Last week I wrapped up some of the most intense training…ever.
No, not with Pixar or IMD. Nope, not LucasArts or ILM either. I just finished 3 weeks of working with the brilliant and creative minds of Bay Area youth, who ranged from 14-18 years old. I think they even taught me a new trick or three.
Seriously, these youthful minds blew me away!
Starting back at the beginning of the month we hosted a group of Youth Docents from the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD). Then last week we held our first Video Camp ever here at BAVC. What an amazing month of working with young and talented media makers.
Honestly, I’m exhausted, but it was amazing and they definitely kept me in check!
We worked on their photography, shot interviews in HD and learned how to put it all together in a tight 3-5 minute video edit. Then, compressed it down and uploaded for all the world to see. You gotta see what they did!
From drawing up storyboards to recreating the “Ken Burns” effect with their photos, from whittling down a shot list and deciding to shoot in 720p24, they created their own stories from a huge mass of captured media. With no complaints, I might add.
And Oh, how the stories will be told!
We kept with a mini-documentary theme and the MoAD group created short videos that expressed their knowledge of the African Diaspora and what it means to them. Within our Video Camp they made self portraits of “What music means to me?” I have to say, they put together some exceptional work and each student created a piece that represents themselves very well.
That youthful exuberance!
The amount of ideas and synergy that the youth brought to the table was invigorating. It was refreshing to hear how each of them wanted their “story” to be captured and told. In the end, when we were in the sunset of hitting the “Export” button in Final Cut, there was so much more that they all wanted to do. Tweaking an edit here, color correcting a scene there…and they will, but unfortunately my time with them was short, so they’ll have to make the changes on their own.
If I could do it again…I would!
I look forward to seeing where their work goes and what directions they take in the near future? Some said Yale and UC Berkely, another said UCLA Film School, one student is on his way to San Francisco School of the Arts and another wants to make horror films. So you never know, but it will be an amazing sight to see!
So keep an eye out!