Do you have a creative child interested in the moving image? Does your child watch films or YouTube videos over and over again to understand the mechanics or plot? Then why not nurture their inner Sofia Coppola with The SLab Beijing’s Movie Making Summer Camp; a one-week immersive program scheduled from August 20th to the 24th (Monday through Friday)?

During this course, your child will learn to write screenplays, learn new and different film-making techniques, learn about pre-production and production, and also learn some useful technical terms. Finally, they will act, direct and film a short video work independently in teams, instilling a strong ethic based around teamwork.

During the course, students will be taught by Gianluca Infante, a CCTV award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer, as well as through surprise visits from producers and industry guest speakers. After the weekday instruction, students will have final films to play at a screening open to cast, crew, friends, and family during an upcoming weekend event, details to be announced.

The price for the one week program, which includes lunch and all materials needed, is RMB 2888. The program is designed for ages 7 and above. No experience required. Classes are in English with supplementary Chinese. Students can bring in their own devices like iPods, iPhones, or iPads for filming their mini projects.

Time and places are running out for this month’s program, so scan the QR code above or click here for more information, or to enroll your child in this fascinating program. Happy filmmaking!

Photos: Courtesy of The SLab

Do you have an upcoming family-friendly event that you want to be included in our listings? Maximize the reach of your event and promote it on beijingkids!

Let us know by leaving your message in the comments section below or by emailing us at webeditor@beijing-kids.com. Follow us on WeChat (ID: beijing-kids) or join our family events WeChat group by sending us your WeChat QR code. Please note that readers should confirm with each organizer if events are canceled or scheduled as planned. For more events that may not be included in this list, please check our Events page.

Kids Camp

Crossfit for Kids Camp, Jul 16-20
Kids 6+. Help your kids develop their abilities to control their body, balance, and hand-eye coordination, plus encourage good exercise patterns and strength with this Crossfit for Kids camp. Professional trainers work with participants 6-12 years old developing their skills in gymnastics and strength. RMB 2,000 (visit this page for more info). 3-5pm. Crossfit Long Haidian and Chaoyang. (Haidian: 139 1062 0622, Chaoyang: 156 1131 9791)

Movie Making Summer Camp, Jul 23-27
Kids 8+. The SLab and Green T. House team up for this fun summer movie making camp. Each week, students will learn different filmmaking techniques, write screenplays, act, direct and film a short film and work independently and in teams. The camp is suitable for kids 8+ and no prior experience is necessary. RMB 2,888 per week, lunch included. For more information, scan the QR code on the poster. 11am-4pm. The Slab

Summer Cooking Camp: Little Chefs, Jul 16-20, 23-27, Jul 30-Aug 3
Kids 7+. Pingo Space Summer Cooking Camp is the perfect cooking course for your children to participate in this vacation season. This one-week course can allow kids to learn the basics of cooking, with simple techniques and kid-friendly recipes for delicious sweet and savory dishes from five different continents! RMB 5,980 (visit this page to register). 9am-5pm. Cuccina. (WeChat ID: pingocs)

Mini Lacrosse for Kids, every Wed/Sat until Aug 18
Kids 4+. Mini Lacrosse will teach children the basic fundamental skills to improve hand-eye coordination, body usage, and team building. Lacrosse is a North American Ivy League and boarding school sport played all around the world. RMB 88 per session, RMB 888 for 12 sessions. 5-6pm. Beijing Chaoyang Golf Course near Tuanjiehu subway station. (Coach Mikey: rnikec)

More Events

Superfood Heroes at Tribe Organic, Jul 20
All ages. TRIBE Sanlitun turn 4 this July and they will throw a big party, themed “SuperFoodHeroes” to celebrate this milestone. Channel your inner superhero at the party and come dressed to impress as your personal superhero and take part in TRIBE’s festivities! If you don’t know how to dress up as a superhero, they will provide the props so you won’t feel too out of place! Free admission (visit this page for more info). Free flow of superhero snacks from 7-8pm. TRIBE Sanlitun, China View Plaza, Building 3, Level 1. (8587 1899)

Stretch & Splash Poolside Yoga, Jul 21
Adults. The Opposite House holds a free yoga session hosted by SpaceCycle and She’s Mercedes, a new lifestyle community for lady bosses who love to live well. Stretch out by the pool, take a dip, network, cool off and then grab a bite at Village Café. Contact The Opposite house at 6417 6688 or answers@theoppositehouse.com for more info, or visit this page to RSVP. 10-11am. The Opposite House.

