As I prepare for Summer 2010 Stanford Filmmaking Adventures Camp I am reminded of the successes of 2009. The project that always yielded the most creative and witty videos was the “Commercial.” The task was to select a product and sell it to their audience. (An assignment quite familiar to professionals in the media world) Yet at DMA the pressure to produce high bucks is replaced with the enjoyable pressure to create high laughs at our end of camp film-festival.
First, we went over the 4 stages of a film-making: Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production, and Exhibition. This enabled the students to really plan all aspects of the project before they filmed-- an essential skill. Then, the brainstorming began. The costume box transformed from neat & tidy to a delightful whirlwind of a creative mess. Debates over wide-angle shots versus close-ups competed with the sounds of the mad rush of typing away at the keyboard to make it in time for the production phase.
“Camera ready?” the assistant director calls out.
“Ready!” the cinematographer answers.
“Actors Ready?”
“Ready!” pipes a lion-dressed “salesman”
A kid from the web design class sneaks in to watch the action.
“Camera Rolling”
“Action!”
To me, the most fulfilling thing about being a film instructor is seeing the kids come out of their shells. When they perform in front of the camera, even the ones who seem “too cool” or “shy” simply can’t hold back and they shine brilliantly. I can see the surprise on their parent’s faces too during the film festival. It is truly exciting.
Since Stanford’s 2009 DMA camp, one of my clients is a real estate company where I produce video tours and web sites selling their houses. I’ve been itching to return to DMA to see what kind of parodies these kids can make of home video tours! It is going to be a blast!
