Packing Your Bags for Films Camp: An Interview with Shannon Gardner

by Christina Hamlett

Would it surprise you to hear that some of the award-winning fare on HBO and Nickelodeon was created by writers still in their teens? Mr. Shannon Gardner, President and Executive Director of Young Filmmakers Academy (Pacific Palisades, California), talks about how his company’s innovative curriculum is giving aspiring moviemakers a head-start on the creative tools needed for visual expression.

Q: So how long has YFA been around and what was the inspiration that first got the ball rolling?

A: Young Filmmakers Academy was founded in 1998 when I began organizing filmmaking workshops for kids and teens at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television. The program started out as a “boot camp” for highly motivated young people with an interest in filmmaking. What I discovered is that the activity of filmmaking could be a very powerful personal development tool for enterprising youth. This discovery essentially became the inspiration, as I witnessed the students’ extraordinary growth in such a short period of time. Students as young as nine years old began to discover their own point of view and how to communicate their ideas on film. After attending the short program, parents reported observing a significant change in their children’s level of focus in school, self awareness, and confidence about their abilities.

Q: How do you attract new students for the program?

A: It is truly a grass roots program, meaning that parents, teachers, high school counselors, and working professionals in the filmmaking community recommend students for the programs. There is an application process which ensures that only the most highly motivated students attend. The faculty members maintain a high standard of performance in the program. The students, in turn, learn a lot from each other and very often stay in touch and support each other in their filmmaking endeavors long after the program has ended.

Students are also attracted to the intense nature and unique curriculum. Unlike a traditional film school program, YFA is not simply a classroom-based technical school. It is an experiential program where students focus on writing and visualization techniques. Instructors are, thus, focused on igniting students’ imaginations: the true source of all storytelling. The technical aspects are covered as a means for expressing the idea. The program’s unique locations such as Hollywood studio back lots, Biosphere II in Arizona, or a castle in Italy add to the students’ experience, energizing them for creative expression.

Q: What are you the most proud of about what YFA is accomplishing?

A: Expanding possibilities for young individuals. Students see themselves differently after attending. They take on a new identity and understand that if they can make a film, which incorporates so many different disciplines, then they can do anything.

Q: Let’s say that I’m 16 and have convinced my parents that YFA film camp is a great idea. What can I expect to learn from it?

A: One of the biggest things we emphasize is the team approach in both production and communications between the students and the mentors and instructors. No matter what kind of job or field the participants eventually go into, the hands-on experiences we provide in the start-to-finish aspects of making a film will give them a better sense of self-awareness, confidence, and how to bring the best out of everybody in the group.

I think one of the really big differences in what we’re doing in our program is that a lot of film camps per se take the approach of putting a camera in someone’s hands and simply telling them how to turn it on without first exploring what they want to say with that camera. This is a backwards concept to me, because it puts more emphasis on inanimate objects like the equipment instead of focusing on the interests and insights of the person who’s going to be operating it. Although we give everyone a solid grounding in the “mechanicals” of sight and sound and the things that go into post-production such as CGI and special effects, we want them to know why they want to use film as the medium to express themselves instead of, for instance, writing a poem or short story. We also don’t want them to just go out and be mimicking what they saw last week at the movies. Every individual is different and has something inside of them that they want to communicate in story form. Should they shoot in color or black and white? Should it be a bunch of close-ups or do they want to create a mystery through longer shots where a lot of detail isn’t seen? These are the kinds of questions that go into the full process of learning what filmmaking can accomplish.

Q: (sigh) Why wasn’t there a program like this when I was a teenager?

A: Actually, I think there were some programs around, but their reach was very limited and many did not survive for very long. Also, there seems to be a divide among the classes when it comes to programs of this nature. Either you needed to have a lot of money or very little. Many programs in the 70’s and 80’s were organized by a single film teacher and were either state sponsored or were corporations focused on the profit margin. YFA is organized for all youth with a world-wide reach, rather than being limited to a single community. The idea is that YFA will survive where others have disappeared because a network of educators, mentors and professionals all make YFA what it is today. Tuition costs are kept to a minimum, only charging what is absolutely necessary to run the program and scholarships are available to everyone no matter race, gender or geographic location. The only criteria is that students are between the ages of 9 and 20, show a high level of motivation and a strong desire to learn about filmmaking. As support grows and programs expand, YFA will have the ability to affect more and more students and provide an educational balance in the industry.