Vegan Outreach Dinner at Moka Bros Shuangjing, Jul 22
Adults. Vegans of Beijing host their Vegan Outreach Dinner & Party in collaboration with Moka Bros in Shuangjing on July 22. Enjoy a delicious three-course meal and welcome cocktail followed by an all-evening happy hour complete with a live DJ! RMB 115 (buy tickets here). 7.30pm. Moka Bros Shuangjing.

Learn Chinese for Free: A BECC Event at the Bookworm Sanlitun, every Mon until Jul 30
Adults. The Beijing Expat Chinese Club (BECC) is a community for expats in Beijing to learn Chinese, share different culture, and practice Chinese calligraphy. All levels of Chinese language learners are welcome and it is FREE! The session starts with a brief self-introduction for new members and continues with studying one Chinese character each time. Each participant is expected to share how he/she understands the character and how it is used in everyday life or at the workplace. Chinese writing brush is offered to practice calligraphy during the event. Free admission. 8-9pm. The Bookworm.

Vocal Coaching: The Foundations of Singing, every Tue until Jul 31
Adults. Classically trained opera singer Melanie Kristen will teach everything you need to know to improve your voice, including breathing techniques, warming up the voice, identifying vocal timbre, and understanding your body as an instrument. Join her at Flow Creative on Tuesday for her group Foundations of Singing class. RMB 180 per class (visit this page for more info). 8-10pm. Flow Creative Studio, 44 Guanghua Lu. (Above Caravan)

Photos: Yulianto Poitier via Pexels; courtesy of event organizers

All the great filmmakers started young. Steven Spielberg made his first movie at the age of just 10. Entitled The Last Train Wreck, it features the destruction of his model railway set. And Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson had a short film screened on television when he was only 16.

Now Beijing’s young moviemakers are following in their footsteps. We went to Beijing City International School (BCIS), to talk to students involved in their film club and in The Flux, the annual student film festival.

“The club is called Paper Cut,” Elena from Grade 10 told us. “We meet every Friday, and make videos for the school; so for example during the last Safety Week, we made a video for that.”

We asked whether students had preferred roles when it came to making films.

“No, it’s quite free!” she said. “Everyone can write a script if they have some ideas. If I have ideas while we’re writing scripts I share them with other people. When we are working together as a group, everyone has a job. It’s like a team, it’s more fun.”

Was writing dialogue a challenge, we wondered?

“Actually dialogue is easier than story,” she told us. “You can just write how you speak. The challenge is more about making everything connected. Sometimes you have a basic idea, but you don’t know how to connect the details together, how to make a character into a whole person, to make the story more attractive.”
And as other filmmakers have discovered, the biggest problems are the unexpected ones.

“The most difficult step is from planning to producing a movie. After we have the script we get the people we need, then when it’s all settled, when we go into production, we run into problems with time and cost.”
Elena’s enthusiasm for filmmaking comes from her passion for the art form, she told us.

“I think for me, I really love watching movies, and that brought an interest for me in making my own movies.”
We asked what sort of films she preferred: American or Chinese, contemporary or classic.

“I like American films,” she said. “And I watch a lot of classic films, like from 2000 or even older.”

(At this point the interviewer had to stifle a silent sob at the realization of how old he has become.)

Elena’s favorite director is Christopher Nolan, and though there are no female filmmakers who have inspired her directly, she also admires intelligent, strong-minded actresses like Natalie Portman.

