Somersfield Academy Hosts BIFF Film Camps: A Creative Hub for Aspiring Teen Filmmakers

Light effects: At the BIFF summer camp, at Somersfield Academy, film students study the use of lighting in film production, Ruggero Barlaba, age 13, is the focus of attention as his classmates explore the effect of lighting on mood.

July 16, 2009 — Dream of directing your own movie? Fancy being a film star? The Bermuda International Film Festival is sponsoring a series of Film Academy summer camps at the Somersfield Academy campus this summer, and Young Observer caught up with teens participating in the Stage Three session on July 8.

The Stage Three Film Boot Camp, for teens 14 to 16 years of age, running from July 6 to 17, was especially designed for teenagers who want to immerse themselves in the real film making process, with the goal of producing their own films.

Shana Parker, a sixteen-year-old student from Warwick Academy, enrolled in the course because she had always been interested in film, and wanted to learn more about it.

She explained, "I'm interested in pursuing a career in the arts, so have explored different avenues, such as novel writing and theatre (mostly at my school).

"(Involvement in the film camp) is mostly for experience, to get a general idea to see if I'm interested in it, to narrow my options down."

The first day the teens focused on acting — monologues and cold reads (reading a script for the first time) — while the second day centred on pitching an idea and writing scripts, and discussing the tone of a film.

Each teen had to pitch three ideas, "But I'm not doing any of them," Shana laughed, "because they are all dramatic and I want to do something more fun."

At home she developed a fourth idea she will probably run with: "A guy thought he was interested in this girl until he went on a date and decided she was stuck up and selfish, and he confronts her about it."

The films will all be shot on the Somersfield campus, with a minimum of three and maximum of seven actors.

Teens write and direct their own films, so cannot be in the film, and neither can the sound and camera technicians.

Two films a day for each day of the second week, "It's a crazy shooting schedule," acknowledged Vicky Zabriskie, who has organised the camps for BIFF for five years.

Once the films have been shot, the teens have the option of editing them themselves, if they have the editing software necessary. Otherwise, Mrs. Zabriskie does the editing and sound design once the camps are over. The teen's films will be screened at BIFF in March, while the younger children's films will be screen at the kids' festival in October.

Having been involved with the camps for five years, Mrs. Zabriskie has noticed that the kids are becoming increasingly savvy about the technical side, though there are always the basics that need to be learnt, such as the effect of lighting from different angles, which was the topic for exploration during the Young Observer visit.

She added, "The kids are always impressive. They come up with great stories."

One of the stories that might be developed is a union for homeless people, the idea pitched by first-time participant Sarah Daniels, a student at Saltus.

BIFF summer camp is at Somersfield Academy. Here film student James Grearson, age 13, helps instructor Vicky Zabriskie setup lighting as a demonstration for the class.

She is assisting with the younger kids' camps, but enrolled in the teen camp for a new experience, and the knowledge of how a film is actually made.

"Three homeless people, tired of being homeless, instead of going back to school or trying to get a job, start a union to bring issues to the government," elaborated Sarah, who judged the camp, "fun, you learn a lot."

Fifteen-year-old Tashel Bean, a Berkeley Institute student, enjoyed the camp so much last year he signed up again for this year's camp.

"It was a fun experience," he explained, "and I learnt a lot last year, so I thought I would try it again."

Of the skills learned, camera work, lighting, sound and acting, he liked acting and writing the best.

"Acting, because I can do anything; writing because I can create anything."

He's currently exploring ideas for a 'mockumentary' about a band breaking up and a suspense film about a group of kids trying to make a film, who begin to disappear one by one as the film is being made.

The best part of the camp is during the actual filming, according to Tashel, because it's fun to see how the process is done.

But watching the final product? "It's nerve-racking, because I don't know if anyone's going to like it or not."

The current camp is coming to an end, but there are still spaces for the Stage One (seven to nine year olds) and Stage Two (10-13 year olds) camps in August.

Further information about camp dates and registration forms are available on line at www.biff.bm or via telephone 293-3456.

Originally published on The Royal Gazette