Forest Lake State High School students will put their filmmaking skills on display when animations, advertisements, trailers and short films are screened at the school’s FLAKE Media Showcase on Tuesday 28 July.
The student-only event will feature work created across Years 8 to 12, along with films produced through the school’s weekly Media Club.
Media teacher Zoe Lidgard said the showcase would allow students to experience their work beyond the classroom and see it presented to a larger audience.
“It’s not the same as showing their film in the classroom,” Ms Lidgard said.
“It’s really designed to inspire the younger media students to see what the older students are doing and think, ‘Wow, I can’t wait to do that.’
“It’s really an event of pride.”
The program will include Year 8 stop-motion animations, Year 9 trailers, Year 10 advertisements, Year 11 genre films and Year 12 short films.
Year 11 students have developed films around the theme “Spark”, while Year 12 students have explored transmedia storytelling, creating stories designed to continue across platforms such as games, websites or online videos.
Ms Lidgard said the Year 8 stop-motion animations could emerge as a highlight of the event.
Students worked in groups to build clay characters and sets before managing the animation, camera work and lighting within class time.
“The Year 8 animations are probably going to be the star of the show,” she said.
“They had to build their characters out of clay, build their sets, work as a team, animate, operate the camera and manage the lighting.”
Students produce their work using professional-grade equipment and software, including DSLR cameras, lighting equipment and Adobe Premiere Pro.
Former students will return to judge the films and provide feedback on areas including cinematography, set design, sound and music.
Trophies will be presented for leading films and advertisements, while media teachers will also recognise students for qualities such as collaboration, teamwork and media analysis.
Ms Lidgard said showing younger students what their peers could create helped demonstrate that filmmaking was not limited to major studios or large budgets.
“Anyone can create a film,” she said.
“It doesn’t have to be something from Hollywood.”
The school is also exploring the possibility of holding a larger community screening at a cinema later in the year, showcasing some of the strongest student work.
