True West Summer Film Camps take campers through the process of creating their own short movie for the big screen – from script to shooting and beyond. In addition to hands-on filmmaking experience, campers enjoy complementary activities ranging from digital art to kayaking, provided by one of our partner organizations. Designed to spark creative exploration, foster collaboration, and develop technical skills, True West Summer Film Camps offer the ultimate summer experience for budding filmmakers in the North Bay.
Camps are led by Director of Education Heather Murray and teaching artists Sandro Oliva and Pamela Kennemore. Most sessions are designed for ages 7-12 years old with five full days of programming. For ages 13-17, the Future Filmmakers Camp is a half-day experience over two weeks.
Scholarships are available. To learn more, contact he************@****************er.org or see if you qualify for the True West Visionary Scholarship.
View our terms and conditions here.
Improv + Narrative Filmmaking
June 15-19
Morning sessions invite campers to explore the basic tenets of improv, such as teamwork, saying yes to others’ ideas, and trusting one’s own instincts. It’s all about play, with the underlying aim of building confidence, creativity, and connection.
Afternoon sessions are centered around narrative filmmaking, with campers working in small groups to produce 3-minute short films over the course of the camp. The week is divided into the stages of pre-production, production, and post-production, providing opportunities to develop practical skills and introductory knowledge of technologies that can be applied to future filmmaking projects. Plus, each camper receives a credit on their film – a great first step in creating their own portfolio!
Digital Art + Mockumentary Filmmaking
June 22-26
Each morning, campers learn to create digital art with powerful tools that allow them to design characters, creatures, and backgrounds inspired by games and cartoons. Using layers, timing, and frame-by-frame techniques, they develop stories with digital media and build confidence in the tools of visual storytelling.
Afternoon sessions are centered around mockumentary filmmaking. Working in small groups, campers move through the stages of pre-production, production, and post-production to create 3-minute short films on a topic of their choice. Campers gain practical skills and introductory knowledge of technologies that can be applied to future filmmaking projects. Plus, each camper receives a credit on their film – a great first step in creating their own portfolio!
River’s Edge 1 + Narrative Filmmaking
July 6-10
Morning sessions are centered around mockumentary filmmaking. Working in small groups, campers move through the stages of pre-production, production, and post-production to create 3-minute short films on a topic of their choice. Campers gain practical skills and introductory knowledge of technologies that can be applied to future filmmaking projects. Plus, each camper receives a credit on their film – a great first step in creating their own portfolio!
Campers spend the afternoons with River’s Edge, enjoying a week of bonding with other campers while kayaking, discovering the Russian River’s unique ecology, and developing leadership skills. River’s Edge Kayak and Canoe has been launching families in kayaks, canoes, and on paddleboards for over 50 years.
River’s Edge 2 + Narrative Filmmaking
July 13-17
Morning sessions are centered around narrative filmmaking. Working in small groups, campers move through the stages of pre-production, production, and post-production to create 3-minute short films on a topic of their choice. Campers gain practical skills and introductory knowledge of technologies that can be applied to future filmmaking projects. Plus, each camper receives a credit on their film – a great first step in creating their own portfolio!
Campers spend the afternoons with River’s Edge, enjoying a week of bonding with other campers while kayaking, discovering the Russian River’s unique ecology, and developing leadership skills. River’s Edge Kayak and Canoe has been launching families in kayaks, canoes, and on paddleboards for over 50 years.
Cartooning & Comic Books + Mockumentary Filmmaking
July 20-24
Each morning, campers study how to draw the face and body of characters and learn to bring them to life through expression and emotion. Learning to “think” three dimensionally, and study the principles of cartooning, including line, shape, form, and exaggeration. Referring to work by comics masters, campers learn to understand the unique opportunities of this flexible medium and create their own characters, stories, and comics.
Afternoon sessions are centered around mockumentary filmmaking. Working in small groups, campers move through the stages of pre-production, production, and post-production to create 3-minute short films on a topic of their choice. Campers gain practical skills and introductory knowledge of technologies that can be applied to future filmmaking projects. Plus, each camper receives a credit on their film – a great first step in building their own portfolio.
