Up Close: Liam Smith

By Leah Carliner

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

At 12 years old, Liam Smith has found a way to make movies come to life. Smith was the recent winner of a teen movie contest at the Cascades Library in Potomac Falls for his short movie, "The Mystery of the Missing Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich."

Smith's two-and-a-half minute animated film won him a gift certificate of $100 to Best Buy and the recognition of his fellow filmmaking peers who entered into the competition - including his older sister, Evelyn, 14.

All of the 16 films submitted were in the crime genre, and on Aug. 9, the library held a two-hour debut for the teens' movies.

LoudounExtra.com recently spoke to Bluemont native Liam, a home-schooled student, about his film and what his future projects will be.

Q: Tell us a little bit about the plot of the movie for which you won the award.

Photo: Leah Carliner

Liam Smith, 12, holds his first place award from the Cascades Library teen film contest. Smith also won a $100 gift certificate to Best Buy.

A: The hero, Sir Matthew, is trying to find out who stole the King's giant peanut butter and jelly sandwich that he made in honor of his birthday.

Q: How did you get involved in filmmaking?

A: My older sister, she's doing a lot of films, and I kind of started after her ... she's not putting it into too many contests. She's done two or three contests I think.

Q: Was this your first attempt at an animated film?

A: My first [animated film] was actually clay. It was a little clay guy who had little blue eyes and a yellow mouth. He started out as a blob and then he grew up and got eyes and a mouth.

Q: How do you make an animation?

A: [An animation is] a film of little snippets of whatever - it could be clay or Legos or pictures or something ... I edit them and cut them all really short and then put them all together.

You take the camera and you set it up and you film a little snippet of a scene. Then you move everything just a little bit and you keep doing that and then you put it all together.

Q: How did you learn about animation?

A: I saw a demonstration of a flip book on TV and tried a flip book, and then I decided what if I just did it with a camera.

Q: Are you working on a new movie?

A: Not right now, but I'm intending to.

Q: What are your ideas for your next project?

A: I don't know. Either another medieval one or like an Indiana Jones, Lego thing.

Q: Were you surprised that you beat out all the others in the library's contest?

A: I knew I was going to win because the library called me ahead of time and told me.

Q: What was your reaction when you found out?

A: I was pretty excited, because I thought my sister was going to win because hers was pretty good.

Q: Has your experience with filmmaking influenced what you want to do when you grow up? Should we expect to see the name Liam Smith in Hollywood lights some day?

A: I don't know, probably not. [Movies are] probably just something I'll do as a hobby.

Q: Tell us something about yourself that would surprise your friends.

A: I do vaulting … it's gymnastics on a horse, so you get on a horse and it canters in a circle and you do stuff on it.

Watch Liam's video here

Tagged: Bluemont, Cascades Library, film, teens, Up Close

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