KidsEye™ is an intensive and fun five-day summer camp held at the University or Rhode Island that exposes young people to the basic elements of the filmmaking process, culminating in a premiere screening of their finished work.
"Well, my dream is to be a director, which
hopefully I will accomplish one day and
I’ve always
loved working with movies. I just want to be in show
business when I grow up.”
-- James, a 13 year old filmmaker from Cranston.
“It’s a good experience because kids
like to do this and there’s a place where
they
can come to hang out and do what they love most, making
movies and stuff.”
-- Taylor, a 13 year old cinematographer from Harrisville
This Year's Camp Dates: July 9-13, 2012 Our Location: Kingston, RI 2012 Cost: $375
KidsEye™ is a fun yet intensive
five-day filmmaking camp for children ages 10-16 presented
by FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival™.
Over the course of the last 14 years, the camp has
expanded, allowing children to learn more about what
it takes to make a movie. We strive to incorporate as
much hands-on learning as possible, therefore placing
our focus primarily on production. KidsEye™ participants step into the roles of screenwriters, actors,
directors and crew, and learn the importance of working
as a team.
This summer the KidsEye™ camp
will take place July 9-13, 2012.
During the first two days participants will attend pre-production
workshops on screenwriting, storyboarding, acting, directing
and production design. Then participants will apply
what they have learned in the production of their group’s
short film. If time allows, participants will also have
the opportunity to partake in the editing process.
Although many children have access to their own video
cameras and home computer editing systems, KidsEye™ builds on that experience by allowing participants to
interact with trained filmmakers and educators. The
program is designed to enhance the knowledge, skills
and understanding of all participants, regardless of
their level of experience.
Registration is $375 which includes
a copy of the finished films and the official KidsEye™ t-shirt. Plus, participants receive access passes to
FLICKERS main events, including the annual KidsEye™International Film Festival and to
the opening night of the Annual Flickers RI International
Horror Festival in October. And wait, there's
more! The film that the children shoot will be screened
for family and friends at a specially arranged screening
called the "Red Carpet Premiere." This latter event takes place in August, during the main RIIFF.
KidsEye™ is a very hands-on
program and every year the program reflects the input
of the campers. The program also reflects the knowledge and
skills brought to the table by our participants and
our instructors.
Look for details to be announced soon on our upcoming
collaborations with other film festivals throughout
the country as KidsEye™ branches
out.
Keith Brown holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rhode Island and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Boston University. He developed and taught a course for the Experimental College at Tufts University which focused on the study of representation of youth in American film. He has also taught 16mm film production courses at Boston University. Keith is currently a Lecturer in the Film/Media program at the University of Rhode Island. In the Fall of 2011, Keith was honored with the Teaching Excellence Award from the College of Arts & Sciences at URI.
Keith's work has been exhibited at the Boston Cinema Census, the Antelope Valley International Film Festival, the Georgetown Indy Film Fest, the Syracuse International Film and Video Festival, Film Stock, and the Rhode Island International Film Festival. He is also one of the founders of Boston Open Screen, an open-mike night for filmmakers, which is now held at the Somerville Theater in Massachusetts.
Keith is also the program co-director of the KidsEye Filmmaking Camp, a summer week-long program, run by the Rhode Island International Film Festival, which teaches children how to be filmmakers. In addition to still working with 16mm and Super 8 film, he also works with digital video. Most recently, he produced a short documentary on the demise of the video store, which was shot in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Jessica Wong
Program Co-Director
Jessica is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, now pursuing a Masters Degree in Education. Though her main focus has been in the sciences, she did not limit her interests to just that. Jess has always enjoyed filmmaking and the arts, whether it has been for a class project or just playing around with the camera. To enhance her background in film, she has taken a film course at URI and hopes to bring her new knowledge to the camp. She has a passion for working with kids and wants to give the kids a very hands-on learning experience as well as a fun week. Jess has been part of the KidsEye Program for the past five years as a camp counselor and hopes to make this year even more successful with all her past experience.
J. Scott Oberacker
Educational Outreach Director
Scott has recently joined as Flickers' Educational Outreach Director, where he works to develop and maintain the festivals’ educational outreach programs as well as aids in the selection and adjudication of the festival’s films. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication and Media Studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has worked as a film scholar and teacher for many years. His writing on film has appeared in a number of scholarly journals and he is currently co-editing a book on the television series, Friday Night Lights. Most recently, Scott taight film and media courses at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI, where he also helped to coordinate the Roving Eye Film Festival and the Tournees French Film Festival, in conjunction with RIIFF. Scott is currently an Assistant Professor of Communications at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI.
For more information, call (401) 861-4445 or write
to:
KidsEye™ Summer Filmmaking Camp
P.O. Box 162, Newport, RI 02840
RIIFF Offices: 83 Park Street, Suite 1, Providence, RI 0290
Become a member of our KidsEye Facebook Page
Keith Brown
Jessica Wong 
J. Scott Oberacker 