Thanks to a new program at the Butte Free Public Library students at East Middle School and Butte High School will get a lesson most students won't get until college their years.

It isn't always easy to tell a story using video. Any reporter could tell you that, as could any filmmaker, like Pam Roberts, director of the documentary Butte America. Roberts was at the library Friday to explain her craft to the Mining City's next great storytellers.

For this lesson, the idea is start them early. Library director Lee Phillips organized the "Share Your Story" project and says the excitement from these students has been overwhelming.

"I think they'll get an understanding of how editing works and how filmmaking works, and I think they'll also get an appreciation for where they live," Phillips said.

As the students listened to the filmmaker Friday, they heard about how to tell a story with pictures. But it's up to them to find something in Butte to tell the story about.

Willy Shea, a student at East Middle School, already had some ideas.

"We're going to do stuff on ghost hunting. We're going to go around to some old buildings, maybe the Steward Mine Yard of the Archives Building. We're just going to explore and have some fun with it,” Shea said.

Another East Middle School student, Wesley Erickson, is taking his story to the playing field.

"I'm going to be working on Clark's Park and what it was like in the past with the baseball stadium and what they're going to put in there in the future," Erickson said.

"This is going to be fun, and it will be cool to get people to learn more about Butte," East Middle School student Jessica Herzog said.

 Some East Middle School students commented on the work involved with the project.

"There's a lot more to the production of films than just filming and editing. There's also a lot of script work, storyboards,” Hannah Skiles said.

"I thought it was just bringing out a camera and doing stuff, but actually there's a director. You have to have release forms signed and all that stuff," Andie Palagi said.

Roberts said she is excited about the projects.

"I'm very excited to see these projects. And I will be around and available to see them as they develop over time. I'm hoping to talk to them during the editing process and help them become more confident in their own skills and vision," she said.

The entire project is being funded by Humanities Montana and NorthWestern Energy.