HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUTUBE/CREATOR CAMP

This guide is here to prepare you for what to expect at our 1-Week YouTube/Creators Summer Camp, get you excited for this amazing experience, and tell you what you need to complete before camp starts. Use the table of contents to jump around, but be sure to take your time and familiarize yourself with how the week will work.

At its core, the camp is a crash course in becoming an online content creator, delivered through lessons, guest speakers, exercises, and the production of one or more videos. Campers will arrive on the first day of camp, learn about the variety of options creators have for sharing their creativity online, and pitch/develop the videos they want to make.

The remainder of the week will be spent writing, planning, producing, editing, and distributing the videos we make, while also developing plans for how each camper can continue to grow their channels even after camp ends.

So, it is important that campers arrive at camp on the first day with a basic idea of how they want to spend their week and the type of content they would like to produce. One week isn’t a great deal of time to bring something like this to life, so having a clear vision for what they want to do will help us shape our time together and the resources needed to make their videos a reality!

Campers and parents can always email our Founder, Dan Gvozden, at dan@thebacklotmd.com if they have any questions prior to the start of camp.

TABLE OF CONTENTS


- MEET YOUR COUNSELORS

- DAILY SCHEDULE

- WHAT TO PREPARE

MEET YOUR COUNSELOR

Dan Gvozden

Founder of The Backlot & Counselor

(he/him) With over fifteen years of experience teaching filmmaking, photography, and creative writing at prestigious private high schools and universities, Dan’s passion for teaching his students to use the filmic arts to express their voices, regardless of budget, resources, or ability, led him to found The Backlot - Film School and Studio.

With a Film & Television Production BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, a Cinema and Media Studies MA from UCLA, a decade of published work as a film critic, a podcast that has been running for fifteen years, and a lifetime of film productions, in addition to his years as a teacher, Dan is excited to give our campers an experience they’ll never forget!

DAILY SCHEDULE

Every day runs from 10 AM to 4 PM. If you require before- or after-care for your camper, please email us at contact@thebacklotmd.com to arrange supervision (more details below).

JULY 13th (Monday) - DEVELOPMENT

  • Welcome

  • LESSON: Types of Online Content

  • Pitching Our Ideas

  • Developing Our Episodes

  • Research

  • LESSON: Reviewing Our Equipment

JULY 14th (Tuesday) - PRE-PRODUCTION

  • LESSON: Screenwriting

  • Writing Our Scripts

  • LESSON: Cameras and Visuals

  • Designing Our Visuals

  • Planning Our Shoots

JULY 15th (Wednesday) - PRODUCTION

  • Shooting Our Videos

JULY 16th (Thursday) - POST-PRODUCTION

  • LESSON: Editing in Premiere

  • Editing Our Videos

JULY 17th (Friday) - DISTRIBUTION

  • Finishing Our Edits

  • Creating Our Channels

  • Publishing Our Content

  • Planning Next Steps and Content Strategies

WHAT TO PREPARE

Before the first day of camp, there are a number of things that each camper should be prepared for, which we will outline below:

  1. Familiarize yourself with the details on this website, including the daily schedule.

  2. If you are interested in before or after-care, extending camp hours from 10 AM - 4 PM to 8 AM - 6 PM for $20/hr, please email contact@thebacklotmd.com and indicate which days and times you would like to sign up for by Friday, June 19th.

  3. For all days, campers should bring their own clearly labeled, bagged lunches that do not require refrigeration. Campers will not be allowed to order food using services like Uber Eats.

  4. If there are any particular food, health, or safety concerns for each camper, please email us all the details at contact@thebacklotmd.com, and we will respond with a confirmation to best ensure your camper’s comfort during their camp days.

  5. Campers should arrive appropriately dressed to camp each day, as if attending school. On our shoot day, Wednesday, campers should arrive wearing pants/shorts and closed-toed shoes, as well as the outfit they might be using for their on-camera role. We will be working on a production set, and appropriate attire is important. Some clothing, such as sandals or loose-fitting attire, could provide a potential hazard to campers.