Starting a film club in high school is a step-by-step process. This is how it started for us and my son. It’s hard to find your place in high school. You are struggling with so much between tests, classes, sports, hobbies, interests, friends, the pressures all around you. This is the story of how my son created a film club in high school.
My Oldest son is a Junior in high school, was never really interested in sports. All through elementary and high school has done S.T.E.M. related things like First Lego League and Future Problem Solving. These are both clubs and Competitions in which he has always excelled in. They are both absolutely fantastic for teaching your children, teamwork, exploration, writing, presentation, unique problem solving skills etc. I would highly recommend both of these for your children. My kids got so much value out of both of these.
Create a film club – follow your passions
But my oldest sons passion is stop motion animation. He wanted so much to make his movie and just get started, but how? He needs to finish high school. Is a part of the Cambridge A.I.C.E. program at his school which is college level. Is a part of Future Problem Solving which is a club at his school. Needs to start looking at colleges, Take his SAT, apply to colleges. So many high level stresses, but what he wants to do (Film) is being put on hold.
To be honest, junior year has been a struggle for him. Keeping up with all of that and having to wait on his dreams was really bringing him down. Until one day I got an idea, a light bulb went off in my head! I was so excited to discuss this with him.
“What if… you started a film club at school?”
You write the movie, get kids to join, fundraise and have the school essentially produce your film. Because that is how a film is actually made. Other people produce your idea.
He was very much into this idea. We looked up how to start a club in high school and found some really good ideas. Ways to go about it, but we needed to find out exactly what the requirements for his school were.
My son wrote a proposal for the club. In which he stated what the club was going to accomplish. One of the main reasons he wanted to do this is because he will be applying to film schools. So, he needs to work on his portfolio. Essentially all the kids involved could add to their portfolios to apply to different types of art schools.
making a full length feature stop motion animation could help so many students in his high school.
To start a film club you need :
- Artists
- photographers
- digital media students to make posters, ads and fliers to help promote the movie/club
- finance kids to manage the fundraising and budget
- carpentry students to help build sets
- theater kids to do voice acting
The list goes on, all will be welcome. More hands make light work!
At the end of the year, premier the movie in an actual movie theater!
Getting excited about the prospect of a Film Club!
My son took all of these ideas and ran with it. He took it upon himself to write a proposal for the club. He then sent it to all of the guidance counselors, deans, principle and vice principles.
The principle herself got back to him stating that this film club idea was extremely intriguing. He needed a club sponsor (teacher) and at least five students. His friends joined his club. They got a sponsor who was known for letting the students do and learn for themselves. Lets just say, that changed when he saw what these students were working on. Keeping the sponsor interested in club meetings because they were creating, passionate and excited. Doing voice auditions, and needed a fundraising plan, but all that is besides the point.
Below are examples of the proposal my son wrote to start his film club. You can utilize his tactics to draw up a similar plan to get you club started!
When creating a film club first things first –
You need a name for the club What are you going to call it?
Example : Film Making Club
Second –
You want to be brief but informative. These are the questions my son stated and answered in his film club proposal. These are questions pertaining to creating a film club. They could also be used as a guide for creating other types of clubs.
- What makes this different from the art club that already exists here at
- How will this club build up the portfolios of participating students?
- How often will the club meet?
- Will this club be exclusively for this project or will others be available?
- If this movie is to be made this year, then what about time for writing it?
- Parties Currently Interested In Joining The Roster:
- What is this proposed movie that you speak of?
- What kind of digital equipment will this club need?
- What kind of physical equipment will this club need?
- What is the estimated age rating of the film?
- How will the school make back its investment in this club?
- How will voice actors be cast for the film?
- How long will the film be once completed?
- How long will the film spend in production?
- How does producing a film help to bolster any and all art students’ portfolios?
