On June 9, 2011, Apple invited parents who registered for notification about Apple Youth Camps to begin registering their kids for Movie Making camp. According to an Apple store associate, the open camp registration will start around 8 pm CST on June 9, 2011.
Overview of Apple Camps
An Apple Youth Camp takes place in Apple stores. The camps are free, and kids do not need to have an Apple computer at home to participate in the camp. Apple camps are so popular that kids can only register for one camp a year.
The 2011 Apple Camp theme is movie making for kids, and kids who are interested in making short movies for YouTube or to share with friends will get to learn a lot about the process of making home movies. The first day of the camp focuses on learning techniques, the second day involves software, and the third day is a day to show parents what campers have learned.
To register for camps, go to the Apple Youth Program site. You can sign up for an email alert for future camps, and when open registration for the 2011 camp begins a link to the camp will be active at the bottom of the page. The Movie Camp logo is a film camera against a constellation.
What Happens At the Apple Movie Making Camp?
According to the June 9, 2011 email "Apple Camp is Back with a Free Movie Making Workshop," kids will get instructional help learning to make storyboards, shoot videos, and creating soundtracks. The email says that kids will learn to use, "GarageBand [for the soundtrack] on an iPad, and put it all together in iMovie on a Mac." Kids will get to use Apple devices in the store, so if kids are used to PCs at home then they can learn the basics of using an Apple at camp.
Each day of the camp is 1.5 hours. The first day will focus on the storyboard side of the camera. There will also be a workshop for parents to learn about child security settings for Macs. The second day focuses on using iMovie and Garage Band. On the third day, there will be a camp film festival.
It is not necessary for parents to have any hardware or software, but when you register for the camp there is a paragraph that says it will be helpful if kids can bring their own video cameras. If kids cannot bring their own cameras, they will use cameras in the Apple store to film. If they have their own cameras, they can film outside of the Apple store in between camp sessions.
The camp is open for kids who are ages 8-12, and there are limited spots available. If your kids are into movie making, this would be a good camp to learn software. Remember that there is only one Apple camp per year per child, so if your kids are into computer but not into movies, you might want to wait for a different Apple camp to open.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
