SOCAPA's Filmmaking Boot Camp takes students through the entire filmmaking process in just five days! All students write, direct and edit one film of their own, and work as crew for one another, providing each student the opportunity to work as a Director of Photography, Sound Technician, or Production Assistant. Due to time constraints, the emphasis here is on single system film production, where sound and image are captured by the same camera. Students make creative use of sound, recording wild-sound and effects in production, and building a multi-layered sound track of ambience, effects, voice-over and music in post-production. This way, boot camp students avoid the pitfalls of time-consuming sync-sound production and are naturally steered away from overly talky scripts towards more polished, visual cinema.
Join your creatively-minded peers and bring your story to life. There's nothing quite like the experience of taking an idea, putting it on paper, and working with a dedicated crew to turn it into something visual and tangible that can be shared and revisited whenever you'd like. Screen your film for the whole camp at the Final Showcase and experience a hard-earned and very satisfying sense of accomplishment.
Monday and Tuesday, in the mornings, SOCAPA film students take their main Writing and Directing Classes. In Writing Class, students generate ideas, learn fundamentals of three-act structure, and workshop their scripts. In Directing Class, they learn the basics of film language, camera placement, and shot construction.
On Monday afternoon, students will take a technical camera class, in which they learn how to operate the DSLR cameras they will be using on their shoots. After in-class demonstrations, students conduct shooting exercises and then come back to review their footage with the class.
SOCAPA offers the immediate opportunity to learn the most recent advancements in digital technologies. In the Core Fimmaking intensives, students will be using state-of-the art 1080p High Definition video cameras. All students are encouraged to edit on Adobe Premiere digital editing systems (students with experience editing in other software may consult their film instructor for permission to use an alternative editing system), the current industry standard.
Robert Rodriguez, known for his unorthodox shot progression, both when shooting and editing, is often a "one-man film crew". Though students will have a crew, the task of writing, directing and editing this two minute film in such a short time frame requires students to solve constraints of time and money (as all filmmakers experience!) using the camera and their editing acquiesce, for which Rodriguez is known.
Students at our Los Angeles summer campus enjoy the advantages of being in the heart of the entertainment capital of the world. Chosen as home base by the film industry because of its nonstop sunshine and beautiful scenery, Hollywood, California, has become synonymous with making movies. SOCAPA's summer camps in LA are held at Occidental College, known as the Princeton of the West.
Los Angeles Campus Details
SOCAPA has two campuses in New York City. Our pre-college campus for ages 15-18 is located in the East Village of Manhattan at Astor Place where we use NYU facilities (classrooms, studios, theaters) and the New School's Residence Hall. Our shorter boot camp programs for younger high school students are hosted at Pratt University and FGSC on the Steiner Studios Film Lot in Brooklyn. Our Brooklyn Campus is temporarily closed.
New York City Campus Details
SOCAPA has two summer camp locations in Vermont: one at Champlain College, situated in the picturesque city of Burlington, and the other at the Burke Mountain Hotel in East Burke, a summer haven for mountain biking and other outdoor sports.
Vermont Campuses DetailsIf you have any questions, please send us a message. We will contact you ASAP.
