Stepping Up To The Challenge

Today we celebrated the end of another successful year at Cabrini Connections. In front of over 250 people, Reel Talent Productions got to showcase our work. We screened 3 pieces that bookended the year pretty nicely - 2 fun music videos we made last summer, and 1 more serious Public Service Announcement video we'd finished just days before.

Many props to my fellow club leader Drew, regular teacher Jane and the staff of Cabrini Connections for the success of the last year. The journey wasn't always smooth-sailing, and we hit a few challenges along the way, but that's precisely why the experience was so valuable for us all. To everyone who's supported the members of Reel Talent Productions along the way, thank you for understanding the value and importance of the media's role in society today. This was an outlet for our teens to express their views and creativity, and to share it with the world.

Here's to more good times ahead. Our Summer Internship Program is coming up. Leave a comment below if you'd like more details.

I'll leave you now with the newest creation by Reel Talent Productions. Congrats to Melissa Young and Ana Tate for stepping up and taking the lead on this one.

Club Leader Shuling Spotlighted

Get to know club leader Shuling a little better: here.

Go Bears!

The summer session may be over, but the fun certainly hasn't stopped! Over the course of 8 weeks, our Reel Talent Productions members earned Frames (points) for good attendance, participation and performance. You read last that our overall winner Sean very kindly donated his prize to our third place winner, Reggie. So second place winner Melissa and Reggie were the lucky ones who got to take a trip to watch the Chicago Bears live at the magnificent Soldier Field!

To keep our trip green, we decided to hop on the El and bus there. As we approached the stadium, we witnessed the streets just flooded with hundreds of bears fans decked out in blue, orange and white. It looks like Chicago came out in full force to support our Bears as they took on the Oakland Raiders. We were also awestruck at how big and grand Soldier Field was. Simply amazing!

We got seats really high up, so the view of the thousands of fans in the arena was fantastic. Being close to the goal line was great too! We got to witness Matt Forte score that brilliant touchdown for the bears, after sprinting a whopping 89 yards! Pure stunning action.

We also couldn't resist checking out the view and enjoying the breeze blowing in from Lake Michigan during halftime... and of course, taking a few photos for memories. And to complete our live sports experience, we bought a ton of snacks... nachos, fries, popcorn, peanuts and pop! :)

One of the highlights of the night was when the crowd went crazy doing The Wave! It took a couple of tries for it to get around... but we eventually got it going not 1, not 2, but 6 times around the entire stadium! What fun!

Though it was a bummer that the Bears weren't able to beat the Raiders, we're proud of them for putting up a good fight anyway. There's always next time! And maybe by then, we'd have successfully memorized the Bears fight song! Haha.

Bear down, Chicago Bears, make every play clear the way to victory;

Bear down, Chicago Bears, put up a fight with a might so fearlessly.

We'll never forget the way you thrilled the nation with your T-formation.

Bear down, Chicago Bears, and let them know why you're wearing the crown.

You're the pride and joy of Illinois, Chicago Bears, bear down.

By the time we got home, we were tired, but definitely happy. Thank you, Cabrini Connections, for this opportunity!

Video and Filmmakers Club's Summer Session at Cabrini Connections (A Photo Blog)

A fun and educational summer session: Making Music Videos

Editing Air Gear Opening in Final Cut Express

Club Leader Jane Giving Input: We will miss you Jane!

Editing the Lip Gloss Video in Final Cut Express

Creating a DVD Cover in Photoshop

Students Earn Points for Attendance, Behavior and Performance

The Frame Game

Watching a Rough Cut of the Lip Gloss Video

Photos by Yong Shu Ling and Jane Wang

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.

Production, Post Production, a Production Company Name and Logo and a Planned Field Trip

At Cabrini Connections Video and Filmmakers Club, we have had a busy July. The young filmmakers shot their first music video. They were up against the clock, only having one session to shoot, and you could tell they all realized that shooting a music video can be quite challenging. See below for more production pictures.


