Kids of all ages will get a chance to experiment with a green screen like the ones used in movies.
Thais Leon-Miller
Staff Intern
The Bruton Memorial Library, in conjunction with the John F. Germany Public Library, is holding its second green screen event of the year — this time for kids of all ages. The first workshop, aimed at teens, took place in July. Eighteen teens signed up, and the response encouraged the Bruton Memorial Library to open the program to all ages.
Here’s how it works:
Participants first choose their background, from a field of flowers to a spooky science lab. Then they are able to take pictures or shoot videos in front of the green screen. They can add different subjects, such a car or animal, into an image or video using special software. Participants will be able to take the images home.
“Kids get to create their own backdrop,” John Russell, youth services librarian at Bruton Memorial Library, said. “They can be leaning down to pet a horse or standing inside of a T.A.R.D.I.S.”
Green screen automation is the same technology used that made George Clooney appear to float in space in the movie “Gravity” or Daenerys fly on the back of one of her dragons in “Game of Thrones.” Using this type of video manipulation allows a person to inject a subject into any scenario, no matter how magical or unrealistic.
Russell said one of the many reasons people, and especially teens, seem to enjoy learning about green screens is because they get to be hands-on directors.
The Hive
Green screens are one of the many media-driven facets of the The Hive, a collaborative “makerspace” of the Hillsborough County
Public Library Cooperative. Bruton Memorial Library is one of several libraries to share its high-tech gadgetry and programs.
Since the beginning of the year, Bruton Memorial Library has been holding a high-tech program about once a month for patrons. Other programs include Lego robotics, circuitry kits and 3-D printing labs.
“I work with our teens to see what they would like to do next and then request the Maker Lab from The Hive,” Russell said. “The Hive provides the equipment and helps [to teach] the class.”
The Hive provides video and photography editing software and has a full-service recording studio available for anyone with a Hillsborough County library card.
