Making a Film for my Niece to Star In
A few months ago, my 8 year-old niece told her mom that it was her dream for me to write and produce a little short film for her birthday party. She wanted all of her friends to be a different character and she wanted us to edit it and make it into a little short film. Her mom and I had a phone convo and decided the script would be about my niece & her friends being in high school and going to prom. I got excited and asked my writer friend, Alaina Canaday, to whip up a script for these little cuties.
My niece had nine friends invited to the party so we had to figure out a way to create drama and excitement with very easy lines for them to learn in less than 30 minutes. The party was definitely a hit because we had my niece’s older sister doing their hair and makeup at the party so they could get ready for their film debut. All of the little girls learned their lines so quickly off their scripts, and then we started shooting. And the cute story ends up with all of them in these precious prom dresses dancing around.
My overall takeaway is that little girls want to feel pretty and seen and heard. They all enjoyed being on camera and it felt like a dream come true for my neice to have her own little film experience. After I had my friend, Karlie Gauthe, edit it together, my niece and I sat down together at Starbucks to watch it, and we giggled and laughed and watched it over and over. All of her friends did such a good job, and I really think she had her dream birthday party. What a fun memory to make together.
The kids enjoyed putting on their hair and makeup to prepare for the film.