Filmmaking Intensive:
Short Films from Script to Screen

The Film Intensive Summer program is designed for teenage artists passionate about filmmaking. This four-week program provides artists the opportunity to use industry-standard equipment and software, including digital cinema cameras, professional lighting equipment, and advanced editing software. A team of industry-experienced faculty introduces students to the art of visual storytelling and guides them through the collaborative process of filmmaking.

Students learn the importance of collaboration while touching on every facet of the filmmaking process; from developing narrative and writing screenplays, learning lighting and camera techniques, staging and blocking scenes, casting and working with actors, on set process and protocols, visual storytelling and editing theory. The first week focuses on introducing the school’s filmmaking facilities and equipment, learning basic techniques in camera operation, lighting and grip, sound recording and editing software, as well as developing and writing short film scripts, a number of which will be produced and shot and edited during the camp (based on quality of work, cast, and other campus logistics). Week two begins putting the skills and theories learned in week one into practice as scripts are chosen, actors are cast and films go into pre-production. Location scouts, building sets, procuring costumes and props, creating shot lists, rehearsing and scheduling- getting everything ready for week three. Production starts week three, where students under the mentorship of the film faculty along with students from the Acting for the Camera program, will shoot three to four short films, employing the techniques and procedures of a professional film set. The final week is spent editing films as well as shooting smaller films ideas, exercises and personal projects. Films are screened on the last day of the program with family and friends at the Rustic Theater in the heart of downtown Idyllwild.