by Rachel Reeves
Hailey Johnston, 13, a seventh-grader at Parras Middle School has received an Award of Excellence from the National PTA for her one-minute, animated film, “I Matter Because I’m Me.”
Johnston was one of more than 300,000 students who participated in this year’s Reflections Program, which invites submissions in six areas — choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, and visual arts. The program aims to encourage creativity and expression around a theme selected by students. This year’s theme was “I Matter Because.”
Johnston’s film uses stop motion animation — in which objects are moved between individually photographed frames so, when played together, they appear to move. The film depicts Johnston laying on a hardwood floor, transforming herself into various characters using common household items.
She dons a towel as a cape and asks: “Am I a superhero that saves the city from villains that flies into the sky and saves civilians? Not even close.” She then moves the towel to her waist, draping it around herself as a skirt, and asks: “Is it because I’m a world-class dancer that can do any dance in the world? Nah. I just trip over and fall on my face.”
She turns her body to feign falling from a plane, passing paper-clouds to indicate downward motion, and asks: “Is it because I have no fear and can do anything like skydiving or freefalling? Nah. I’m scared of heights.”
A scarf becomes a prop for a gymnastics routine. She asks: “Is it because I’m super flexible and the best gymnast in the world? No, I can barely do a cartwheel.” The scarf then transitions to her neck. She dons a pair of sunglasses and asks: “Is it because I’m super-duper famous and I have a million subscribers on YouTube? No, I have less than five.”
In the final scene, the props disappear. “It’s because I’m me,” Johnston tells the camera. It’s because I’m the best me that I can possibly be.”
The film won first place at Parras Middle School, then at the Redondo Beach Unified School District level, then at the level of the 33rd District in the State of California, then in the State of California, and finally, an Award of Excellence at the national level.
Johnston was on a road trip with her family when she received word her film had advanced.
“We were like, yay!” she said. “It was really exciting.”
She shot the film one evening after school with a GoPro attached to a broom attached to a stool balanced on a table. She laughs when she recalls this part of the process.
“It was very unprofessional,” she said. She then used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the footage, a program her mother, Brandy, helped her learn. Brandy also makes films; a documentary she worked on, “Road to 50 Miles,” received an honorable mention at the Hollywood Screenings Film Festival last month.
“It’s one thing that we have in common,” Johnston said, and laughed.
Johnston wants to be a scriptwriter one day.
“I’ve just found a love for making stories,” she said.
The message of this short film felt, to her, important to communicate in a world shaped by a global pandemic.
“Everyone really needs to hear that right now, that you matter because you’re you even if you can’t do the things that people expect you to do,” she said. “You just have to be you, especially during these trying times.”
Johnston’s film can be viewed at: youtube.com/watch?v=RGWHduINNiw. ER