- My Personal Recommendations:
Example Film Club Proposal
What makes this different from the art club that already exists here at
Example : “This film club aims to aid students who wish to work in fields that are not simply drawing, painting and sculpture. To build bridges between different artforms. In the ways that they exist in a professional, collaborative environment. Rather than the pre-existing art club. Which has a much more narrow target demographic of artists who can actually participate in activities.”
How will this club build up the portfolios of participating students?
Example : “For this first year, the film club is going to create a feature length stop-motion/traditional animation movie. Movies, as is widely known, require the use of many, many different artists, for various tasks. From illustrations of concepts to musicians, writers, to photographers, videographers, (voice) actors, sculptors, carpenters, audio specialists, and so many more. The filmmaking process allows for nearly anyone to build up their portfolios and learn the tools of their trade. For example: sculptors will build experience making things at a smaller, more detailed scale. And show that they can work with a team. Meanwhile, they are free to take photos of themselves working on it to add to their portfolio.“
How often will the club meet?
Example : “the film club will meet 3-5 days per week depending on the scheduled workload and where in the process we are. These meetings will last approximately 2 hours. Each month, the first Tuesday meeting will be to build and send out our portfolios as we fill them up. This will help students with their college admissions process. To better foster the arts and balance out the school’s support of the student body.
Will this club be exclusively for this project or will others be available?
Example : The film club will only work on one overarching project at a time per calendar school-year, within said project will be many sub-projects which will contribute to the accomplishment of the project. This year’s project will be the movie. This project allows for many different skillsets/disciplines, but all have a part to play that builds their skills for a project in the industry and/or film school. Each year, the project type may or may not change, as the club may choose to continue with the one from the previous year.
If this movie is to be made this year, then what about time for writing it?
Example : “I have been writing a movie on my own for the last 6 months and am nearly finished with the first third of the script. With the assistance of cowriter(s) and given time to work on this endeavour, it could be finished by, or soon after Thanksgiving. If we were to move forward with this project, however, I wish to maintain all copyrights to my characters and to the script itself, still allowing the school distribution rights and the like to the finished product, of course.“
Parties Currently Interested In Joining The Roster:
Here you would list out the names of friends or anyone else at the school interested in joining a club like this. This way you are letting them know that the school is in need of this type of club being made available.
What is this proposed movie that you speak of?
Here you would give a synopsis of your movie if you have created one. I do not want to give away my son’s complete project before it is even made though. It still in the works!
What kind of digital equipment will this club need?
Here is the time to showcase your expertise and researching abilities. provide multiple options along with pricing. Show them you know what you are talking about.
Example : Stop Motion Pro
“This is a stop motion film, and there are several programs that could be used for the actual animation. Firstly, there is Stop Motion Studio Pro. A program available for Mac and Windows which allows for in-house audio mixing, lip syncing, green screen, etc. Along with the use of a camera that isn’t part of the device. One license costs $9.99. I am familiar with all of its features so, it would allow me to teach the program quickly and efficiently.
Example : Cloud Stop Motion
Another program that can be used is Cloud Stop Motion, a cloud based program which runs from a web browser. It allows for audio mixing, the use of green screen and the ability to use a camera not a part of the device. This program charges by the month for use by a school, with a single account with the specifications of the project selected costing roughly $109, and providing half of the features of Stop Motion Studio.
Example : Dragon Frame
Finally, there is Dragon Frame, which is the industry standard tool for this line of work. Has been used to make full theatrical movies in the past. The program offers any and all features that one could possibly require, with the drawbacks of being extremely expensive, with a single copy costing over $295 to download, and not just any camera is compatible with it. I am not familiar with this program whatsoever and have no experience with it. So I will need to learn the program as well. However, as the industry standard it is an extremely useful tool and the difference between it and any other program will be that of day and night.”
What kind of physical equipment will this club need?
Example : “Depending on the program chosen, the type of cameras used will matter, but regardless of program they will either need to be small or have a very good zoom lens. Any camera used must shoot at least HD quality (1080p).