Q: Do you think it will become easier or harder for tomorrow’s young screenwriters to break into the industry?

A: I think that the Internet and digital TV will be really hungry for new content, some of which young people are already writing for. The market will always be competitive no matter what age you are, but I think America’s greatest export and resource has always been its intellectual property. People will always go to movies and want to see new movies because films are about the human journey and characters who are just like them.

Q: But with all those sites that are soliciting original content ideas, how are teens going to know which ones are really legit and which ones are just out to take advantage of their confidence or ignorance?

A: My advice to young talent is to be CARFUL of any company that solicits intellectual property. Kids and teens must understand that there are always people out there trying to take advantage of young people and creative talent to serve their own means. Take a close look at any organization you might consider sharing your content with. Are they organized for non-profit? If not, then how will they make money from your content, how much will they make and when? What do you get out of the deal? Is it a fifty-fifty relationship, meaning, will you get paid and get some exposure? You can also valuate the exposure they promise, but what are the chances that it will lead to something for you? Also keep in mind that your art must be expressed, you need an audience because that is what filmmaking, theater, acting and writing is all about. Just make sure that you can endorse the company or organization you want to share your content with.

Q: Let’s say that someone is planning on majoring in film in college. What sorts of things should they be doing while still in high school in order to distinguish themselves?

A: Number One thing: Get involved! Participating in extracurricular activities will not only make you a more well-rounded person in terms of what you know about, but also enable you to meet people who can help introduce you to film-related opportunities. Is there a movie or TV show that’s being shot in your hometown? Go see what you can do to volunteer. TV stations often have internships for students who want to learn about broadcast journalism and programming. If you want to be a screenwriter, you also need to write a lot of things and show a variety of range.

Q: How about shooting a lot of footage with a camcorder?

A: It’s nice practice, but no one at college is going to be asking to see your reel. What they want to see is what you’ve accomplished in terms of activities outside the classroom, that you’re a person who’s not afraid to step up and get involved. As a matter of fact, YFA has launched a PSA (public service announcement) program nationwide called “Kids Speak Out.”

Q: ‘Kids speak out’ on what?

A: The issues that are affecting them personally in their schools—things like non-violence, drug abuse, alcoholism, teen pregnancy. Teachers enroll in the program and receive guidebooks to use in the classroom and teach students how to develop and script original PSA’s on these topics. The best ones are then submitted for competition and, if they win, national broadcast.

Q: In other words, delivering the message straight from the lips of the audience’s own peer group?

A: Exactly. Hearing it from their own age group can be a lot more effective sometimes than hearing it from a bunch of adults who work at ad agencies.

Q: Okay, here comes the part we’ve been waiting for. Tell us about Germany and Italy!

A: Well, like our studio programs in L.A., the Germany and Italy workshops are an intensive way to not just learn about movies and how to make your own, but to totally immerse you in the culture and history of another country. In Germany, we visit castles and museums, take a boat trip down the Rhine, and have even brought in storytellers to talk about the region and the people.

Q: Sounds like a vacation…

A: Make that a “working vacation!” The whole time, the students are writing, shooting, and editing their projects. The same with Italy, where the workshop is held at a former royal palace near Pisa. If you’re a fan of GLADIATOR, you get to see where the story took place, plus have access to gardens and grounds and even a beach to go shoot your story!

Q: Drat! How come teens have all the fun and we have to stay home?

A: Oh, but you don’t! We also have a crash-course for older students and adults who either want to turn this into a family adventure or who have always dreamt of dabbling in cinema.

Q: Does that mean we can go enjoy the Roma nightlife?

A: Not until you finish your homework.

More information on the Young Filmmakers Academy and the KIDS SPEAK OUT program can be found at http://www.youngfilmmakers.org

Former actress and director Christina Hamlett is a script coverage consultant whose publishing credits include 17 books, 100 plays and musicals, and several hundred magazine articles that appear regularly throughout the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. For more information, visit her website at www.absolutewrite.com/site/christina.htm.