Also, they have begun editing their music videos, and we are excited to see the results.

In addition, they came up with a production company name to put on all of their productions from here on out. They brainstormed and voted on production company names and talked about what they thought goes into making a successful production company. The name they agreed upon was Reel Talent Productions.

Below is the logo for their production company, which they designed and created in Photoshop.

















We also found out that we are going on a club field trip at the end of August. We will be taking a tour of the WGN television studios. This is quite an opportunity as WGN has a storied history in both the Chicago area and nationally, and it will be great experience for the young filmmakers to see television production up close.

Learning a Craft

This week marked the final meeting of the Video and Filmmakers Club for this school year. I have only been working with these young filmmakers for about a month, but I feel like they are making gains every week, and I have even learned a thing or two myself. They have come a long way considering the program didn't even have a camera or computers to edit on until very recently.

The goal of Cabrini Connections is that every child who joins the program in 7th or 8th grade is starting a job and career of his or her choice by age 25, and if the youths continue at the pace they are going, I think they are on their way to that goal. Like Club Leader, Michael Alexander says, the students are learning a craft. Who knows, one of these kids might be the next Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) or Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker).

This week, we put the finishing touches on projects for the Year End Gala Dinner (I will post more on that later), handed out awards (Most Valuable Team Member, Best Writer, Best Actor, Most Improved Camera Operator, etc), and celebrated a successful year with pizza and treats. Then we watched the four short films that the students put together (with the student's permission, I hope to post links to their work soon), and had fun taking pictures. You can see a couple of the pictures above.

Although, the school year is over, the work doesn't stop. Shu-Ling is taking over as Club Leader (Michael, we will all miss you), we are putting together an exciting curriculum for a program for the summer that will start on June 21st, and we are bringing on Jane, a new volunteer. We are all excited for the summer.

Donations to Cabrini Connections, make programs like this possible. In addition, if anybody is looking for an editor, one of our students is looking for summer work. Let me know, and I will point her in your direction.

Learning By Doing

Last week, I had the opportunity to be a guest at Cabrini Connections' Video and Filmmakers Club. If you are unfamiliar with Cabrini Connections, as I was, it is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a volunteer tutoring/mentoring program for teens in the Cabrini Green neighborhood.

When I arrived, the president and CEO of Cabrini Connections, Dan Bassill was being interviewed on camera by some of the young filmmakers for a video for a Year-End Dinner. Afterwords, Dan gave me a run down on Cabrini Connections and the citywide Tutor/Mentor Connection, and then Shuling, a mentor, introduced me to the filmmakers.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous. I don't have much experience working with youths, but they made me feel right at home. The task for the day was to shoot the first of two short films from a mini-assignment. The film should have no more than 2 characters, consist of 6-12 shots and have an unexpected ending. The writer and director of the short was Reggie. The short was called Lost, and it was about a teen (played by Marquise) who meets a mysterious woman from his past (played by Brittany). The camera operator was Melissa. Audio was done by Kierre and Yahshua, and the narrator was played by Anna.

One of the best ways to learn filmmaking is by actually creating a story, picking up a camera and doing it, and that is what these young filmmakers were doing. Learning by doing is key because it allows you to learn from your mistakes. What they were lacking in experience, they made up for with energy. In the future, the young filmmakers will benefit from being able to go and watch how other sets operate. I know I learn something every time I am on a set.

While the shoot was going on, another filmmaker, Sean was storyboarding his short that will be shot at the next meeting of the Video and Filmmaker's Club. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes of it. I also had the opportunity to make a cameo as an extra in the short. I don't get in front of the camera too often, so that was a treat.

On set, it is a challenge for an experienced director to get ideas out of his or her head and executed by the cast and crew, so you can imagine how difficult it can be for a first time director like Reggie. Saying that, Reggie was able to get all of his shots completed and most importantly the cast and crew were having fun. Filmmaking should be fun!