PROGRAM REGISTRATION: After you have your room assignment, go over to the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff and pick up your arrival packet which we'll review during our orientation session before dinner.

ORIENTATION: Begins before dinner. We'll have an overview of the program ahead and review the up-to-date schedule, responsibilities, safety guidelines, emergency procedures and any other administrative issues as well as answer your questions. Please be aware that local circumstances may require adjusting program elements. In the event of changes, we will notify you as quickly as possible. We appreciate your understanding.

Menus are contracted for the program and are designed to offer balanced, healthy meals for the participants.

Enjoy the remainder of the evening getting to know your fellow participants and discovering what you share beyond a love of lifelong learning.

Freshi Teachers meet with the group for the first time. The Freshi Teachers introduce themselves and briefly talk about what they do in the film industry. They introduce the Freshi Films Program and briefly discuss how Freshi is committed to teaching digital media to 'Kids of all Ages'.

CLASS & HANDS ON EXPERIENCE: The Freshi Teachers Introduce the First Project--The Instant Movie

For this project, teachers divide the large group into smaller film crews and pass out the Short Screenplays. These scripts are written with minimal dialogue so that no one has to worry about memorizing lines. Each group gets a different screenplay on which they work together and finish shooting by the end of the first day.

The Instant Movie is a great way to introduce a group of people to filmmaking, to give them an immediate hands on experience and to get them excited about making movies. Everyone gets to know each other and works together to quickly get the shots they need to tell the story without stopping to think too much about the mechanics of what they are doing--they just create! Then, starting first thing the next morning, everyone begins to learn the details of movie making, for example, why does a High Angle shot make everyone look small and weak, while a Low Angle shot makes someone look scary. Today is about fun!

The teams read through the scripts, cast the parts, and figure out the best location to shoot the film. The Freshi Teacher introduces the camera that will be used, and the teams start shooting if they have time before the morning break.

The film crews complete shooting their films. If there is time, all the footage will be downloaded so the crews can see what they shot (called watching the dailies) and pick the shots they want to use in the final edit.

The Freshi teacher might even be able to drop the footage into the timeline so the crew is able to see a rough edit of their work.

A professional stunt person will teach everyone basic stunt moves (punching, slapping, choking and reactions). The stunt professional has a lot of experience teaching all ages the safest way of doing all of the moves. Everyone will be able to do a short sequence of moves by the end of the seminar and understand the importance of safety in all aspects of filmmaking.

The Freshi Teachers introduce the simple 'beginning, middle and end' story structure. This is the structure that the group will use to create the stories of their films. The Freshi Teachers stipulate that the films should be 3 to 7 minutes in length.

Storyboarding is a way to create a visual version of a story. Teachers demonstrate how to create a storyboard.

HANDS ON EXPERIENCE: Film crews break into groups to create and Storyboard their stories. Once they have fiished the story they want to shoot, they will Pitch, or explain, the story to a Freshi Teacher. The teacher will determine if the story can be produced fully in the time available. If the story is too ambitious the Freshi teacher will work with the film crew to reshape it to make sure the movie can be finished. Once the story is set, it will be Greenlit, or given the go ahead, for production.

Crews will need to discuss costumes and props at this time. They will have time to create costumes from their own clothes.

The Freshi teacher will pass out film term sheets that have definitions of all of the Camera Angles they will be using and some other fun film terms. They will explain and demonstrate each of the terms, including all of the camera angles the film crews will have to record on the Scavenger Hunt.

Each crew will receive a camera and a Scavenger Hunt shot list. They will head outside to capture all of the shots on the list. This gives everyone a chance to get used to shooting with the camera and learning the different camera angles to use when they are shooting their film project.

Once the crews have captured all the shots on the Scavenger Hunt list, they bring their cameras back to the Freshi teacher who teaches them how to download and view the footage. They go over every shot to make sure they got them all.

The crews review their storyboards and check to make sure they have all of the props and costumes they need. They will decide what locations they need to shoot their films.

Principal Photography, or the actually recording of the footage, begins. Freshi teachers monitor different crews to assist with any technical issues and to make sure the crews are following their story boards and shooting efficiently. Film crews download and view their dailies.

Step back into a legendary time on a guided walk of Sony Pictures Studios. Located on one of the world's most famous studio lots, our 2-hour guided walk gives you a rare glimpse of old Hollywood's glory days and an insider's view of a state-of-the-art motion picture studio.

A film industry Makeup Professional will discuss and demonstrate makeup and special effects techniques.

Freshi teachers monitor different crews to assist with any technical issues and to make sure the crews are following their story boards and shooting efficiently. Film crews download their film to computers for editing.

Principal Photography Finishes. Editing continues. Some crew members create Music, using a DM2 Music Mixer or Garage Band or other license-free music for the sound track. Other crew members work on the Titles and Credits for the film. Bonus features, i.e., interviews with the crew members who talk about their experience, may be created for the films as well as a Blooper Reel.

All of the films created during the week are screened. After each film is screened, the film crew of that film is given the opportunity to answer questions or talk about their film.

HOTEL CHECK OUT: This concludes the program. We hope you have enjoyed our Filmmaking Intergenerational program and will join us for other rewarding programs in the future. Best wishes for all your journeys.