Programs Offered

In-Person Camps in Summer 2023:

The Odyssey Program at Cleveland State University’s School of Film & Media Arts offers a variety of immersive summer camps for high school students (aged 13-18) interested in filmmaking. Through interactive workshops, film screenings, focused activities, and visits from special guest speakers, Odyssey participants learn storytelling, screenwriting, acting, directing, cinematography, editing and much more as they create their own original films in a fun and collaborative environment. 

During the in-person summer camps, students see behind the scenes and learn how the film industry actually works through special guest lectures and site visits to real-world media environments. Outside of class, residential students get a preview of college life by staying in Cleveland State University dorms and experiencing Cleveland’s robust cultural offerings through scheduled trips and activities.

With access to the film school’s professional soundstages, Mac editing labs, and vast inventory of film production equipment, expert instructors aided by CSU film student camp counselors help students hone their skills while finding their creative community and making friends during these activity-packed experiences.

All meals are provided for residential students, and breakfast and lunch is provided for day camp students.

The summer includes:

• Three-week camp (Residential – June 11-30, Day Camp – June 12-30)

Followed by three one-week intensive camps that focus on:

• Acting and directing (Residential – July 9-16, Day Camp – July 10-14)
• Postproduction (Residential – July 16-23, Day Camp – July 17-21)
• Screenwriting (Residential – July 23-30, Day Camp – July 24-28)

Day campers attend sessions Monday-Friday from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.

• 9:00 – 10:00 am: Camper drop-off and breakfast
• 10:00 am – 1:00 pm: Morning Workshop
• 1:00 – 2:00 pm: Lunch
• 2:00 – 5:00 pm: Afternoon Workshop (Pickup at 5:00 pm)

Contact: 216-687-5087 or odyssey@csuohio.edu

Residential: $4500 (June 11-June 30, 2023)
Day Camp: $3600 (June 12-June 30, 2023)

Live, eat, sleep, dream, and create films with the students and faculty of the School of Film & Media Arts at this immersive summer film camp for students aged 13-18. Through interactive workshops, lectures, film screenings, and focused activities, students learn storytelling, film literacy, screenwriting, acting for the camera, directing, shot composition, cinematography, lighting, editing, and much more as they create their own original films in a fun and collaborative environment. Visits from special guests provide insight into a career in the film industry, and students gain exposure to Cleveland’s robust cultural offerings through trips and outings.

Level One and Level Two Experiences: After learning filmmaking fundamentals in their first year, returning campers participate in intensive, camp counselor-led workshops focused on building their skills and tackling more complex projects. 

With access to the film school’s professional soundstages, Mac editing labs, and vast inventory of film production equipment, expert instructors aided by CSU film student camp counselors help students hone their skills while finding their creative community and making friends during this activity-packed experience.

All meals are provided for residential students, and breakfast and lunch are provided for day camp students. In addition to staying in the dorms and getting a feel for CSU campus life, residential students will enjoy a full slate of activities and trips during the evening and weekend hours.

Classes and workshops include:

• Film Analysis: Watch films we like: comedies, dramas, action, indies, and streamers (PG content) in their entirety, then we go back and look at specific scenes and shots to see how they affect us as an audience and think about how they were constructed (lighting, color, graphics, editing, performance, directing, camera movement and lens choice) to give us the feeling it conveys.
• Match That Frame!: Participate in exercises to learn lighting, grip, and camera. We project a shot from a movie we have seen in film analysis and build it in our studios – using professional lighting instruments, grip equipment (c-stands, flags, silks, and nets), cameras and lenses to recreate the look of the original.
• Settiquette: Learn how to behave on set, set safety, crew positions, and how to call and slate shots – get ready for the next time the Russo brothers call you up for help on their set!
• Crafting Characters: Create believable characters, whether they’re walking on the moon or chatting in your bedroom – figure out what makes us all tick – and how to make your characters people we care about!
• Building a Scene: Learn to craft scenes with believable characters in attainable settings with goals and obstacles and a change that moves the story forward!
• Screenwriting 101: The nuts and bolts of formatting a script and getting your stories on the page using professional screenwriting software!
• Sounds Good!: Learn how to capture clean audio from your actors and tweak it in post. Learn how to build environmental sounds that brings your film to life. Now add that musical theme to cue the audience’s emotions.
• The Cutting Room Floor: Learn or hone your editing skills, building scenes, creating energy and pace, or slowing to let the audience absorb the emotion. We’ll learn the software that lets us tell stories with impact.
• Act Up! An introduction to screen performance techniques – essential for actors, directors, editors, and cinematographers. You’ll learn to be rather than act on the set – and to trust your transparency rather than indicating how you feel.
• The Art of it All: Decorating sets, choosing wardrobe, dressing hair, makeup – even effects makeup.
• Direct to Film: Now cast those characters, put them in scenes and wardrobe, apply makeup, lighting, and blocking – you call the shots – and you edit them too!  Complete your film for the BIG SCREENING at the end of the program. Stick around, see all your new friends in the credit roll, and celebrate your accomplishment!

This program is made possible by a generous gift from Lee and Ageleke Zapis.

Residential: $1500 (July 9 – July 16, 2023) 
Day Camp: $1200 (July 10 – July 14, 2023)

Nail your next audition and learn to work with actors as a director! Presented by the Cleveland State University School of Film & Media Arts, this one-week intensive day and residential summer camp focuses on the crafts of acting and directing for students aged 13-18.

