As part of our SXSW sponsorship with the folks at Canon U.S.A, Inc., we got a chance to peek in on a unique student filmmaking project for a few lucky local students. As part of their ongoing sponsorship of The Lennon Bus, the world’s foremost non-profit mobile recording studio, Canon teamed up with Round Rock ISD to bring three students a fantastic opportunity to make short films that involved interviewing funk legend George Clinton, who played a Canon-sponsored show this past weekend at SXSW.
Perhaps the most wonderful thing about this project is that not only did the project provide the necessary resources for the students to go out and make films, it also provided them one of the great forums for meeting and interviewing musicians for their documentaries: the streets of SXSW.
The Lennon Bus, now operating in its 19th year, is a non-profit mobile facility that travels the country offering students a chance to learn and create. Its facilities provide the opportunity to write, record, and produce original songs, music videos, documentaries, and live multi-camera video productions for the web. It’s the kind of project that shows a commitment to giving students a chance to imagine, as John Lennon encouraged us all to do.
The SXSW project added an extra layer of fun with the inclusion of funk icon George Clinton, who you may recognize from being George Clinton. For me, he will forever be linked to one of my favorite movies of the ’90s: PCU, starring a young Jeremy Piven and Jon Favreau. The opportunity for students to not only have the right gear, but the right kind of subject for their documentaries really creates a wonderful environment for learning.
In the video below, made by the very talented Ted Forbes, you’ll see a little bit of the experience these students had in working on the Lennon Bus, interviewing George Clinton and documenting the street music scene of SXSW.
We’re very excited about this project, as it promotes a healthy interest in young people getting out there and creating things. As I mentioned in our previous update, one of the great pieces of advice we always hear from filmmakers is that nowadays, you just have to go out and start creating. Make a short film, shoot a web series, create something unique and you will be found. This is at the very heart of the Film School Rejects philosophy.
We will continue to update you on The Lennon Bus’ SXSW project once the student videos are made available online. We can’t wait to see what these young filmmakers came up with, and we’re extremely honored that Canon brought us along for the ride.
Below you will find some photos from the Lennon Bus’ time in Austin:
For more on the Lennon Bus, visit lennonbus.org.
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