Student Tells Stories Through Film
BY JONATHAN KANE
Travis Wilkinson, a senior at The Sage School carrying a 3.7 grade point average, loves to tell stories, with film being his chosen medium. A member of the Sun Valley Suns hockey team and former ski racer, Wilkinson will be taking his talents to Africa in the spring when he interns on a documentary television series.
“My interest in film was stoked when I got a GoPro camera when I was 14 years old,” he said. “What I love the most is that you can tell a story with an art form that everyone understands. Everyone watches movies and that allows them to appreciate what you are doing.”
Wilkinson hopes someday to make movies that are meaningful, and cites the new Oliver Stone movie, “Snowden,” as an example.
“It’s great to show that sometimes things aren’t what they seem to be or what you think it is,” Wilkinson said.
His current favorite is “American Beauty,” which he has watched three times in the past week.
“It captures the essence of true beauty in life and that there are no boundaries holding you back. I also love ‘Forrest Gump’ because it is such an original story and movie, and ‘Dead Man Walking,’ which has so much dense emotion and denial and confession as well as such deep, great acting.”
After receiving his first GoPro, Wilkinson filmed a winter hike, then edited it on iMovie and posted it on YouTube.
“It seemed like a fun thing to do as a pastime,” he said.
He then started to use it more extensively when skiing or mountain biking and with friends.
“These were more scripted, but were still rooted in improv, and [I] posted them online.”
Wilkinson’s first recognition came a few years back when a film of his was chosen to be shown as part of the Future Filmmakers Forum and the Sun Valley Film Festival. Called “World of My Mind,” it ran three-and-a-half minutes and was filmed on a Canon TBI.
“It was a little script that had animation elements in it,” he said. “It was about a kid on a summer day that goes for a walk and hits their head and ends up in a cartoon world. Every school submitted films for the festival and The Sage School participated.
It was a really awesome experience, especially seeing your film up there on the big screen.”
Last year Wilkinson was a student judge for the competition. “It was a really cool experience as I got to see what the other kids could do,” he said.
This spring he is off to Mozambique to intern on a TV series about restoring a national park by working with the villagers and rescuing animals.
“I’m so excited. I’ve never had such an amazing film opportunity.”
Editor’s Note: Anyone who would like to recommend a Blaine County School District student for The Weekly Sun’s “Student Spotlight” feature should contact Jonathan Kane at jkjonkane@gmail.com.