Film School: What the textbooks can’t teach you

Summer school can be a kids worst nightmare. But the Traverse City Film Festival Film School will make kids of all ages to want to be in a classroom. This is your chance to learn, develop, gain inspiration, and perfect your skills by the industries leading filmmakers. Being surrounded by other aspiring filmmakers excited and eager to learn creates a thrilling and insightful experience and environment. This is your opportunity to get the inside scoop, the background knowledge that a textbook will never teach you.

Classes begin Wednesday and end Saturday with two different classes at 12 noon and 3 pm. Wednesday at 12 noon kicks off the first day of film school with, “The 87 Dos and Don’ts of Make a Documentary Film That 10 Million People Will Want to See!” This class is lead by Academy-Award winning Filmmaker Michael Moore and a special guest will surely be worth it!

At 3 pm, director Tom Berninger and Producer Craig Charland, filmmakers from “Mistaken For Strangers,” will be leading this class, Mistaken For Filmmakers: The Making of “Mistaken For Strangers”.

On Thursday, 12 noon the “Advanced Audio Workshop” will take place. This class is perfect for filmmakers who want to use sound to put their films above the rest. The class is lead by Adam Forgione, the Audio Engineer of Pennylane Productions. Also, join us on Thursday at 3 pm, “Film School Confessions” lead by Jim Burnstein, Robert Rayher and the 2013 University of Michigan Student Filmmakers.

Friday at 12 noon, the class “Show Me The Money,” lead by filmmaker Terry George will take place. This class will give the inside scoop to what he looks for in a great producer. Friday, at 3 pm, “Considering the Screenplay as Literature” class will take place. Lead by the Instructor of Creative Writing and Motion Picture Arts at Interlochen Arts Academy, Lesley Alicia Tye.

Saturday, 12 noon will be “Acting for the Camera” lead by U of M professor Rober Rayher and Pamela Guest. At 3 pm the “TCFF Filmmaker Roundtable Answers Your Questions” includes an intimate session for you to ask your questions to our visiting filmmakers.

Wednesday and Thursday at 3 pm TCFF is offering the Young Filmmaker Workshop: Lights, Camera, Action! Claymation Animation (ages 8-11 years). This is your opportunity to make a short film that will be shown on Saturday before the kids film! Students will design and bring 3D claymation characters to life in this two day workshop.

TCFF film school is located at Scholars Hall on the campus of Northwestern Michigan College. Tickets are just $5 and can be purchased online at www.traversecityfilmfest.org or at the box office located at 128 S. Union St., above 7 Monks Taproom.