Hundreds of 7-17 year olds applied their talents in a weeklong film production course at iD Tech Camps at a Georgia summer camp on the Emory University campus the past few summers. By the end of the week, each student team created inspiring movies with special effects using cutting-edge technology, including lighting kits and green screens from Photoflex, Canon camcorders, Apple Final Cut Pro editing software, and Adobe After Effects special effects software.



"With the skills they learn in one week, these up-and-coming student directors could be ready for an internship in the movie industry," said Kevin Painchaud, owner of an award-winning Hollywood-based movie production company and 7th year lead digital video instructor for iD Tech Camps . "The equipment and software they use is exactly what my production company uses. What wonderful exposure to receive at such a young age. One of the things that makes many of their movies so powerful is their use of lighting and special effects to evoke mood," says Painchaud. "With the use of the Photoflex professional lighting equipment, the students' work was elevated to the next level."

Students used the Photoflex FlexDrop??¢ green screen to superimpose backgrounds, including purely digital fabrications made from Adobe After Effects. With the Photoflex LiteDisc??¢ reflectors, students could also easily control the sunlight when filming outside.

"We learned a lot about cinematography and special effects," one student said. "In one scene my crew and I used the green screen to add a ghostly figure that enters a room through a closed door to pursue the main character."

While many Emory students were "on location" at the Emory campus in Georgia, another iD Tech student, Brittany, and her group filmed the short movie "Subject #14" while attending the same program at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. A chilling tale of descent into madness, "Subject #14" won the program's nationwide competition for Best Drama.

"We created amazing lighting effects!" Brittany said. "It was really cool. We could make the actors look brighter or darker depending on what we wanted."

These up-and-coming movie directors quickly discovered that this technique reduced shadows and created a diffused lighting effect. To open up the room and make it brighter, Brittany's crew adjusted a Photoflex Digital Lighting Kit so that its SilverDome??¢ softbox and Starlite??¢ light pointed toward the ceiling.

By the end the weeklong course, the digital media students gain confidence and leadership skills. Many of them say they look forward to pursuing careers in the movie industry. Getting started in Hollywood may be a challenge, but with the experience these iD Tech Camp students have gained, their journey has already begun.