Kids Summer Camp (AGES 10-13)

The New York Film Academy is pleased to offer summer day camp programs for youth (ages 10-13) to learn filmmaking or acting for film.

Additionally, we hold Weekend Filmmaking and Acting for Youth Camp Programs during the school year that meet for twelve consecutive Saturdays for three to four hours each, some additional time may be needed for rehearsals and productions. 

The Two-Week Filmmaking Camp and Acting for Film summer camps meet Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm with a one-hour lunch break for two consecutive weeks. Students may also choose to enroll only in the first week of the Two-Week Camp Program.

Both our Kids Weekend Programs and Two-Week Summer Camps will be offered at our schools in New York City and at Universal Studios, Los Angeles. For more information on our Weekend Camp Programs, click here.

Filmmaking Camp challenges young people to tell a story with moving images. Students begin on day one working with digital cameras and learning the fundamentals of directing films. Hands-on classes in directing, writing, editing, cinematography, and production cover the creative and technical demands of telling a story with moving images.

In the two-week program each student fulfills each of the basic crew positions on two or three films, as well as write, direct and edit his or her own short films of up to three minutes.

Students shoot on digital video cameras and learn how to compose, direct, and light for quality images and edit using Final-Cut Pro on an Apple editing stations. At the Universal Studios location, students may shoot their productions on the studio back lot.

Students in the Two-Week Camp who enroll in only the first week will not make their own films but will receive all the fundamental instruction in writing directing, camera, lighting, and editing.

At the end of the Two Week and Weekend Camp Programs, the final films are celebrated in a screening open to cast, crew, friends and family.

This course emphasizes the basic elements of the craft of acting for film using fundamental acting technique and scene study as starting points. Students participate in in-class shoots aimed specifically at training the actor for the technical requirements of acting on a film set. Students should be prepared to devote additional hours of their own time for rehearsal and preparation. Every student shares the same curriculum. Some additional time may be scheduled for productions as needed.

Classes encourage students to break down physical and internal inhibitions, and help each child find the most effective personal sources for the creation of truthful characters. Students should be prepared to work in non-traditional acting classes emphasizing the construction of and control of character given the unique pressures of a film or television shoot. Video cameras will be used during class time.

Students will develop the techniques and confidence they need to create believable performances for the camera. They will apply what they have learned to a series of on camera exercises designed to develop their screen acting ability.

Students in the Two-Week Camp perform in a film scene that will be taped, edited and screened for a live audience. Students will leave with a DVD copy of the project.

Students in the Two-Week Summer Camp Program who enroll in only the first week will not act in the student productions but will receive all the fundamental acting instruction.

Designed expressly for graduates of the Academy’s Kids Filmmaking program, this intermediate course offers students the opportunity to take the next creative and technical step in filmmaking.

Students will develop, pre-produce and create a longer and more complex project than that completed in the beginner program. Unlike the first course, intermediate film school students will be required to work collaboratively to develop a group project, and assume roles on a larger crew. Closer attention will be paid to set and costume design, locations, shot choices and coverage, as well as additional crew roles.

The finished product will be a film of up to 10 minutes. Classes will focus on topics including digital cinematography, screenwriting, editing practice and aesthetics, and directing for cinema.

Starting where they left off in the introductory Acting for Film program. Students will be cast in and explore the process of performing in a more in-depth production. Students may shoot the final project on location in New York City or in a closed set at the Film Academy.

While students will also be introduced to specific acting techniques and exercises as they apply to acting for the camera, classes will primarily focus on rehearsal and preparation for the final project.