For a few years as a child Trevor Mack lived right across the street from the Paradise Theatre in Williams Lake.
As a treat his mother would let him go to the movies.
Instead of just seeing a movie once, he says he would watch some films seven times or more.
“I was fascinated with how you could orchestrate such a big production and make it seem like the cameras weren’t even there,” Mack says. As a young boy, he would visit his mom’s office and would spend time on her computer. There he would discover online communities that share the same interest he had — making movies.
He also worked on his own to develop his skills and soon found that he had a talent for film making and editing. During high school he started working editing commercials and video games for various individuals and companies around North America.
“It is pretty complicated and takes creative skill and a natural ability to know where to cut the clips, know how fast the pace is, what the mood is, and just countless other things you have to take into account. Even in a two second clip,” Mack says.
A member of the Tl’etinqox (Anaham) Band, Mack graduated from Columneetza in 2010. This spring one of Mack’s films won the $5,000 first place prize in the Active Spirit, Active History video contest sponsored by the B.C. First Nations Health Council.
Mack’s winning film is called Get Up, Move Up. It is about a young man who is glued to his couch and Xbox, but then he has a very “awakening” experience. He realizes there is an actual world out there, with the potential for anything.
“So he does one thing. He gets up,” Mack says.
“He then experiences the world around him and realizes he can do something, and he feels a sense of belonging.”
Mack heard about the Active Spirit, Active History film contest from his cousin Karlene Harvey, who works at the First Nations Health Council.
At first, he didn’t have much interest in the contest, but when she reminded him about the opportunity, he started taking it seriously.
“What inspired me to create this video was the fact that there is an immense amount of teenage boys out there, who are uninspired and don’t know whether they belong ‘out there,’ so they stay inside and ignore the huge amount of potential they have to change the world,” Mack says.
“I wanted to let people know that it takes one little thing to start your life, and it could be getting up off the couch, getting up off your bed, or just ‘getting out.’”
In making the video he also clarified some things about his own potential.
“It has made me realize that if you just get up and work towards what you really want, you will achieve it,” Mack says. “It could apply to school, sports, or even your dreams. I hope to show the video at youth conferences and give speeches that it is possible to strive for what you want, because, hey, I was once that kid glued to his couch and computer, and now I’m working towards my dreams, and I hope to keep on working towards it.”
Mack said he was so nervous accepting the award that he forgot to thank those who helped him and supported him in making the film, his cousins Kim and Karlene Harvey, for pushing and supporting him to enter the contest; the actor in the film, Colin Van Loon, who also assisted with technical support; the Placek family for use of their house for the film; and his mother Barbara Mack for her ongoing support and encouragement.
Mack says he grew up living most of his life with his mother and his cousins Rebecca, Nicole and Steven Mack, along with their parents Sheila and George Mack.
Mack says he just moved to Vancouver this spring for work and plans to attend Capilano University in the fall to study in their motion picture arts program. He says he was one of 120 students out of 500 applicants selected to participate in the program. Winning the contest came after he was accepted into the program. Until school starts in September Mack is working for a roofing company and writing some stories and scripts in his spare time, which he plans to make into some short films to enter in film festivals. He is also apart of a freelance video editing and motion graphics group named Viral Design who produce videos for the world’s biggest gaming equipment companies.
This fall he is scheduled to fly to Florida and Providence to shoot with his editing team.
“What I would like to say to BC First Nations about getting active would be that it literally just takes one thing: getting up! Once you take that first step, to have that mindset, everything will come together.
“Doubting yourself is the most useless thing you could ever do to yourself. You have to be confident in yourself, and realize that you can make a difference and become successful at whatever you want to do in life.”
The other First Nations Health Council film contest winners are Buck Nelson who won the second place prize of $2,500; Layla Rorick who won the third prize of $1,000; Melody Charlie who won the honorable mention prize of $500; and Chelsea Charlie who won the $1,000 audience choice prize.