The teen film club I run out of the Palmer Munroe Teen Center participated in a week intensive camp at FSU from June 19 – June 23, 2017. We went to the production studios in the School of Communication and worked with Brian Graves, professor of Media and Technology.
On the first day we introduced the professional camera equipment to the teens. They had to set up their own tripods and adjust the manual camera settings. They then practiced camera techniques following a shot ‘scavenger hunt’ that Brian prepared. This encouraged them to explore different camera angles and different camera movements.
On the second day, we worked with the teens using Adobe Premiere. The teens had a basic familiarity with the program, which they began using in the spring, but this introduction helped them discover filters, special effects, and other more advanced techniques.
By day three, there were still new teens participating the camp. While we got the new participants caught up, the rest of the crew continued exploring and working with Premiere. At the end of the session we introduced what a PSA is and looked at different examples. This was not a familiar format for the teens but we were able to come to an understanding of what it is.
On the fourth day we began by conceptualizing the PSAs and sharing ideas. Some people were more interested than others in the film prompt. Several groups emerged with a plan to make PSAs on:
- Self confidence
- Social harmony and understanding
- iGrow, a local urban farm
- (Independent project / Vlogging)
The difficulty we came across was thinking quickly about how to visualize our ideas using video. We solved this problem in one case by using found footage and seeking dialogue to serve as a voice over.
The final day was a scramble as the teens hurried to get all the footage they needed, while also recording voice overs or interviews. In the end, three PSAs were produced and one group made a dance video that they posted on YouTube.