Camera’s
If Dragon Frame is selected, the only cameras that I know work with it are Logitech C920’s, however, they are expensive and utilize an autofocus feature that requires software to be purchased to turn it off.
If any other program be chosen, another option would be the Stop Motion Explosion Webcam, which I use personally, and has a manual focus ring.
Space
Another need is space, as the set and characters are fragile, and cannot just be picked up and moved about without disrupting the film. Additionally, the area in which the film is shot must be a controlled environment, in which there are no external light sources disrupting the lighting environment.
There must be several lights accessible inside this area, of which we have full control whilst we are shooting in order to set the mood of the scene.
Armatures
We also require armatures, which are essentially just skeletons for the actual characters to be built on top of. This gives them the ability to be poseable and articulate, whilst also being able to stand up on their own. These can be either made out of strung together wire or ball and socket joints, both have pros and cons, but are generally similar in output. With these we will need clay and paint to sculpt and color the characters, along with doll clothing and cloth, obviously to clothe said characters.
Sound
Microphones will need to be used to record voices and sound effects when needed, however their expense should be noted to be minimal.
Finally, and this is just a hope, at the end of the year, we’d like a physical DVD, digital copy, or flash drives of the film for each member of the club to keep, and one as an archive for the school. These will make the files easier for us to access once we are out for summer and/or building our portfolios, in addition to being very cool to have our very own feature film on DVD.“
What is the estimated age rating of the film?
Example : “I estimate that the film will be rated somewhere between PG and PG-13. Whilst I recognize that this is a high rating for a school related project, art is nothing if not controversial, and the majority of students willing to watch such a film would likely be willing to watch the High school Theatre Company’s plays, most of which involve mature subject matter such as suicide(Up The Down Staircase), murder (Night Of The Living Dead), sexual content, suggestive themes(Grease), romance(Grease), abuse (Up The Down Staircase), racism(The Great Gatsby), sexism, etc. It should be expected that this club would be shown equal tolerance in our artform, especially considering our plans for the finished product.”
How will the school make back its investment in this club?
Example : “Ideally we would premiere the film in the Pirate theatre, as it is a large area with many seats, a large projector screen and is owned by the school. The school’s ownership of the venue would also allow for larger profit margins, as we would not be required to pay for each and every night. However, the speakers are very quiet, and the screen is far too small for most people to want to see this, which would result in a lower opinion of the show by audience. The use of another projector and a much larger screen in combination with louder speakers would be needed to make this the ideal location to show the movie. My estimations of the cheapest ways of accomplishing the club’s goals place the film’s budget at roughly $3,500.
Funds Provide :
This provides money for armatures, sets, software and lights, along with a camera with some wiggle room for if mistakes are made or for expenses thus far unforseen. If tickets for the film were to be sold at $10 each, then each member of the club bringing their families along would bring an average of $40 back (members have free admission).
Additionally the current roster bringing along friends would boost this further, and so would the attendance of other members of the student body and faculty. The school theatre has 480 seats, so filling up 300 seats would result in $3000 in proceeds back to the school for initial startup costs. Which can in addition to ticket sales be supplemented in other ways, such as selling popcorn and sodas at and during the event.
In addition to ticket sales, throughout the year, the club’s members will be canvassing local businesses to secure funding in return for advertisement before the film like an actual movie theater does and a thank you in the credits of the film. A propositional price guide for these advertisements can be found below:
| Picture/Logo | Picture/Logo + Audio | Video Advertisement (Provided by Business) | |
| Price | $125 | $175 | $250 |
These businesses will be thanked in the credits in addition to their ad before the show, giving them the opportunity to advertise their wares to the student body, and for us to make back the money invested in this film. If each student secures 5 sponsor businesses, and 50% opted for a video advertisement, then the return on investment would be roughly $6,562. That, in combination with ticket and concession sales stands to make the school a large profit on top of returns. In total, the school stands to gain an estimated $7,000 in revenue from this venture.”
