The other interesting thing I got from the Cigotie blog is “assumptions.” When you put yourself out on the public domain, you’re fair game. Cigotie’s downfall hasn’t been bad English teachers, we didn’t pay 1k for his software and teachers at his school are well aware of his talents. In fact, the Principle created a web design and HTML class with him in mind. Cigotie even taught some classes in his Photo Shop class last year.
Besides his techno side, he’s a fablous piano player, just won “longest drive” at the Middle School golf tourney and “Player of the Year” for his team. He gets great grades and is really looking forward to High School. Maybe you can invite him to SLVHS some time and share some technique with your students.

Thanks, first of all, for being cool with a bunch of strangers analyzing your work. As you can see from the comments, everyone agrees you have a strong technical baseline, good instincts, etc., and as Mom mentions, Matthew is only fourteen. I don’t know if I could claim the kind of focus at age fourteen that I’m looking for in Matthew’s work.

That said, to Matthew, if I were your video production teacher (and, by the time you hit your sophomore year at SLVHS, it’s possible I will be) I’d love to see your strong SFX work integrated into a story. It’s one thing to shoot a lightsaber fight and post it to YouTube. It’s another thing to see that fight in the context of some Jedi fanfiction with interesting characters and a driving storyline. Have you tried any of that? Can you link something up?

Also, if I were your video production teacher, I’d ask you every month (1) what was the last movie you saw, (2) did you like it or dislike it, and (3) specifically, why.

Thanks, again, for adding to the commentary.

I agree in everything you said. And I also see many kids online doing the same exact thing, as inspirations like Video CoPilot, Creative Cow, etc. And I also agree on how people are getting too sucked into a world, full of copying and project file manipulation, that they have lost all creativity themselves.

It’s a hard thing to change but it can be done :)

Maybe I am not the best example to use. If you check some of the dates of my stuff from 2007, I was the origins of the ideas. Where people like Andrew Kramer make a tutorial about a year or so later. Such as Head Explosion Test, Hit by Car, etc.

I am not proud of those works haha, but I’m just trying to say, that we have inspired each other.

I think Andrew Kramer is a marketing genius. By making a user/website interaction that people LIKE to use. And it provides results to show friends and family. But I wouldn’t call yourself a Artist till you take the initiative for original work.

If you would like to see my original work check out these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T47bqFDtPOM&fmt=22

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy6TMGjH88Q&fmt=18

-Matthew Helms

PS: The secret to getting applications, is a student discount. I email every company I purchase one, to make a deal if ones not already available. I got all of my applications for less than $300 each.

I think most artists need to learn the basics before they can move on to free expression. As I listen to him creating songs on the piano or self-teaching himself the guitar, I know that the artistic side of him is there. Whether he ends up applying it to his visual effects, who knows? He’s only 14 and he may be on to something else by the end of the week. I think he’s into website development now and teaching himself programming languages. What were you doing when you were 14?

I’m not worried about Cigotie. Sometimes he’s a problem though :).

Too many kids are NOT allowed to write for themselves/”tell their own stories” in elementary schools, but instead are taught how to RESPOND to a prompt from the very EARLY ages.

Seriously, there are BOOKS full of writing “prompts” at the teacher stores. Scary, I know! Teachers buy them because THEY don’t understand how to teach kids to WRITE, so they end up just teaching kids how to RESPOND.

If this kiddo is in middle school, he probably is still looking for the teacher to tell him what he should write about/create next.

Too many people spend their lives waiting for someone to TELL them what to do next. Think about how many educators just RESPOND instead of create.

ANYWAY, looks like THIS kiddo will find a way to create his own story. At least he’s TRYING to create now. He’ll get bored and move on to his OWN imagination next.