"And that's how it's done," said University College freshman and short film maker Riley Harmon while snapping digital shots of cubicles on floor three of Buchanan Hall for his current project. Not unlike Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City," Harmon will film his movie with a green screen background and later insert images from his camera.

"It's so much easier than taking up someone's time. The stressful part is editing," he said.

Though his career as an art student has yet to reach its criterion, Harmon has showed glaring promise with the film "Carbon Nation."

Shot in 8 hours in his hometown high school, Shawnee High, "Carbon Nation" dramatizes for four minutes what happens when an elementary school classroom full of static clones is jostled by one student's drawing of a flower. This weekend, Harmon travels to New York City to accept first prize from the National Coalition Against Censorship.

The topic of the contest was "Why is Free Speech Important?" Harmon said. Harmon's film beat out 143 other entries from across the nation.

Harmon first heard of the Coalition through a Fast Web scholarship. His first film, a shorter version of "Carbon Nation," placed 7th in the contest in 2004.

"It was sort of spur of the moment," Harmon said. "I knew about it all summer and I kind of sat on the idea [at Quartz Mountain camp]. When I saw this modern dance performance of these robot like dancers just doing the same things, then break free, I thought of an idea of a classroom full of clones, no individuals, and then one kind of starts a chain reaction."

For Harmon, film should always "tell a story," and taking a slice of life or replaying an odd scene from his daily life just goes with the vocation.

"I've always done this," Harmon said. "Every living moment is an idea. If I see someone on a bench doing something, I'll [make a note]. I'm always taking notes. I think it started as a kid doing the dress-up thing, and theater in high school said it was okay to pretend; so I never grew out of that."

Even when Harmon was five years old, he and his friends would record stunt shows and Wild West productions with a hand-held camera, and the random short films he made in Shawnee led to "Carbon Nation."

Harmon used 12 year-old community theater actor Phillip Langley to play the role of the identical students, a relationship that began when Harmon saw a local production of "The Sound of Music."

"We lived in the same neighborhood," Harmon said. "When I saw him in 'The Sound of Music,' I thought, 'I have got to get this kid in a movie,' so I started thinking on topics [that I could use]."

To create 12 clones of Langley, Harmon shot the same frames for each seat in the classroom and later inserted layered sheets of digital images through the Adobe After Effects program on his computer.

"It was pretty intense for him," Harmon said. "You have 12 different chairs and different positions and expressions. The hard part was moving the shot to match the [right] timing."

For young actor Langley, the shoot was never arduous.

"I had a great time," Langley said. "Riley was an awesome director. He helped me out with all the stuff. If I did something wrong, he would correct me and wouldn't get on to me. It was a lot of fun."

Whether film is thriving in Oklahoma or not is debatable. Harmon came to OU to follow his sister, a nurse after graduation.

"Sometimes I'm thinking, 'Why am I in Oklahoma?' It's not one of the biggest, but it's like you're under the radar," he said. "Sure it's happening in L.A., and Texas is the place to be. But if you're out here all alone without support, it enables you to appreciate support when it comes."

Harmon hopes to attain his BA after graduating from the college of fine arts. He is considering graduate school afterwards. But on his way to New York, Harmon will likely be planning his next short film.

"Sometimes I feel like it's all I'm doing," Harmon said. "My mom asks if I'm getting ready for New York and I say 'no.' Well I have to keep going. It's kind of an addiction, working on some kind of art."
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