Fillmmaking Media Gallery

Public Service Announcement (PSA)

PSAs are like short commercials but rather than trying to see something like a commercial, a PSA attempts to raise awareness about a problem or issue and/or persuade or encourage the audience to solve a problem. They usually include a tagline (Give a Hoot; Don't Pollute or Just Say No!) and call to action.

RUMORS - Class of grade 4 students share their message about spreading rumors.

DITCH THE LABEL - PSA that confronts stereotype.

ANY LANGUAGE - Anti-smoking PSA

WATCH WHAT THEY WATCH - An impactful and highly produced PSA out of Spy Hop Productions to be aware of what our children are watching on TV.

BAGELS AND OIL - Hand drawn and to the point, this PSA is a call to action to stop our dependency on oil.

HUNGER - Students discuss the issue of hunger in their lives.

OCEANS IN DANGER - PSA reminding us that recycling plastic helps the ocean.

English & Social Studies Films

NO MORE WAITING - No More Waiting that takes us to a place of inner beauty through a moving, heart-wrenching collection of words, thoughts and voices of our young immigrants. The film was produced in a fourth grade classroom at Meadowlark Elementary school in Salt Lake City, under the direction of teacher John Arthur. Rewriting the lyrics to the song, Praying, by Kesha this talented group of students intimately reveal their struggle and motivation to overcome the opposition they face as children of immigrants in the US.

GONE - Using paper cutouts and stop motion animation, 8th graders tell the story with hopes of making a difference for the thousands of children in Africa are abducted into war every year by corrupt soldier militias.

ME AND MY MUSTACHE - A personal perspective of the Vietnam War from a veteran and Utah school teacher who lost a true friend.

A NEW SONG - Have you ever wondered what life would be like without music? Daniel doesn't ever want to find out. Filmmaker and musician Daniel Pimentel’s personal narrative is full of humor, music, love, and irony.

TO REMEMBER - A touching personal narrative done by Spy Hop student Lauren Everton who was charged to make a film about what she feared most.

HIGH FIVE ETIQUETTE - A one-of-a-kind how-to social etiquette video that will keep you in the know how.

JACOB'S GARDEN - Jacob goes to his garden to get a better understanding of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence

KETCHUP & TAPATIO - From the classrooms of Glendale Middle School, Jacob Moreno, through condiments, talks about his culture and compromise.

ANDRE ORCH'S STORY - Racing since the age of four, Andre Ochs has a passion for speed.

LEILA'S EYEBROWS - A documentary commenting on cultural differences of beauty between two societies.

PROUD TO BE A WOMAN - A music video celebrating women who have changed the world.

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE - A story about Grey Greg, a crayon searching for acceptance and exploring his identity.

CANDYLAND A MODERN DAY FABLE - A sweet playful animation orchestrated by junior high school aged girls... from Dixon middle school in Provo, Utah. (this one is just for fun!)

DEPTHS- Miranda narrates a comparison of the ocean to herself.

THE NIGHT MY GRANDFATHER DIED- A thought-provoking narrative on life, death, and leaving your mark.

Science Classroom Films

Many of these youth-produced films are instructional, films that teach or inform an audience about a topic (a concept, skill or how to accomplish a task). Links to project lesson plans are listed below.

Periodic Elements Personified ("Bromine")

GENES & TRAITS - Using edible visuals, a young girl gives us an unforgettable lesson on how physical traits are passed down to the next generation.

BROMINE - A sciency rendition of Dolly Parton's song "Jolene" by Natalie Vickers of Salt Lake Arts Academy

PHOTOSYNTHESIS - Photosynthesis, ink on paper and jazz set the mood for science for this Salt Lake Arts Academy eighth grader, creator and animator.

CELL CYCLE - Clever and colorful stop motion animation on cell division.

INSPECTOR BILL - J. Muir takes us on a trip to Rockville in the heart of the wild west while teaching us all about rocks.

NO HEAT LAVA LAMP - An episode in the inspiring instructional video Sylvia’s Super Awesome Mini Maker Show on how to and science behind making your own lava lamp.

ANGEL THE SCIENCE GIRL - With a hat tip to Bill Nye, Angel talks about the 8 planets. With bonus blooper reel!

BONE WRAPE GROOVE - Lakeview Academy produces a must see "rap report" on the skeletal system.

BLOWING THROUGH LIFE - Nicole Cox and Taravat Alipoor of Union Middle School take us on a journey through life.

BE AN ELEMENT - Riveting, suspenseful trailer about an, yes, an obviously very useful element in the periodic table.

PHASES OF THE MOON - Very entertaining way to learn the phases of the moon (both technically advanced and troubled all in one!)

COOKING WITH CHEMISTRY - A young girl goes into the science behind French crepes and shows us how it’s done.

Social Issue Films

Youth and civic media in the classroom is one way to engage in integrating civic media literacy learning experiences in a variety of curricular areas and across grade levels. The selection of films in this category are produced by students in classrooms ranging from elementary school to high school, and all address current events and issues through student voice.

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS - When Life Gives You Lemons.... we all know the rest... a highly-produced creative animation by Mattie Wilson from Corner Canyons High

BILLY - A personal story about stereotypes and how a teen plans to prove them wrong.

BULLIED - Narratives about overcoming a dark place and finding the light.

REMINISCENCE - A film about the loss of a family member and the struggle to move forward by Stefan Pham.

KEEP CALM & BE MINDFUL - Identifying the causes of stress for young people, these filmmakers break it down and give us a lesson in how to reduce it.

STUPID - A story told through Stop Motion Animation about the struggle to read.

BRITTANY'S STORY - A story about triumph and how dreams come true.

ESSAY OF MISFITS AND SOCIAL BUTTERFLIES - This introspective piece starts with a quote, "The average person thinks he isn't," and is ensued by takeaways from Dr. Seuss and more... a look at identity and self-perception, these high schoolers Lisa Nehring (11th Grade), Elida Vargas (11th Grade), Deandrea Yazzie (12th Grade) are saying something.

AMERICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM: SCHOOL OR PRISON? - A collaborative stop motion animation piece made by 22 Utah public school student-teacher teams who animated a poem done by four YouthSpeak students. The original score was composed and arranged by Spy Hop music student, Bryce Mousseau.

BEST SELF - A glimpse into Gerome Bosteels’ life at home, school and work shows us that people with disabilities can lead successful, mainstream lives while bringing something beautiful to our world.

IBRAHIM'S FIRST HOME - A young refugee from the Ivory Coast tells his story about learning to navigate the US and how he doesn’t have any white friends yet, and about talking openly about racism.

THE OTHER SIDE OF AMERICA - A short documentary produced by a student at Spy Hop Productions about his journey from Mexico to the US at 14 years old, walking a week without food. Some didn’t make it.