A group of talented teen filmmakers is making sure everyone feels at home.
Teens at Deaf Film Camp, a two-week camp for aspiring filmmakers who are deaf or hard of hearing, have released their 2015 American Sign Language music video -- for Phillip Phillips’ song “Home.”
"We picked 'Home' because the lyrics are simple, but heavy with soul," Wayne Betts, Jr., Deaf Film Camp co-founder, told People.com. "The concept of translation is abstract, and we try to capture that in the sign language. Translating the melody of the song into a visually meaningful way was a challenge."
The final product is beautiful and touching. Produced by both campers and staff, the music video “[highlights] the emotional connection that our campers have made with each other,” the video's description says. Each shot -- which varies between locations like a dormitory, beside a lake and in the theater -- gives viewers a different perspective on the actors’ camp and personal experience being deaf or hard of hearing.
In 2014, the camp produced an ASL video for Pharrell’s hit “Happy.” YouTube users showed support for the campers in the videos comment section, with one user, Judith Jessop writing: “The computer world has truly rocked the deaf community and brought the hearing and the deaf together in a way that I never knew back in the '70s!"
The video for Phillips’ song has a different energy and pace, but is equally awesome, and emphasizes that all young artists have a home at Deaf Film Camp.
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