Gaming + Narrative Filmmaking
July 27-31
Each morning, campers dive into Minecraft modding, using MCreator (a beginner-friendly tool) to create their own custom items, blocks, biomes, and game mechanics – no prior coding experience required! Throughout the week, campers build their own working mod, gaining valuable coding skills and a deeper understanding of game design.
Narrative Filmmaking takes center stage in the afternoons. Working in small groups, campers move through the stages of pre-production, production, and post-production to create 3-minute short films on a topic of their choice. Campers gain practical skills and introductory knowledge of technologies that can be applied to future filmmaking projects. Plus, each camper receives a credit on their film – a great first step in creating their own portfolio!
Teen Filmmaking Camp (Ages 13+)
July 27-August 7
This two-week, half-day filmmaking workshop guides campers through the process of crafting their own short films. Each camper experiences a variety of roles involved in filmmaking, gaining essential storytelling skills and developing the building blocks of media literacy. Following the camp, teens possess the ability to craft dynamic visual stories with sophisticated camera and editing techniques. Campers collaborate on each project, strengthening social and emotional skills along the way. Projects include a one-shot film, a short narrative film, and a short documentary film.
Art + Narrative Filmmaking
August 3-7
Morning sessions focus on art!. Campers explore their own ideas using a variety of materials and collaborating with other campers. Artists get to practice problem-solving, being resourceful, and developing ideas in a welcoming environment.
Each afternoon, narrative filmmaking takes center stage. Working in small groups, campers move through the stages of pre-production, production, and post-production to create 3-minute short films on a topic of their choice. Campers gain practical skills and introductory knowledge of technologies that can be applied to future filmmaking projects. Plus, each camper receives a credit on their film – a great first step in creating their own portfolio!
Heather Murray
“My teaching philosophy is focused on the particular ways the fun and self-expression of filmmaking simultaneously encourages self-confidence and empathy in the filmmakers. When young filmmakers are invited into a space in which they can be vulnerable and take chances when using their imagination, their self-worth increases considerably. In order to make a film, however, they must collaborate with others. Working on a film crew means negotiating to make decisions and working toward a shared goal. In the process of making and watching films, they are also increasing their media literacy skills so that they are better prepared to interpret other forms of online programming and social media. I feel very lucky to support students in this process.”
Heather (she/her) is a videographer who worked as an art history college instructor, a museum director, and an art curator before shifting to video production and editing. She has created promotional videos for many Sonoma County nonprofits, businesses, and visual artists, and has collaborated with several local bands on music videos.
Sandro Oliva
Alessandro (he/they) has lived in Sonoma County for their entire adolescent and adult life. Drawn to micro-budget narrative filmmaking, they have been making movies ever since they would edit together compilations of family home videos in their youth. Post graduating high school with Certificates of Achievement in both digital filmmaking and graphic design, they are currently serving as a Lead Teaching Artist with True West; they are also studying for a college degree at the SRJC, with a focus in critical media studies. They hope to contribute towards an artistic local community of active and literate film viewers and makers. They love Classic Hollywood cinema.
Pamela M. Kennemore
Pamela has taught Media Literacy and Digital Citizenship to children from Kindergarten to Middle School in several Sonoma County School Districts. She encourages children to explore storytelling through videography. Pamela enjoys working with different ages to bring hidden talents in many forms out of students and challenges those students to share their stories through framing and lighting.
Pamela is an artist, photographer, and award winning filmmaker with an Associate of Science and Certification in Digital Filmmaking, with honors, from Santa Rosa Junior College and enjoys the quintessential film set with like-minded creative filmmakers.
She has participated in short, and full feature film projects and has been invited to run cameras for Bay Area film competitions around northern California. Pamela is a student of the art of Cinematography and studies to learn from those admired, respected, and at the pinnacle of their expertise.
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