R-MA Adds Filmmaking to Summer Class Offerings
This course will be taught by Mr. Dan Marcus, who has taught R-MA’s geometry class in previous summers. Now in his 37th year of teaching, Marcus has established and maintained a student-led broadcast and film production program within the Lewis Palmer School District 38. This program received national acclaim, and one of his students’ video is archived in the American Folklore Center at the Library of Congress. In addition, Marcus has taught numerous summer film camps in Colorado.
Marcus presently teaches at Aspen Academy, a K-8 private school in Greenwood Village, Colorado. There, two of his film students won 1st place in the 2013 “My Hero International Film Festival” that was recently featured on the NBC Today Show.
Marcus seeks to help students understand filmmaking as a tool to communicate a message. During the course, they will learn the proper operation and maintenance of the equipment (camcorders, microphones, etc.) as well as the basics of non-linear video editing. Basic filmmaking principles (rule of thirds, headroom, establishing shots, camera angles and techniques, storyboarding, scriptwriting, and screenplay development) will be taught. As the students conceptualize storylines, dialogues, casting, and budgeting, they will experience everything from development to post-production. This is an amazing opportunity for students to not only learn the art of filmmaking, but also to develop media literacy and the understanding of the messages in the media.
This course is just one of the many elective courses Randolph-Macon is offering this summer for day and boarding students. The others include Public Speaking, Personal Finance, Creative Writing, SAT Prep, and Study Skills. Each course is a half-day for four weeks and earns the students one half of a high school credit, although students are encouraged to confirm with their schools that the credits will be accepted. Core classes for new and repeat classes are also available. Applications are now being accepted for the summer programs, which run from June 29th through July 25th. For more information, visit www.rma.edu/summer or call 540-636-5200.