LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An iPad as the video camera and a staircase as the backdrop, Juliette Pieroni was one Kentucky youth taking the stage at the Beargrass Media Camp. 

What You Need To Know

  • Beargrass Media Camp’s mission is to teach and inspire campers to make cinematic choices when producing films

  • June’s was the first of two one-week long sessions of the camp this summer

  • Beargrass Media also hosts media clubs at multiple JCPS elementary schools

The camp’s mission is to teach and inspire the campers to make cinematic choices and when producing films. Pieroni and her friend, Nina, worked together in the editing stage of their short film, “Phantom Friends.”

“I’m going to cut this because she said action. It’s good to have ‘action’ in the scene, because then you can cut it and you still have time to be ready,” Juliette explained. 

Hard at work, Juliette, a rising fifth grader at Bloom Elementary, sharpened her editing skills—just one skill she’s learned at the camp.

“It really shows our appreciation, it gives everybody a laugh,” she said. “It’s like showing a real movie, like showing someone something they want to see.”

Patrick Fitzgerald and Jon-Mark Sandquist lead the camp. They’ve been hosting the camp for about five summers. 

 

Their mission is to teach and inspire the campers to make cinematic choices and when producing films. 

“As they get to be good at editing, they’re taking control of the experience. They’re saying, ‘this is the important thing you need to see right now,’ whether it’s a closeup of a person, close of an object, or things that’s being described,” Fitzgerald said. 

Filmmaking and creation are effective outlets for budding creatives, Fitzgerald explained.

“For the creative people that see things, see the world that way, it’s great to get them involved to be producers,” he said. “Because if they are creative at heart, then they are never completely satisfied with what is being produced. They’re going to say, ’That was good, but I’m going to create my own story.’”

Juliette’s advice for other young aspiring filmmakers? You may have no idea when you first start out.

“I had no idea at first how to do this, when I made a movie with my friend,” she said. “You need to just keep working on it.”

The first of two one-week long sessions of the summer camp was held in early June, with the second slated for July 10–14. Beargrass Media also hosts media clubs at multiple JCPS elementary schools.

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