I recently finished the most challenging yet incredible summer. I had the opportunity to complete my work experience at Island Lake, an American summer camp for two months in the remote town of Starrucca, Pennsylvania. My experience there entailed, to put it bluntly, a lot of movie bingo, badly made mac & cheese, and the occasional thunderstorm. I want to use this blog to reflect back on my experiences and actions during camp and consider how they helped to form me into the person I am now (better, for the most part). I will use this to critically reflect on my experience in America employing the Boud Model of reflection (1985). I’ll discuss the impact of the work experience and how it relates to me personally as well as professional growth using Boud’s Model.  

“Going back through our experience of collaboration, drawing out what we considered to be significant, working with any feelings that had come out of it”

David Boud 2013, pg.73

The Big Move

 I started to consider placement options around April 2022 and began conceptualising placement options that could benefit me in my career. I took into consideration industry opportunities surrounding Northern Ireland that were directed towards students and also local filming projects looking for runners. But I came to the conclusion that I wanted to branch out and do something different from the traditional placement expected for a film student. Thankfully, I discovered that there were certain programmes available to students that wanted to do placements in America. Island Lake Camp accepted my CV and agreed to do an interview. I had to do a series of online interviews and assessments for my placement to be secured. Georgina Gregory (2008) describes the challenges of establishing a career in this industry along with the typical salary for inexperienced workers.

“Almost half the entrants to the film industry in 2000 reported that they had done unpaid work before getting their first job. The message is clear: you must be prepared to do unpaid work to get a foot in the door”.

Georgina Gregory. 2008, pg.114

Georgina Gregory (2008) describes the challenges of establishing a career in this industry. When I decided to do this placement, I was aware that I was only going to receive $1800, but the job that I was performing was demanding. This experience enabled me to push myself and appreciate the work I was doing despite the fact that the salary did not correspond to the number of hours I worked. 

When I arrived at camp it was such an overwhelming experience. From leaving the airport I instantly turned into camp mode. I was put into a cabin with 15 other people, 2 bathrooms and with a very springy bed. The next morning, I was introduced to the media department, where I would spend the majority of my time for the next two months. I quickly became familiar with the camera equipment, the sound systems and editing software. When the kids arrived, I was quickly thrown into a teaching environment. I was expected to do classes involving making films, creating scripts and photography. At first, I felt very underprepared and not qualified enough. I was beginning to doubt myself and my position at the camp. During the first week I began to reflect and recognise everyone in my department had the same experience as me and I slowly started to get the hand of it. I got to know others in my department more effectively, and we worked together and shared knowledge to get prepared for camp. For the first week when it came down to my approach to how I interacted with the kids, I implemented strategic adaptation in skill progression into my routine. I discovered a lot about who I am. I pushed myself to become more confident and learnt how to collaborate with new people. It was an invaluable experience that has prepared me to be comfortable in future projects. 

 Channeling my inner Tarantino 

 Every morning I woke up at 7am, headed to the media centre and got everything set up for the upcoming day. There were typically 10–20 students in each class time, so that, with breaks, there were about 6 classes every day. Though intense, I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, due to the location of the camp, we were continually plagued by frequent thunderstorms, which prevented us from leaving the media room, and the majority of class activities required us to be outside. This promoted me to think of indoor activities that the kids might like. I tried out multiple activities to see what the kids would enjoy, such as movie bingo, short skits, and messing with the green screen. This experience taught me a lot and helped to bring myself and the kids more connected together. In terms of the classes, I quickly grasped the dynamics of each and how to approach teaching.

For example, in the mornings, I would teach digital photography with a small group of kids who were new to photography and a little apprehensive. Every lesson, I would assign different activities to the kids and give them free rein. They particularly enjoyed having to incorporate a random object in their photographs and build a portfolio with it. At one time in camp, there was an event called colour war, in which the camp was divided in two and numerous competitions were held. I was in charge of coordinating the distribution of a camp music video. This involved my giving tasks to the kids while also ensuring that they had fun while we worked on it. We were given two days to come up with an idea, revise it, and present it. Andrew Spicer, Anthony McKenna, Christopher Meir (2014, Pg.11) comment on the importance of organising and importance of keeping in check of a project.

The Winning Grey Team Music Video

“The producer’s overall control extends beyond the confines of the actual process of production to encompass a film’s genesis through to its marketing and exhibition”

Andrew Spicer, Anthony McKenna, Christopher Meir, 2014, Pg.11

They stress the significance of a producer’s involvement is needed to ensure the completion of the film. I was prepared to take on the video’s distribution given that I had produced every one of my previous films, so even with the time restriction, I wanted to make sure there was still fun to be enjoyed. Of course, there were points when I felt frustrated by the children’s lack of focus or interest in the task at hand, but I also understood how to bring them back into the equation and get them involved again. When our film was shown to the entire camp and it was announced that it had won, I felt accomplished and relieved. I will never forget that feeling. 

Memorable Moments and Valuable Experiences 

 Upon the reflection of my time at camp, I realised that editing was a task I particularly enjoyed, especially when it came to the weekly videos. I experimented with several of the software the camp provided, such as Davinci, Final Cut Pro, and Avid Media Composer, but I discovered that Adobe Premiere Pro was my preferred one.  I considered this to be the most significant role I had at camp and helped me discover that I had a passion to become an editor. This helped me find the confidence to showcase my edits to my fellow peers around camp and gain feedback for my own improvement.

Find attached one of the videos I edited during Colour War

I quickly understood the dynamic in my department and began to recognise continuous behaviour patterns. I observed that the boys were assigned most of the “fun” jobs, such as using the drone to record, interviewing campers, or shooting footage for the weekly recaps, while the other girl in our department and I were frequently left to teach the primary classes. We raised the issue to the attention of our department head, and the situation was resolved. Another insightful experience I had was when we were assigned to film a camp event that was intended to be published on the camp’s social media accounts, but we lost the footage. Collectively, we came up with a solution to our problem and adapted to the new situation. We decided that we had to acknowledge our mistake and reshoot the entire thing. It was an instructive experience that allowed me to realise that things sometimes don’t work out. 

I reflect on the time and experiences I’ve had while working in the media department at camp with a melancholy feeling. Although the environment was constantly intense and chaotic, I’m grateful I had the opportunity to experience it. Observing how the children learned and enjoyed interacting with filmmaking was such a fulfilling experience. I had the privilege to experiment with different equipment, and I discovered that my time spent editing had an influence on my intention of working in the film industry. 

Bibliography

Boud, D., Keogh, R. and Walker, D. eds., 2013. Reflection: Turning experience into learning. Routledge, p.73

Gregory, G., et al. 2008, Careers in Media and Film: The Essential Guide, SAGE Publications, Limited, ProQuest Ebook Central, p.114. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qub/detail.action?docID=420885.

Spicer, A., McKenna, A.T., Meir, C. (eds.) 2014, Beyond the Bottom Line: The Producer in Film and Television Studies, Bloomsbury, London, p. 11.