One thing that drew me to put my name in the hat for this review was that I have a theatre background myself. I did many things that were theatrical and dealt with many mediums over the span of my college career. Some included working as a deejay at the school's radio station that had a huge international following. I also worked with and for the news station in college, doing actual segments and editing and all that. It's how I got my first cameras and video camera. I love that Ken, on of the instructors is certified to teach camera and audio for things. (CTE) certified.
New this year in my scouting world, because I not only home school, I run girl scout troop of daisies, brownies, juniors, cadettes, seniors, and ambassadors. Right now, I daisies to seniors and about 40 girls registered. I also run my boy scout den about to cross over to boy scouts. 20 ten and eleven year olds... they are super rambunctious and I wouldn't have it any other way.
One of the boy scout requirements my boys will be doing this year, is the pin, "Looking Back, Looking Forward." It is such a meaningful requirement because it saves what they did that year. They get to learn about scouting from it's inception to now. And how they are apart of that picture. What better review to combine with that then this?!
Let's look at the requirements for "Looking Back, Looking Forward":
1. Create a record of the history of Scouting and your role in that history
2. With help of your leader, with your choice of media, go on a virtual journey to the past and create a timeline.
3. Create your own time capsule
There is even another boy scout pin, and their requirements that could be used with this! "Moviemaking".
1. Write a storyline describing a scouting adventure. Create a storyboard with your story.
2. Create live or animated movie about yourself. How do you live the scout oath and law?
3. Share your movie with your den or pack.
So, you see what I see right?!
I am doing looking back looking forward with my boy scouts so they can be able to look back after they earn their eagle award to be able to see how far they have come and what they have accomplished, learned, and grown. There is nothing that makes me prouder.
When talking to the boys, we talked about how media plays such an important role. They each got to hold my very big old fashioned video camera... and of course they all wanted to play with it. They learned the different aspects of the camera.
Then they got to hold and look at my DSLR which is the same as the one in the videos that they show here in the film academy.
My girl scouts did the same thing during a troop meeting.
Interestingly, both my scouts picked both mediums to do during the year. This is great because different events call for different mediums. For example, while working the street festival, I gave my old ipod to my boy scout who was deemed by his patrol as the documentary person, to go around to take pictures of the boys. Then they will present with mixed medium presentation, or at least that is my goal, to show as they cross over from cub scouts to boy scouts in March.
What I like:
* They are certified to teach camera and audio
* You can comment on the videos and they respond
* Even those of us who have done photography and videography get a reminder in some of the basics
* Since I am doing this with my scouts, I can use some of what they are saying to remind myself how to word things. For example, some things are just intuitive for me.
* You can use your cameras right after the lessons
* You can modify for ages and levels, so everyone can learn something
* Even though Christian is in their name, they are not moderately or heavily indoctrinating your children with Christian theology. They mention a verse here and there but nothing that is super substantial. I REALLY appreciate this! I know this seems like, well... but I have kids of varying beliefs and I would like to honour that. So this is something I highly appreciate!
What needs to improve:
* Nagivating the website should be the first video not the 3rd. I ended up figuring it out after the first video but not everyone is savvy enough to know this. I am assuming most people are but you never know.
* I didn't get to review the quizzes as those were being updated but I am looking forward to it!
* The link to the Facebook page or group just for this product was not working, so we didn't get to be apart of that.
This is from Ken and Zack-- find out more about their company from their own words!!
Here is the link to share with your readers:
This is our main training website. From there your readers should scroll down to the bottom to the section titled Featured Courses and select the Online Christian Filmmakers Academy. We are also giving you a $100 off coupon you can share with your readers.
This coupon code will give $100 off the regular price of $299. Please note that the coupon code is only valid through November 30th, 2016.
The code is: FALLCREW16
Here is a little background about who we are and why we started the Online Filmmakers Academy.
We are a home school family of four, three boys and one girl. Around 2002, our oldest son, Zack, became interested in film making. I had previously attended college to study radio and TV broadcasting so I have also been interested in TV and film making for a long time. We began studying Christian film making, attending trade shows and training conferences, and buying equipment. In 2004 we produced our first production, a children’s educational DVD titled, The Pastor’s House. In 2005 we attended our first San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival and Academy (SAICFF) and were blown away by the number of like-minded aspiring Christian filmmakers there were.
We went to a lot of training programs but all of them had one thing in common. They were for large groups, students watched from their seats and never got any hands-on training. We would go home after the training sessions and try to duplicate what the instructors had showed us but we could never get it right. We were frustrated because there was no one to ask for help.
So in 2006 we asked one of the instructors from SAICFF if he would teach us one-on-one. He said he had had similar requests from a couple other families and he was thinking of how he could meet with all three families. We had just bought a retreat center in Western Colorado so we offered to host what became the very first Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp in February 2007. As far as we know this camp was the first of its kind small group (12 or less), hands-on Christian filmmaker training offered anywhere. We began offering camps to the Christian community the summer of 2007 and have been doing so every year since.
In 2012 we decided to offer our camp students some online training so we could better use their time at camp for actual filmmaking instead of classroom lecture time. And thus the Online Christian Filmmakers Academy was born. It remained closed to just our film camp students until 2015 when we opened it up to the general public .
My son, Zack, and I have a passion for teaching aspiring Christian filmmakers how to use the visual media for the glory of God. You can learn more about our background and experience, our feature film In His Steps, and past camps at either the academy site www.
The training site is continually being updated and improved. We are going through all current lessons, redoing some and adding some new lessons and bonus material. We are also in the process of adding quizzes so, over the next few weeks you will see them appearing at the end of each module.
His glory,
Ken Lawrence
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