Kids Film Camp | Summer 2020
We've all had a spring we couldn't predict,
and our plans for Film Camp have been a Wait-and-See.
But after much discussion and planning...
We're back with a version of Film Camp
that will be fun (and safe) for all!
Back by popular demand, The Actor Factory is proud to host our 9th annual Film Camp. Join Factory instructors for a high energy, information packed week of film and fun.
NOW ENROLLING FOR SUMMER 2020!
LIVE AND IN PERSON! with some adjustments
Ages 10-17 years old
Monday - Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm*
Red Carpet Premiere - Saturday*
Cost: $875
CAMP 1
June 22-26, 2020
Premiere Night: June 27
CAMP 2
July 20-24, 2020
Premiere Night: July 25
The most anticipated event at The Actor Factory returns for its 9th year. Young Performers beat the summer heat and kick-start their career with a week-long immersion in film acting. They learn the ropes, forge life-long friendships and have experiences they will never forget, all while creating material that will take them to the next level of their acting career.
Campers will spend an entire week with Factory staffers and industry professionals. They will act in and film personalized demo reels written just for them, compete in a 2-day film race, creating a short film on the spot, then arrive by limousine on Saturday night to walk the red carpet and watch their on-camera work on The factory's giant HD projection screen with their parents snapping pics all the way. It is the camp our young performers talk about all year!
Here's how it works:
Monday & Tuesday
Campers will be learning the technique of acting for the camera and how film acting differs from acting on stage. They will practice hitting their marks, finding their key light, learn the different types of crosses and work on adjusting their performance for the lens, instead of in a theatre. They will also be assigned two scenes starring them; one comic and one dramatic.
Wednesday through Friday
Campers will film the scenes and learn the rigors of acting in a motion picture, while working with industry professionals. When other scenes are being shot, campers often serve as extras in those scenes.
These scenes will be shot with professional film, lighting and sound equipment, and edited by professionals, creating up to a 2-minute demo reel per camper.
The Film Acting Camp wraps Friday evening, but the camp instructors go quickly to work on post-production, spending Friday night and all day Saturday editing the footage into finished products.
Campers will appear in two scenes each, written and created especially for them. Each camper will receive a finished product to use as professional marketing materials for their agent to use for potentially booking future jobs.
A Demo Reel is a sampling of your on-camera work, sent to talent agents, casting directors and filmmakers, as well as posted on actors' online casting profiles. The importance of this material has exploded over recent years as more and more actors are booked on projects based solely on their demo reels.
It will be professionally lit with high quality sound, and then edited to appear as if it were taken from an actual film project. Rather than performing monologues against a wall in an acting studio classroom, each monologue or short scene will be shot either on a film set or a location, creating a background environment. They will be created, shot and edited by award-winning film professionals to the quality standards expected by The Actor Factory. Take a look at some of the reels shot in past years by watching the video below
Saturday
All campers and two guests are invited to a Red Carpet Premiere of the demo reels they created, shown on the 120-inch big screen in Studio 2. Campers arrive by limousine , and will be joined by camp leaders.
Check out our previous demo reels above!
48-Hour Film Race
Along with shooting demo reels, all campers compete in a 48-hour film race, also to be shown at the Saturday night Red Carpet.
Here's How It Works:
This year, the camp is divided into 2 groups.
By random draw, each group is assigned a color, an object, a random line of dialogue that is to be included in up to a 5-minute film featuring every camper on the group. The group then has 48 hours to write, shoot and edit this film to be screened at the Saturday night premiere. But here's the catch; This year, the film is at home, under the Zoom supervision of a camp counselor! Is the whole film shot on Zoom? Is it shot on the camper's individual phones and edited together? How can content be created under social distancing rules? Join the Film Race and find out on Premiere Night.
Last year the 48-hour film race proved to be the highlight for many kids' camp experience. Take a look at one of a previous year's films to the right.
COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS
Like everything else since March, Film Camp will look a little different this year.
We will make every effort to follow the standards and guidelines set forth by the CDC, and have implemented changes to our standard format. Those changes include:
-2 CAMPS IN ONE - After our roster is complete, staffers will divide the camp into two sessions, reducing the number of campers in the building at a given time. Each group will have a maximum of 10 campers. Group 1 will meet in person from 9:00 -12:30 and Group 2 will meet in person from 1:30-5:00. When not meeting in person on Monday - Thursday, the kids will meet on Zoom to write, develop, shoot and star in their own Short Film to be presented as a group. This will take the place of the in-person Film Race, and will encourage kids to develop a virtual film, web series or vlog narrative story, under the supervision of a camp staffer. Why are we doing this instead of the usual Film Race? Film Race is fun and all, but it is also the most exposure to others--the kids work in less controlled environments and often film in the Park on Main office building, which houses many working offices, with nearly 100 people full time as well as their customers coming through the doors. And to be honest, Film Race was created so the kids who weren't filming their demo reel scenes had something to do. The Zoom Race, as we will call it, will still keep the kids engaged during camp hours, will still be a creative opportunity, and will be made in the safety and comfort of their home (or hotel).
At this time, you cannot request a morning or afternoon session. The session will be assigned to you based on the ages and types on the roster. Young campers will more than likely be assigned morning and older campers will more than likely be assigned afternoon, but for the good of the demo reels we film, we need to wait and see what the full camp roster looks like before we divide the camp.
OTHER PRECAUTIONS:
- The classroom will be cleaned and all surfaces sanitized each morning, at the break between Groups, and at the end of the day.
- Temperatures will be taken at the door before entry each day.
- Hand sanitizing stations will be set up and mandatory.
- Drinks and snacks will be handed to each camper by a gloved adult.
-The rest room will be cleaned between uses.
