Youths Get Red-Carpet Treatment at Ceremony

On Wednesday night, while most other kids their age are doing homework, one group of sixth-to-12th-grade video-makers will be decked out in tuxes and formal gowns, waiting to hear a celebrity presenter call out their names--just like at the Academy Awards.

But this is the fifth annual Clarita Awards, held at the Magic Moments Theatre at Six Flags Magic Mountain, where the creative efforts of these young people from the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys will be shown.

Many have attended the nonprofit Young People’s Video Workshops, sponsored by the city of Santa Clarita and the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce. The workshops, a series of weekend classes, are taught by Castaic-based film and TV production manager Rick Byrum and volunteer professionals from various local studios.

Byrum, who also is executive producer of the awards ceremony, called the event the annual culmination of the workshops. Here, he said, kids are recognized for their best efforts in a dozen categories, including directing, writing, recording, editing, camera operation, animation and acting.

Also represented at the awards are students who have taken part in production programs at local high school magnets. In addition, every community from Castaic to Pacoima, every youth aggregation from public schools to Sunday schools to scout troops are solicited for applicants. They have received inquiries from as far away as Illinois, but it’s essentially a local effort, Byrum said.

“I’m absolutely amazed at the quality every year when we screen the competing entries,” Byrum said.

This year’s competing projects range from music videos to public service announcements to feature-length videos. Their titles--such as “I Was a Teenage Stalker,” “Unfortunate Fools,” “What Tore Us Apart” and “Free Falling”--reveal the preoccupations of the young.

Alex Hakopian, a media instructor at Grant High School, encourages his ninth- and 10th-graders to compete in the Clarita Awards because “the kids love the show, which is like a mini Academy Awards with celebrities they recognize.”

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Wednesday’s presenters include Kelli Kirkland, whom kids have seen in the syndicated television series “Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad,” and Billy Zabka from the feature film “The Karate Kid.”

“There is another annual awards ceremony--at the Los Angeles Unified School District-- honoring student video productions from the Valley and other areas, but participation is limited to students and their teachers,” Hakopian said. That one is televised on KLCS-TV every June.

Julie Drake, a Van Nuys educational technology specialist who works for the LAUSD, reports that membership in a statewide professional organization, Video-Using Educators, of which she is president, has almost tripled in recent years. Kids want to study production, “and we want to provide that resource,” she said.

That way, they can make a film like “Creeping Terror,” nominated this year for Claritas in the categories of special effects, make-up, editing, cinematography, screenplay and best picture.

DETAILS

* EVENT: The Clarita Awards gala presentation honors student video competition winners. It features celebrity presenters and performances, and video clips of competing productions. The event will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Magic Moments Theatre at Six Flags Magic Mountain. At the main gate, ask for Lot H1. Tickets are $5. For more information, call (800) 868-7398.

* CLASSES: The Young People’s Video Workshops, sponsored by the city of Santa Clarita and the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, are conducted annually. The series of six workshops, scheduled on various weekends between October and March, costs $30. For more information, call (800) 869-7398.

* AWARD SHOW: Video in the Classroom Awards Annual Ceremony--a live telecast from Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters that will include excerpts of winning student productions--will be aired at 10:30 a.m. June 8 on KLCS-TV. For more information, call (213) 625-6958.

* TEACHER TRAINING: Video-Using Educators is a professional organization of Southern California teachers of video production in kindergarten through 12th grade. For membership, spring and fall training sessions or the ZOOM NOOZ newsletter, call Julie Drake (310) 922-6246 or (818) 780-9782.