“Personally I think it’s about characters,” she said. “You watch a movie and you learn about life, what it is to experience a different life.”

The same love for movies drives the committee of BCIS’s student-led film festival, Flux. All from Grade 10, we were introduced to Tiffany, Carrie, Victoria L, Shu Ting, and Victoria L (that’s not a typo; there are two Victoria L’s!).

“It’s a competition that celebrates filmmakers’ passion,” Victoria L said. “This year we have four categories: documentary, animation, PSA [public service announcement], and narrative. The theme is ‘relationships’.”

The competition is open to students at Beijing schools in Grade 6-12, and it’s the students themselves who run it.

“We’ve only taken over at the beginning of this year,” Li continued, “because the last leaders graduated. We have particular roles such as advertising, promoting, and organizing, but our roles change as we complete each stage. Right now we’re in preparation for the website, designing the poster, and finding the judges.”

“We all have the same passion for films,” Tiffany said. “We all want to be more skillful in our ability to organize events. And we want to encourage others to make films and tell their story.”

Shu Ting told us that the new committee had discussed ideas to keep improving the festival.

“Last year there were six or seven categories,” she said. “We decided to reduce it to four.”

The 2018 festival will take place on May 29. “There’ll be an award ceremony, as well as playing the winners’ films,” Tiffany said. “And a pizza party of some sort!”

“I think it’s a great platform where people are great at filmmaking get recognized by the community,” said Shu Ting.

We asked whether any of last year’s entrants had stood out. “There was one narrative promoting traditional snack food. It was really professional, the editing was really artistic.”

The film in question is Jianbing in Beijing, which won the documentary category. It’s the work of two students at the International School of Beijing (ISB). We asked Tony H. and Keith L. what drew them to filmmaking, and which directors inspired them.

“When I was younger,” Tony H. told us, “I was fascinated with photography and I really enjoyed taking pictures of nature. I think that through this interest, I first got into the realm of photography. After a while I realized that one picture wasn’t enough for me so I had to take 24 pictures a second, which by the way, is a movie. To find a favorite director is kind of hard for me, if I had to choose, I would go with Denis Villeneuve for now, but honestly, it keeps changing.”

“My situation is quite similar to that of Tony’s,” Keith said. “I used to like photography as well. When I was enrolling for courses for high school (and especially electives) there seemed to be more film-related courses available than photography…so I decided to try those film courses out. My favorite director is Stanley Kubrick because of how implicitly he conveys messages using film techniques.”

Tony explained that he looked to the world around him for his subjects.

“The idea for the Jianbing film came mostly from one of our friends, Jed. He recently moved to Beijing, and we decided that a good way to welcome him into the community would be to make a documentary about jianbing, so that he could learn more about the culture in the process and enjoy some nice authentic street food. For other films, my biggest inspirations come from real life, and either the situations it puts me in, or things that I see happen.”

But that can itself bring challenges, Keith said.

“I think the biggest challenge that we faced was convincing the jianbing ladies to work with us. As student filmmakers, it is hard to provide financial incentives for actors to star in our documentary. Eventually, with some help from our teacher, they were finally willing to work with us.”

“Yeah, I agree with what Keith said,” Tony added. “Definitely the talking and the coordinating was the hardest part of the jianbing film. Another big challenge would be just tackling how to get the shot. Often times it’s easier thought than done, and even with the right tools, some shots just take patience and lots of takes. We were once shooting another film, and stayed stuck in a bathroom for two hours trying to get a shot of a light just right, and in the end, I think once you have that shot, all the time spent is definitely worth it.”

Tony willingly acknowledged the support they received from ISB staff, and the wider school community.
“If it weren’t for the help from Mr. Rosevear, the drama teacher at our school who helped us with the narration, I think the video wouldn’t have had the same effect on audiences. Our friends were quite supportive of the production of the film, and a few members of our crew were really happy to help out.”

