Rodney DeCroo teams up with Templeton Secondary students for video project

Local poet, singer-songwriter, Georgia Straight cover-story subject, and all-around cool guy Rodney DeCroo has turned to some emerging young talent to help him make a video for his song "Stupid Boy in an Ugly Town". DeCroo will be working with students from the Templeton Secondary School After School Film Program to write, direct, and produce the video, in collaboration with photographer/videographer Rebecca Blissett and filmmaker Flick Harrison.

To bring the project to fruition, DeCroo has launched a Kickstarter campaign, which as of this writing has generated over $3,300 of its $10,000 pledge goal.

On the Kickstarter campaign page, DeCroo notes that, beyond providing Templeton students with hands-on experience in video-making and a chance to work alongside professionals, he hopes the project will instill in its participants a sense of art's transformative power. As a young person, DeCroo faced issues such as addiction, abuse, and poverty. One teacher, he writes, took the time to encourage his growing interest in poetry.

"That obsession to become a poet saved me from my chaotic early adult years. Art also gave me purpose, dignity and beauty to an otherwise ugly life. The Templeton staff are engaging student filmmakers and I would like to add to their mentorship and offer the sort of mentorship, recognition, encouragement and opportunity that was largely unavailable to me in my youth."

For more details, visit the project's Kickstarter page or watch the video below.