During the week, acting track students focus on performance techniques for in front of the camera through a series of interactive workshops, while directing track students concentrate on programming designed to develop directing skills. After learning core concepts, students will collaborate on scene studies that will be staged for the camera and filmed using professional film production equipment. Film screenings and special guest lectures add depth to the intensive curriculum.

At the conclusion of the program, students will be provided with a copy of their filmed scene study for their portfolios.

Workshops for Acting Track:

• Improv Games: Through games and exercises, students develop the ability to react spontaneously and unlock truth, intensity, and joy in their performances.
• Crafting Characters: Create believable characters, whether they’re walking on the moon or chatting in your bedroom – figure out what makes us all tick – and how to make your characters people we care about!
• Monologues: Without a scene partner to rely on for inspiration, monologues can be the most challenging acting skill to master. Learn how to unlock meaning in a monologue and prepare it for an audition.

Workshops for Directing Track:

• Approaching a Scene: The first step is choosing a scene that will effectively show off your skills as a director as well as the skills of the actors. Once chosen, students learn how to closely read the material in order to define the objectives of the characters, understand the arc, and make choices to heighten the drama or comedy of a scene.
• Casting: Now that you’ve seen everyone audition, it’s time to decide who you want to cast! Get your team together and deliberate who you think is best suited for the role.
• Staging a Scene: Learn how to block a scene for the camera and shoot for coverage with effective staging that looks great in wide, medium, and close-up shots.

Combined Workshops:

• Auditioning on Both Sides of the Table: As a director, learn how to give notes and suggestions to actors so you can fully see their potential. As actors learn to receive these notes and suggestions, you can show the director the performance they’re looking for!
• The Art of Rehearsals: Break out and work with your actors in a collaborative setting! Go over blocking, camera placement, and the direction you want the actors to take in their performance. For actors, this is the time to ask questions about their character and work with the director to create a fully three-dimensional character. Rehearsals are the time to experiment and find out where the scene should go. Directors can set deadlines for their actors, like when to be off-book and what they should bring to future rehearsals.
• Shooting Day: The big day! Come in fully prepared and on top of your game. Everyone will be looking at you, the director, to call the shots throughout the shoot.

All meals are provided for residential students, and breakfast and lunch are provided for day camp students. In addition to staying in the dorms and getting a feel for CSU campus life, residential students will enjoy a full slate of activities and trips during the evening and weekend hours.

This program is made possible by a generous gift from Lee and Ageleke Zapis.

Residential: $1500 (July 16-July 23, 2023)
Day Camp: $1200 (July 17-July 21, 2023)

Everyone has a story to tell – learn the skills to tell your story for the big screen with this new one-week intensive day and residential summer camp for students aged 13-18, presented by the Cleveland State University School of Film & Media Arts.

With full access to the film school’s Mac labs, students will learn how to use industry-standard screenwriting software as they participate in a variety of interactive workshops designed to spark creativity and develop storytelling skills. Along with illustrative film screenings and special guest lectures from seasoned professionals, students will also learn about the different forms of screenwriting, including:

• Writing the Short Script
• Writing the Feature Length Screenplay
• Writing for TV
• Working in a Writer’s Room
• Adapting Source Material for TV and Film

After a week of thought-provoking creative activities and skill-building writing exercises, students will have completed a short script that will be performed at a final table read on the last day of the program.

All meals are provided for residential students, and breakfast and lunch are provided for day camp students. In addition to staying in the dorms and getting a feel for CSU campus life, residential students will enjoy a full slate of activities and trips during the evening and weekend hours.

This program is made possible by a generous gift from Lee and Ageleke Zapis.

Residential: $1500 (July 23-July 30, 2023)
Day Camp: $1200 (July 24-July 28, 2023)

Learn how to mix creativity with technology and fix it in post with this new one-week intensive day and residential summer camp for students aged 13-18, presented by the Cleveland State University School of Film & Media Arts.

With full access to the film school’s Mac editing labs and using Adobe Premiere and AVID, students learn how editing techniques deliver and enhance narrative with activity-filled workshops on a variety of topics, including:

• Organizing for Editors: As the projects become bigger and more complex, it is necessary to find an organizing system that works for you to create a more streamlined process. Naming your files, organizing your bins, and keeping a clean timeline are all important parts of the editing process!
• The Rough Cut: This is the stage where the film starts to resemble the final product. Assemble your footage in order, making note of everything you need to add to create the final film!
• Editing for Story and Character: Learn how to sequence your shots to best tell your story and highlight your characters.
• ADR: If the sound wasn’t captured well enough on set, then Automated Dialog Replacement (ADR) can help you fix that! This can also be used for narration and other creative purposes.
• Color Correction vs. Color Grading: Learn the difference between the two and how each process can enhance the final product of your film!
• Sound Mixing: Laying all the audio tracks on top of each other and making sure everything sounds good. This is the make-or-break stage in postproduction!
• Foley: Crack! Bam! Boom! Enhance the audio quality of your film by creating your own sound effects with this workshop on foley artist techniques.

Along with illustrative film screenings and special guest lectures from industry professionals, students complete several individual projects as they work to hone their postproductions skills.

All meals are provided for residential students, and breakfast and lunch are provided for day camp students. In addition to staying in the dorms and getting a feel for CSU campus life, residential students will enjoy a full slate of activities and trips during the evening and weekend hours.

This program is made possible by a generous gift from Lee and Ageleke Zapis.