I remember back in high school, I was very interested in media of all kinds. Radio, Television, Movies, Video Games – all of them were areas of media I hoped would be a future career for me. (Oh and would you know it? I ended up here!) I remember one of the most mystifying things was how to get in to the industry, or how to even learn the necessary skills. Neither of my parents were in media of any kind – my dad worked offshore, and my mom was a nurse. Yet even before college, I was dying to dip my feet in and get started making movies. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to learn at Acadiana Open Channel (AOC) with my French class at Acadiana High School . We made this really cool short film as a class, inspired from the Blair Witch Project movie. All of our lines were in French, we actually went camping in the woods in tents, and our teacher, Mme. Ancelet, made sure that all of us had the chance to share our ideas on the storyline. We not only became closer as a class, but learned how to use the editing equipment at AOC, and add some of our favorite music over scenes that had no dialogue. It was an unforgettable experience with my classmates that I’ll never forget.
I was reminded of this wonderful high school experience when I saw these programs being offered. Ready. Set. Make! is a youth-oriented educational program that exposes students to the world of film production. All student films produced during camp will compete for a chance to premiere at Southern Screen Film Festival 2019! Looks like the training camp has already started for that one, but the apply online section is still open. There’s also AOC Digital Animation Camp later this month, and MUSE, AOC’s after-school media education program too. It’s definitely worth checking out for aspiring media artists! Learn more here.