- Social distancing will be encouraged where possible.
- Many demo reel scenes will be shot outdoors as usual, though we cannot shoot all of them outdoors.
- TWO PREMIERES - To minimize the number of campers and parents in the studio on Saturday night, we will offer TWO red Carpet Premieres. This will cut the number of people in the screening room in half, allowing a better opportunity for social distancing.
A NOTE ON MASKS: Acting is all about expression, facial recognition and picking up facial cues. For an acting camp to be successful, we cannot make masks mandatory. When campers are not performing or rehearsing, and just watching others, they are welcome to wear masks brought from home, but they will not be required.
SPECIAL NOTE: While we will take every precaution possible to keep your camper safe from COVID-19 and any other communicable disease, no efforts are perfect. With the understanding of the additional precautions being taken as lined out above, enrolling your child in camp involves certain risks. If the risk seems to outweigh our protective measures, please do not enroll your child in camp, especially if your child is already in pre-existing compromised health.
Camp Staff
CHRIS FREIHOFER
Camp Producer
Chris Freihofer is the owner, director and founder of The Actor Factory, Oklahoma's largest and most respected on-camera acting studio. He is also the leading casting director for films, television and commercials in Oklahoma with nearly 100 film/television casting credits. He is also an established actor, having appeared in such projects as "Friday Night Lights", "Longmire", and a recurring role on "Breaking Bad." He is Oklahoma's only member of the Casting Society of America and has cast for such esteemed directors as Terrence Malick, Francis Ford Coppola, Cameron Crowe, John Wells, William H Macy and Paul Dano. He will be available and accessible every day of camp and will co-direct the demo reels.
JEFFREY NICHOLSON
Cinematographer
Award-winning Los Angeles filmmaker and photographer Jeffrey Nicholson returns to Film Camp for the 7th year in a row. He recently completed directing the feature film EL COYOTE, filmed in Arizona and starring Tom Sizemore, and his directorial debut SOUL FRACKERS, will be released soon. Many Factory students know Nicholson as an amazing headshot photographer, but his short film SPIRAL, starring Dane Cook, put him on the map as a filmmaker as well, including the short THE DRIFTER, starring Clint Howard and Marshall Bell. Nicholson will be the director of photography for all camp demo reels, and will co-direct the scenes as well.
CHRIS MCINTOSH
Editor & Camp Counselor
Multiple award-winning filmmaker Chris Oz McIntosh returns to camp for the 6th straight year as a camp counselor that will lead the technical instruction of film camp and will serve as the editor of all demo reel scenes having edited the feature film SOUL FRACKERS, directed by Jeffrey Nicholson. McIntosh's short film MOVIE MAGIC has screened across the country at the Los Angeles Children's Film Festival, the USA KidsFest in Dallas, deadCenter Film Festival, and many more. His next short film NEVER TOO LATE is in post-production. McIntosh holds a degree in Broadcast & Electronic Media from the University of Oklahoma. He currently is the Director of the Actor Factory Young Performer Academy.
JENNIFER RADER
Camp Counselor
Jennifer Rader is a professional actor, a casting professional, and a young performer instructor. She recently starred in the 360-degree VR action film ALL TERRAIN and appeared in the Reelz Channel TV series SCANDAL MADE ME FAMOUS as well as the upcoming film SLEEPING IN PLASTIC. She teaches auditioning at The Actor Factory Young Performer Academy, and is best known as Casting Associate at Freihofer Casting, Oklahoma's largest and busiest casting office. She has assisted in the casting of 10 feature films, several television projects for Netflix, TBN and Lifetime, and dozens and dozens of commercials. She will serve as a writer for several camp scenes and will coach actors before they hit the set.
TORI HARTLEY
Camp Counselor
Tori returns to camp for the second year in a row. She has a BFA in Acting from the University of Oklahoma and is an instructor at The Actor Factory Young Performer Academy, teaching acting and auditioning and assisting in improv. She is also a casting assistant at Freihofer Casting, having assisted on several feature films and commercials. As a professional actor, Tori has appeared in the upcoming film SLEEPING IN PLASTIC and the Reelz Channel series PRICE OF FAME. She will teach acting techniques to the kids as well as work on set during filming, to facilitate hair and makeup as well as art direction and set decoration.
In addition to this great executive staff,
Film Camp 2020 is also supported by the following camp counselors and film crew
Avery Baker - Austin, TX - Junior Acting major at the University of Oklahoma
Gabriella David - Dallas, TX - Senior Acting major at the University of Oklahoma
Andie Fuentes - Houston, TX - Junior Acting major at the University of Oklahoma
Will Warner - Denver, CO - Junior Acting major at the University of Oklahoma
Megan Wilson - Tulsa, OK - Senior Musical Theater major at Oklahoma City University
What's Included
- Swag Bag with free Camp t-shirt, Actor Factory backpack, sunglasses and more
- Snacks
- A digital version of your camper's demo reel emailed to you and your agent
- An electronic copy of the Premiere Night video, Film Race films and slideshow
- The Premiere Night Limo Ride
- 3 Tickets to the Red Carpet Premiere (good for a camper and two guests)
Price
$875
Additional Information
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$200 deposit is due upon enrollment in camp.
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For this year only, cancellation of enrollment prior to 14 days to the first day of camp is possible as long as The Actor Factory receives the cancellation request in writing by email prior to 15 days before the first day of camp. For this year only, even deposits, minus a $25 processing fee, will be refunded.
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50% refund is possible if the cancellation is made 7-14 days before the first day of camp.
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There is no refund within 7 days from the first day of camp.
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Unused camp fees cannot be applied to future classes, intensives, camps or other Actor Factory events.
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In the event The Actor Factory must cancel a camp, all fees will be fully refunded.