By Bradley Rogers, Georgia Webster & Jack Chapman
This year, the Camper Media program at Camp IHC was an extension of the IHC Media team (Studio 18) and was led by a team of three activity specialists; Jack Chapman, Georgia Webster and Bradley Rogers. Georgia Webster and Bradley Rogers are Film Production graduates from the University of Salford, based in Manchester, UK. They specialize in directing, cinematography and editing. Jack Chapman is a Film and TV Production graduate from the University of Coventry, who also specializes in directing.
This was the first summer for all of us at Camp IHC, and our first summer at an American camp too. None of us quite knew what to expect with the campers and program, therefore we planned thoroughly and worked together closely to design the camper media lessons with an idea to inspire the next generation of content creators.
Studio 19 (the name of the camper media studio!) has such a diverse range of equipment and facilities that we had no problem exploring multiple areas of media. We had the resources to teach photography, film production, graphic design, podcasting, editing and so much more.
We created games and educational materials for the kids to enjoy when it was time for them to arrive. One of our personal favorites is the green screen game. This was essentially charades, but reversed and with a green screen. The camper would stand in front of a green screen, clueless of the scenery we had placed them in and the rest of the group would have to act it out to them.
It was important to us that we made Camper Media to be both a fun and educational activity. This allowed us to share our passion with young imaginations, whilst simultaneously providing the opportunity for campers to explore their creative side. Fortunately by the time the campers came, we had countless lesson plans that we could pick and choose from. This ranged from creating commercials, wedding videography, photo scavenger hunts, podcast challenges and so much more.
Our goal was to push the campers outside their comfort zone, allowing them to try something new. For example, we quickly found that the podcasting station was a popular easy option with the campers. However with a little encouragement, we found a lot of the campers developed an interest in the cameras. It got to the point where we had campers asking for extra sessions outside of their scheduled activity time.
We had some super passionate campers that were keen to work on bigger projects with us. That’s where our elective programcame in. For the campers that chose to have media for multiple sessions each week, we wanted to work on a larger project throughout multiple periods so we could have a product to show for it at the end of the week. The most popular idea was to produce a short movie, and so projects like ‘The Crookie Catchers’ and ‘Keeping up with the Kampdashians’ were born. Media became a popular elective period to be a part of. We had to liaise with the program team as we had campers unexpectedly turn up with a willingness to be involved.
The elective periods allowed the campers to have an insight on the process of making a film.
We only had 5–6 sessions each week (totaling 5–6 hours). However with an optimistic mindset and a plan in place, we didn’t waste our time with the determined elective campers.
Lesson one was the time for idea generation and brainstorming. We wanted to make sure everyone had a say in what type of film they wanted to make. We asked questions like how many people wanted to be on camera, and therefore how many characters the film had. We also had to be considerate of the feasibility of these ideas, given the limited time we had.
Lesson two was a time designated to developing the idea into a script and transforming the idea into a solid story. One of the greatest, yet rewarding challenges we faced at this stage was the constant ‘what if’ suggestions from several different ideas from the campers. It was fascinating to listen to all the unique ideas and everyone’s interpretation of the story. We were flooded with great suggestions, ideas and directions but keeping the story simple was key.
Lesson three provided the campers with an opportunity to blueprint the film in the form of a storyboard. Campers learnt the importance of drawing storyboards for films and were provided with the chance to plan their own shots for us to follow later during production.
Lesson four and five were our best opportunities to film. We encouraged the campers to take turns when operating the camera (a Canon 80D with a Rode video-mic attached).
Lesson six was the time for campers to understand the post-production process. We had worked to piece together a rough edit on the previous night, so the electives had something to enjoy watching on their last session of the week. This also allowed campers to have an input on the edit, make suggestions on song choices, judge the best take and help cut the edit.
By the end of the week we had made a project that everyone was proud to be a part of. It was something that the campers could look back on after camp and share with their friends and family once they were home. We repeated this process each week and created numerous projects including:
- The Crookie Catchers Part One: Two highly trained camper agents have been assigned to protect Camp IHC’s top secret cookie recipe which is at risk of being stolen, but who is after it and what do they intend to use it for?
- The Crookie Catchers Part Two: A camper discovers their ability to fly after accidentally missing milk and cookies (which contain suppressants to superpowers). John Swim is on the hunt for the flying camper before other campers find out this secret. Can John catch the camper with the cookie before it’s too late?
- The Crookie Catchers Part Three: The allocated time for milk and cookies has been replaced with basketball drills. It doesn’t take long for the camper detectives to find out that the basketballs are mind controlling the campers. Can they shut down Joel’s server room before the kids become robotic, mindless “happy campers”.
- The Other Side: A sci-fi drama about a camper who accidentally stumbles across a portal to another dimension. It doesn’t take long for his friends to notice his absence and they search to rescue him. However, to escape the portal they need to find two special rocks. Can they make it back before the portal closes?
- The Parent Trap (in four minutes): Based on Disney’s 1998 film. After meeting at camp, twins Timothy & Jimothy plan an identity swap, giving each of them the chance to spend time with the parent they’ve missed. Will their plan to reunite the family work?
- Keeping up with the Kampdashians (Trailer) — Inspired by the popular series ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’. In this trailer we are presented with an insight to the life of Girls Side at camp and what the girls really have to say. Did Maddie steal Sarah’s necklace? Is it another drip dry day? Will the camp counsellors survive the last week of summer camp?
The Camper Media program was fundamental for a variety of reasons. First, it can be an incredibly daunting experience meeting so many new people for the first time and we believe that Camper Media assisted in helping campers establish new bonds with others. The activity is highly team-based and the campers had to communicate with others and work in a team to appreciate the magic of Media.
In each class we would always see campers forming groups in order to create work together and partake in team building activities. We believed that getting the campers to interact and be as socially involved as possible now at the age they’re at, would really boost their confidence in the future. Whether that be whilst creating movies or within their lives in general.
Next, Camper Media was beneficial as it acted as a safe-space for campers. We know that not everybody at summer camp is going to be a sports fanatic or outdoor adventurer, and the Camper Media program provided a space for passionate creatives to get involved and feel like masters of their craft. It meant that everybody on camp had something unique to them and that nobody felt like an outsider. It allowed campers who weren’t as confident in some subjects to experiment more with media. It was an activity everyone could get involved with!
A rewarding aspect of the program was the presentation of the work made by the campers on visiting day. Parents of campers visited Camp IHC and were able to watch and listen to content produced within the Camper Media lessons. It was an incredible experience to have the campers showcase their work and see the reactions of their families. You could really tell how much pride these parents had in their children and how it impacted the campers positively to receive such feedback.
Parents realized how passionate some of the campers are about media and can actively help their children create their own content from their homes once the summer camp season ends. It was also super rewarding to hear that campers wanted to continue making their own short movies once they were home. It meant that we, as activity specialists, had achieved our core goal of sharing our passion with the campers.
Keep an eye on the Camp IHC Spotify as we’ve got new camper podcasts coming soon!
