going to see if I can figure out that half frame flickering thing though.

What a poser!* Gotta say, you've got a future rockstar on your hands, Laurence.
But not to worry too much, he looks smart enough to keep his head in the game.
Nice music video!

*(In the theatrical sense.)

I love the occasional parent in the background, moving around with not so much disinterest, but more resignation to the inevitable.

That was good!

Here's the latest one, using a combination of Vegas and Hit Film:

I'd be worried Laurence.

Even Tarantino has a story line and some depth to his films. Tarantino fully realizes the importance of character and its development mostly through the dialog.
There is a reason why the audience can relate to two men who turn out to be killers in Pulp Fiction. Before they are even identified as such they are talking about things like fast food in European culture, etc. to endear the audience.

I would suggest (if you have the money) sending him to a summer filmmaking camp.

There is one in Orlando. I vaguely recall that is where you live.

Meanwhile I would tell him that he has to submit a screenplay for his next film to you for review.

John

"I'd be worried Laurence.Hmmm... Smiley face button not working? IMHO, for 11 years old this youngster is showing a lot of talent.

...Jerry

"I'd be worried Laurence."
===========================================================
Jerry,

As you can tell from the links I provided, I wasn't trying to discourage the kid. Yes he does have talent. Laurence asked in his OP: "I don't know if I should be proud, worried or what...."

Speaking as a father of four, all of which are either musicians or actors I noticed some things at times when they were young that prompted me to intervene in order to channel their obvious talents in the right direction. It appears to have paid off in the long run.

There's more to talent than the mechanism of editing.

It's clear to me that you (and hopefully your son) have never seen a person shot to pieces nor heard the sound of a bullet tearing through flesh.

I have and I don't find it entertaining.

But that's just me.

actually, though i wouldn't have commented in the first place, i think mtntvguy has a point.

i have heard / seen / been part of actions i would rather not have been involved in with guns. there is no 'fun' to be had from cartoon like depiction of such matters that trivialise the potential harm they can cause.

then again, i'm an old curmudgeon....

btw. your son obviously has talent - try channeling it to less violent ends.

BarbOrdell said:" I don't think your comment is appropriate. This is not the forum for that sort of judgment."

Why is my comment less appropriate than the the extremely offensive video it was about? And as far as this not being the forum for any particular subject: You're passing judgment on someone you presume to be judgmental. Very ironic.

Again I'll ask: Have you ever seen people, including children, shot to pieces? I have. Have you ever seen the distant look in a cold-blooded killer's eyes? I have. So I think I have the right to say I don't care much for it being glorified.

If you served as a corpsman then you and I have something in common... except I was just a grunt corpsman with the Marines in Vietnam. No hero medals, but I do have the Purple Heart. I'd guess that's about all we have in common, however.

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were known for their very imaginative depictions of murderous scenes, too. They became famous for them after their Columbine killing rampage.

But I won't trouble you or this board with any more of my curmudgeonry.

Oo-rah.

Oo-rah.

It's interesting to see how your sons use of effects have been improving.

Isn't Action Essentials only compatible in AE? So did he composite this in AE and edit in Vegas?

It'll be interesting to see what kind of story line he can build using these skills. (;

My son and I went over these posts together, and also read up on the Columbine boys. It is spooky that they made a violent movie before they acted it out in real life. After looking this stuff over, my son left for his room looking quite sad.

The way I look at it, all boys play with toy guns and play act violence. I remember doing that myself with my friends. Before he starts adding effects it looks like typical boy play. Adding the effects really changes the look considerably. In order to do that there are all sorts of skills that I really want to encourage: motion tracking the tip of the gun, masking out doors and people over the explosions, 3d tracking particle clouds of smoke, editing bullet casings flying out of the guns, flying effects, sound effects, music, etc. I have helped him very little with any of this. He's asked for my help once in a while when he was stuck, but the majority of it has been figured out with experimentation and some YouTube tutorials.

I really don't think I need to worry about him in this. He is well liked at school and not at all bullied. He has no interest in real guns or weapons. He just loves movie special effects.

laurence, i think your son is probably a well adjusted, obviously well loved child, NOT to be worried about.

heck, we used to act out cowboys and indians, or wwll stories all the time as children - what i think worries a lot of 'older' people is how often this translates in modern times with peer pressure, stress, breakup of family units, and ease of access to tools of destruction ;-(