We asked them what they had learned from the process

“We learned the importance of time management,” Keith said. “We did not have a timeline of all the internal due dates that we should have met for this project, which put us in a big rush and in the end, but thankfully, Tony pulled an all-nighter to finish the sound and add finishing touches on the film.”

“Another big part of the learning was of the actual process of making a documentary,” Tony added. “At the time, Jianbing was our first documentary, and we had no idea how everything was going to work. We came up with our own workflow and planning process as we went along, and I think the lessons we learned from experience were much more valuable compared to spending a day in class.”

Then came their success at the Flux festival.

“We never intended to submit this film to any festivals,” Keith told us. “Our film teacher, Mr. Dawson, introduced the AAYFF, S2F2, Flux film festival, et cetera to us and thought it would be great for us to try it out. The moment when they announced the winners for best documentary, I actually was not paying attention to the livestream. Then, I heard ‘Jianbing’ and I was genuinely surprised and wasn’t expecting it. I felt pretty proud of our team and what we had accomplished.”

“Being at all of the ceremonies,” Tony said, “I get really nervous every time they announce the winners, because after all, you never know who it might be. When I found out it was us, I didn’t know what to think. I was nervous to be on stage, especially when I was at AAYFF, because lots of people were streaming the show and the audience was really big. I think that in the end I just felt really proud of us and what we managed to accomplish. It’s always a great experience going to film festivals in general as well, to either just meet people and learn something new from someone else, or to just enjoy the event itself.”

Jianbing was just the beginning for Tony.

“Since the documentary, he said, “I’ve already made a documentary and another couple short films other than documentaries that can be found on www.tonyhuangphotography.com. I’m currently finishing up a film that is in post-production at the moment, and we’re planning on making another short film very soon.
“I would definitely want to pursue a career in film,” he continued. “I think that my goal would be to just make a film that is really touching, and makes a big impact on people. Being able to change the way that people see things through a film is just really powerful, and I want to be able to do so.”

“I see film as an interest,” Keith said, “but I do not wish to further pursue film in the future. As of now, I’m still unsure of what I want to do in the future, but hopefully, time will tell. Who knows, maybe someday in the future I’ll be making films with Tony again!”

Whatever careers these young people go on to, it’s clear that right now film is providing them with a medium to exercise their creativity and push the boundaries of what they can do. As Mark Ellison, teacher at BCIS, puts it: “Filmmaking is about letting kids tell a story and express themselves safely and creatively. It is a powerful educational tool.”

Photos: the Beijinger, Uni You, Pixabay
This article appeared on p39-41 of beijingkids February 2018 issue.

Though it may take over 1,000 photos (or frames) to produce a single minute of footage, there’s something special about the painstaking process and artful technique that goes into stop motion animation. Maybe it’s just nostalgia, or the hours of Gumby we grew up watching. Regardless of the reasons behind our fascination with this antiquated medium, we are pleased to announce that Atelier will be hosting a three-day workshop from Apr 29 – May 1 (10am-4pm), to guide students in the process of making a short animation of their own.

This is a great chance for your budding little film director to learn the fundamentals of animation by watching examples, making a flip book with photographs, learning the essential elements of storytelling, sculpting colorful characters, and designing a set. Many of the techniques that will be covered can also be applied to other aspects of the filmmaking process.

The workshop was organized by Liu Yaonan, a graduate of Beijing Normal University, who studied art and film in France at the Fine Arts School of Avignon, and has since worked as a screenwriter for films and TV. Liu will be your guide into this wonderful world of stop motion animation, and before you know it you’ll be on your way to making a Nightmare Before Christmas or Fantastic Mr. Fox of your own.

Contact Atelier to sign up, but be aware that space is limited to six people (aged eight years and up), and the course will take place at their Sanlitun location. The price of the class is RMB 2,600, or RMB 2,200 for Atelier students. Check out their event listing here for details, or get over to their website to sign up today, and introduce your little ones to the magic of filmmaking with this great three-day workshop.

Photos: courtesy of Atelier, dailymotion.com