Louis Lepper's film Do Synthesizers Dream of Electric
Sheep? has won the best film award at the Otago
Secondary Schools Film Competition. Photo by Peter
McIntosh.
Do synthesizers dream of electric sheep? It is a question
few people have pondered seriously.
But Logan Park High School year 13 pupil Louis Lepper's
exploration of the idea on film has won him the best film
award at the Otago Secondary Schools Film Competition.
Louis said the film was about a boy who receives an electric
shock from electronic music gear and turns into a vocal
synthesizer.
The title of his film is a play on that of a science fiction
novel by Philip Dick published in 1968, Do Androids Dream
of Electric Sheep?
Despite the reference, Louis said inspiration for the film
came mainly from his passion for computer science.
This year, he has been studying the subject at Otago
Polytechnic while working through his NCEA level 3
qualifications at school, and last month he was a member of
the school robotics team which won the New Zealand Robocup
title in Wellington.
"I just wanted to do something fun, and this idea for a film
came into my head," Louis said.
"This is my seventh film, but this is the first time I've
come up with the concept and the script as well as filming
and editing. I've done the lot.
"I guess for me, the real reward is the film. I'm proud of
it."
He now hopes to make a sequel, but admits his first priority
is passing his NCEA exams.
"Film-making is a hobby, not a career choice."
He hopes to forge a career in computer networking.
Columba College year 13 pupil Flavia Wilson was second in the
competition, and Otago Girls' High School pupils Komisi
Bloomfield and Christina Lilley were third.
- john.lewis@odt.co.nz
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