| THE PROGRAM One of the most successful summer programs in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the partnership between the Radio-TV major at Chicago Vocational Career Academy (CVCA) and Independent Feature Project-Chicago (IFP/Chicago). Starting in 2005, the two joined with the CPS Office of High School Programs Education-To-Careers department and Mayor Daley's Kidstart Jobs Program to offer a six-week long video production program. As part of the curriculum of the Radio-TV major, junior students must write 10 scripts including a comedy and drama short. Those scripts are sent to IFP/Chicgao and a panel of professionals select one script for the production. After students sign-up for the Kidstart program, the CVCA Radio-TV instructor selects 15 students from his program to work on the project. IFP/Chicago selects a producer to work with the students alongside the instructor and then pulls together industry professionals to help mentor the students in the first week of the program. As in any video project, the program is broken up into three phases - pre-production, productcion, post-production. During pre-production students learn about all the positions available on a video production and then selet positions they would like to perform. The script is read-through and lists are made for props, costumes, actors and locations. Professional actors are recruited and auditioned by the students and then rehearsals begin. Professional equipment is donated by Fletcher-Chicago and students practice using the equipment. Halfway through the six-week program, students, actors and equipment come together for five days of intensive videotaping. After the production phase, students begin editing the video, a documentary, a blooper 'reel', movie trailers and putting everything together on a DVD. Other students begin researching video and film festivals to enter and a marketing campaign is put together. There are many other parts of the process involved (sound, publicity and the such) but it all comes together at the beginning of August when the video is premiered at Columbia College-Chicago for cast, crew and family. The first video short produced by this partnership is called "Scream At Me" and it won numerous local and national awards. The second film was "The Last Stain" which, out of over 600 high schools, won one of seven national Awards of Excellence from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (often called a student 'Emmy'). You can purchase copies of thest two features by sending an e-mail to us. Our new feature, "Wake Me Up Later", will be available for purchase late August, 2007. THE MOVIE 'Wake Me Up Later' is from the mind of CVCA Radio-TV student Latrice Shears with development help from fellow student Terrell Davis and recent CVCA Radio-TV graduates (and national student 'Emmy' award winners) Lennell Davis Jr. and Tracey Preacely, who are working as interns with this year's program. It's the story of Andy, a typical high school student - hates getting up to go to school, likes a special girl, hasn't studied for his test, and can't seem to get a break. One day, everything just seems to go wrong for Andy - he drops his toothbrush in the toilet, he falls on his face while trying to meet a girl, his hat is stolen by an angry dog (or is that a ferret), and his test ends the minute it begins. Andy wants to know if this is real - or just a dream. And if it's a dream - when will he wake up? You'll have to find out when you see "Wake Me Up Later" - the latest production from the multi-nationally award winning Radio-TV students from Chicago Vocational Career Academy. |
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| THE MOVIE |