Backstage with Sophie

I want to make a cool movie but I need an idea. "Mum, what could I film?" I ask.

"How about a show and tell," Mum suggests. "Get all the things you have been doing this week and show people."

I think this is a great idea. So grabbing my notebook and pen. I sit down to plan what I could show people.

"You could have it themed," Mum says. "One video about things that have changed around the house, the next about movies."

"I know what my first video is going to be about," I cry. "I will do one about books I have recently read."

Mum smiles as I rush off to find all the books I have read.

"I need a box to keep all my show and tell things in. I could put my hand into the box during the video and bring the books out," I decide. So I totter into the garage to see if we have one floating around.

Soon I am coming out again, an old kitty litter box in one hand. "This will do."

"You can't have an old kitty litter box on film," Gemma-Rose protests. "What will people think?"

"It would take heaps of coats of paint to cover up the pictures on the box," I tell her. "I don't want to wait that long." Suddenly an idea pops into my head. "A collage, I could do a collage! I'm sure some ripped up paper would look great glued to it and it should be much quicker to do."

"I will help," Gemma-Rose volunteers. "I could be your assistant."

"You could be my assistant on the video too. You could hand me the things from the box."

Looking in the garage, Gemma-Rose finds some old wrapping paper that came off her birthday presents and I find some green and pink paper and the glue pot.

Later we start working on the box. Ripping paper, gluing it on and then ripping some more paper. We are having a great time. We haven't done anything like this in ages.When we are finally done we hold the box up to show Mum. "What do you think?" we ask.

"Looks great!" Mum says. "A box like that would be wonderful for storing things in."

"Its our mystery box," I tell her.

I rush off to show the big girls. I knock on their bedroom door and hold up the box.

"This is our mystery box," I tell them.

"I wouldn't mind having a box like that to put super cool things in," Imogen says.

"If I can find another box, I will decorate it for you," I promise.

"I'll help," Gemma-Rose offers.

In the afternoon, we set up our studio. I look at Gemma-Rose and pick up a hair brush. "You can't go on film like that," I tell her.

Gemma-Rose's hair has lots of short bits that always come out of a pony tail. My solution to that is hair clips and lots of them. Soon she has a head covered in them. I am sure her hair is going to be the star of the show!

"That looks better," I say as I go to tell Mum we are all set up for filming.

She arrives. "Ready?" she asks and hits the record button.

I start talking. I make a mistake. I make another. Gemma-Rose's eyebrows go down low.

"Can we restart this?" she asks.

"We will have to now," Mum says. "Don't worry if I have to tell Sophie about her mistakes. It will just make it funny."

But Gemma-Rose doesn't agree. She makes faces at the camera whenever there is a mistake and it takes five goes to get it right.

Finally we have a version that we are all happy with. Smiling we go for some afternoon tea. Then I have the hard bit to do.

Mum puts the film onto my USB stick and I put it into my computer. I get to work cutting bits out, sticking bits together and just basically editing the video.

"Are you sick of the sound of your own voice yet?" Imogen asks a while later. She remembers what it was like when she made her videos.

"Yes," I agree as I hear myself say, "Hi, welcome to Sophie's Show and Tell," for the hundredth time.

"You're a natural on camera," Mum tells me. Me? Natural? I don't agree, but I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

By dinner though, my video is finished. It just needs uploading to YouTube.

All evening we watch my computer, surprised at how long it is taking to upload the video. Bedtime arrives, but I am going to stay up until my video is finished. There isn't that much more to go.

"What percentage is it now?" Mum asks.

"That's funny. It hasn't changed," I answer. "Oh no," I wail as the truth hits me. "My computer has lost Internet connection."

We hurry to reconnect it. Luckily the video is still uploading, but Mum has decided I must go to bed. I am tired and thankful to climb under my blankets. A little while later Mum pokes her head around the door.

"It's done," she tells me. I smile and decide to write a post about it tomorrow. I had so much fun!

If you would like to watch our video, please go to our Mother, Daughters, Sisters blog. It is called Sophie's Show and Tell (Episode One). I am going to make heaps more videos. What will the next one be about?