How will voice actors be cast for the film?
Example: “Similar to the way that the Theatre program casts students, a script will be printed out and issued to all interested students at not just club members. They will then perform lines for their chosen character, the group will then vote on who gave the best performance, and send out an announcement the following week. From there Voice Actors (VA’s) will be required to record their lines during club meetings until they are finished, and from there can either stop attending or join the club properly as the film enters production. These voice actors will be fully credited in the film’s credits. As of now it is unknown as to where these auditions will take place, however an area with high foot traffic would be most favorable for such an event.”
How long will the film be once completed?
Example : “The film is currently projected or slated to have a run time of 60-65 minutes. This makes 50 minutes of actual movie with 10-15 minutes of credits at the end. To clarify, the credits do count towards the runtime of all films made, not just the meat of the movie itself.”
How long will the film spend in production?
Example “The current schedule calls for writing to be completed by the end of November. Casting will be conducted at the beginning of November and voice acting being recorded in late November into early December. From here the film will begin shooting in January at a rate of 3 minutes per week. Shooting at this speed will spread out over the course of 13 weeks, ending in March. Once filming is complete the editing process will take approximately 2-3 weeks. Once finalized, the film can be shown in the chosen venue during April of 2025.”
How does producing a film help to bolster any and all art students’ portfolios?
Example : “A movie such as this one requires the work of the school’s large variety of talented craftsman. Concept art will need to be drawn, the script will need to be finished and finalized, props will need to be designed, sculpted and painted, backgrounds and sets will need to built, characters will need to be designed and molded into being, and voice actors will need to act, although this is a short list, it does illustrate the large variety of work involved. Each and every type of artist has a role to play in this one project, in addition to teaching skills, they will need to learn to make their art in conjunction with a team. These are valuable skills for any artist looking to break into the industry to have.
Additionally :
Already having helped to make an entire feature length animated film while still in high school is quite the accomplishment. Thusly, art schools will be more impressed with a student who has helped to accomplish this goal than with one who simply has skill with little to nothing to prove it.”
My Personal Recommendations:
Here again is a place to show your expertise in the area. what you know and how you feel about the equipment you’ve come to realize.
Example : “Having been an animator for the last 4 years, and having animated nearly each and every one of those 1,460 days, I personally believe that the program Stop Motion Studio is the best choice for a program. Due to scheduling, the group may choose to animate multiple scenes at once, and the ability to do so cheaply is only present in this program, as it costs $9.99 per copy. It is compatible with nearly every type of camera that takes digital photographs. This, in combination with the ability to have sound effects linked within the still malleable film allows for syncing to be done while filming. This saves time because it eliminates the need to shoot and reshoot scenes over and over.
Time Saving :
The ability to draw directly on top of the frames and apply filters cuts down on editing time later, as special effects will be a part of the shooting process. Lastly, my experience with the program will allow me to quickly and effectively teach the program to other students in the club.
For cameras, I would personally prefer to use the Stop Motion Explosion camera, I know that this camera is highly versatile, durable and works with any and all programs other than Dragon Frame. This is a pair of tools which I am intimately familiar with as I have used them for the majority of my animation career. The only real downside of this camera is that it takes in colors in a strange way, making them pop less, but the film will be shot in black and white, so this is not as bad a thing as it sounds. As for armatures, I believe basic wire puppets should suffice, and colored clay can be sourced from places such as Micheal’s, along with the felt for the character’s clothes.”
Currently my son and his club are behind schedule because of the politics beyond his control. Everything needs approval. Posters to recruit new members, fundraisers, they needed to open a bank account,
All of this just takes some time and patience, but as it stands now he has 2000.00 in funds so far to help kick start his movie. He is building a legacy that in the future will be something totally awesome for this school.
I can’t wait to see the end result and to see where life takes this boy!
Good luck to you and your endeavors.
I hope this material helps to kick start a club in your high school!
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