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Students from William D’Abate Elementary School in Providence learn video production techniques at the Feinstein Providence Campus. |
Budding film makers captivated by Providence Campus program
Students from Classical High School and the William D’Abate Elementary School in Providence now view films from new perspectives—from behind a camera and in front of a computer with top-notch video-editing tools.
The ‘video kids’ are all participating in a hands-on program at URI’s Feinstein Providence Campus that explores the essentials of film and video production, including writing, filming, editing, and animation.
Dana Neugent, a media supervisor at URI, and his assistant, graduate student Michael Stevenson, began the program in response to a request from Classical High School film studies teacher, Sandra Lewis.
“Students spent two hours a week learning hands-on lessons that supported the theory being taught in the classroom. If Sandra was teaching about animation, I worked with the students with a camera and a computer and taught them how animations can be created,” said Neugent. “It was wonderful to see how excited these students were with each new step.”
Most of last year’s participating students are now studying film at colleges around the country. This year Neugent and Lewis began teaching the class as a full-year program.
“I found that as my students gain technical expertise, they become more engaged and look at films more critically,” said Lewis. “Beyond the film experience itself, this partnership with professionals at the Feinstein Providence Campus helps students make real-world connections and further engages them in the school atmosphere. This program is really filling a need.”
While they are not yet producing 10-minute films, several of the fourth and fifth grade students from the Olneyville area of Providence may have a bright future in film, says Saulius Sruogis, an artist and filmmaker who volunteers with the project that is run through the Olneyville Community Schools. Sruogis and Jodi Apicelli, a children’s specialist at the Olneyville Branch of the Providence Public Library, are working with Neugent and Stevenson to bring multimedia to life for this younger crew. They take the children to the Feinstein Providence Campus the last Saturday of every month to work in the lab.
“We’re definitely going to hear more from and about these children in the future,” Sruogis said. “We are taking this process one step at a time. Before we started, a lot of these students wouldn’t even think about going to college. But now they’ll consider and work towards that kind of goal.”
By Jhodi Redlich
