The participants were encouraged to use the resources they had at their disposal, whether by using library resources such as Premiere Pro (available in the Digital Media Lab at the Main Street Library), using friends and family for cast or crew, or using their phone’s camera to film their projects. Participants gained skills in cinematography and learned a productive way to express themselves.

The Make it Reel program, was a six-week filmmaking series that introduced youth ages 12-17 to the art of filmmaking. During this program, participants attended a series of workshops to learn how to develop, shoot, and edit their own films. Workshop sessions included: An Introduction to Filmmaking, Writing for the Screen, Cutting for Continuity, the Art of Reading Film, and Mise en scène. There was an emphasis on being resourceful, which made the program more accessible than the average film workshop

The participants developed their own story lines, wrote their own scripts, selected their own cast members as needed and selected shoot locations for their films. During the six-week period, we saw blossoming young film makers put their ideas to film. Their excitement grew as they progressed through the program and learned new skills. A sense of camaraderie developed between the young filmmakers as they supported one another in their projects.