That's a Wrap!

Over the last two weeks, we've wrapped up our first summer session. Last week, we started with a little show and tell. Club Leader Jane brought in her Canon 7D DSLR to give our young filmmakers a first look at the type of camera that a lot of independent filmmakers are using these days. The Canon 7D shoots full HD quality video at various frame rates, at a reasonable price, and can be found on many movie, music video and commercial shoots, so our young filmmakers were getting a look at the latest technology.

Later the students wrapped up the editing of their music videos, and created a DVD cover in Photoshop (see below). Then we said goodbye to Club Leader Jane as she was leaving for the rest of the summer. She will be missed.


We started our final day of the summer session by gathering permission slips for our trip to WGN studios and discussing "The Real World," which included copyrights, and getting a job/internship (making a reel, making a resume, and making business cards).

We then played a game we like to call "Film Terminator," where our young filmmakers get points for guessing film terms based on clues (kind of like the old television game show, $10,000 Pyramid). These points went towards a point system that we started this summer called The Frame Game. Students get points for attendance, good behavior, and performance, with the top two performing students getting a ticket to the Chicago Bears game this weekend.

After Film Terminator, they had pizza and snacks, and the students showcased their music videos (we will post links to their works at a later date). You got the feeling that our filmmakers were really proud of their accomplishments, and they should be. They have come a long way in a short period of time, and personally I am looking forward to seeing how they progress in the future.