Colorado Film School Mentors Potential Next Generation of Filmmakers with Summer Camp
Denver, CO (PRWEB) July 17, 2013 -- The renowned film school at Community College of Aurora (CCA) hosted a free, two-week “Camp for Kids” this July in conjunction with a community-based arts education program that promotes creative growth for low-income children who reside within a high-risk urban community.
In total, 31 children ranging from ages 8-14 participated, many of them affiliated with the Downtown Aurora Visual Arts Program (DAVA). For the majority of these youths, it’s the first time they’ve been exposed to the high-tech filmmaking equipment, top-tier acting coaching, and script development available at CCA, an Aurora and Denver community college.
Children were broken into five groups to create, film and edit individual short films, with a screening session for parents and friends culminating the camp/community partnership.
“I just think you shouldn’t underestimate kids. It’s amazing what they can come up with and what they can do if you give them a chance and get them out and away from those video games,” said CFS assistant professor Geoffrey Chadwick, who previously has been involved with DAVA summer programs off site on several occasions.
“All they need is the right opportunity. We have all these resources, great people and equipment, so it’s a really neat thing for these kids to be doing in the summer time.”
The overriding theme for all the groups in crafting their short stories is “maps,” or more generally, finding one’s place and identity in the world. CCA is helping show one of the possibilities within a professional setting using high-tech equipment.
The Colorado Film School has been on the list of Hollywood Reporter’s top-25 film schools in the world and currently stands as an honorable-mention selection. Many of its faculty, students and recent graduates volunteered their time during this event, during which lighting, moving camera shots, green screen work, and filming both in a studio and in the field all were covered.
The camp fits neatly into Community College of Aurora’s overriding mission to serve the community.
But, as CFS director Frederic Lahey explained, it goes well beyond that mindset.
“It’s interesting because some of our greatest storytellers always harken back to their childhood as the basic well for a lot of their creative impetus and their storytelling,” he said. “Kids just love being engaged in real things … and what I love really seeing is our students mentoring these young people. It gives everyone a touch back to the excitement and enthusiasm of childhood.
“And what I’ve always said, too, is that film production presents a stealth literacy program, because it’s engaging, sexy, exciting -- the idea of making films. But at the same time kids may not realize the skillset that’s required. It requires a lot of planning, production management, a lot of writing, and character development. And in this case, a lot of snack breaks.”
The children involved in this summer program come from different cities around Colorado and originally hail from virtually every continent. Some of the participants are from India, Africa, Egypt, South America, Mexico, and Central America. A couple kids only a couple of years ago were in Somalian refugee camps, Chadwick said. There are boys and girls, even part of a local soccer team in attendance.
The diversity doesn’t end there. One film tackles a prison break that culminates in Oz, while another examines an alternate universe. Two more of the short films take place in a haunted school and a Candyland-type setting.
The deadline-intensive project began with CCA faculty Galina Boulgakova – a Russian native who learned the Stanislavsky method of acting under master instructors – providing tips on getting into character, being believable and, in many cases, overcoming severe shyness.
Numerous other filmmaking facets were covered by instructors, such as Steve McKisson and James Shea (moving camera skills), Will Hicks (screenwriting), Lauren Chavez (editing) while Chadwick oversaw a variety of pre- to post-production tasks.
“It’s wonderful collaboration. Our computer lab is too small, so this is a great opportunity for them to be at Community College of Aurora in really a professional setting for films and really playing with their own stories and work with professional people,” said Luzia Orneles, job training manager at DAVA.
“The whole mission in our organization is to really keep them motivated, working and learning to become leaders, being creative and solving problems. And this allows them to explore even more.”
###
About CCA
Community College of Aurora has campuses at CentreTech and Lowry in the greater Denver area. Equipped with the latest technologies, CCA allows students to study new and traditional programs, while also offering degrees and online classes in Colorado. CCA’s service community spans 325,000 people in a 350-square-mile area and CCA’s student population reflects that diversity. The college provides lifelong educational opportunities, prepares the current and future workforce, and promotes excellence in teaching, learning and service.
Lee Rasizer, Community College of Aurora, (303) 360-4728, [email protected]
Share this article