Real to Reel Filmschool

Recognized as just one of seven top youth arts organizations in the world by Adobe.

In 2015, computer software company Adobe searched worldwide for the top youth arts organizations to grant the Adobe Creative Catalyst Awards. RAW was one of just seven organizations in the world to receive this designation. As a Creative Catalyst, RAW was invited to apply for Adobe’s Innovation Grant. We developed a unique proposal around the theme of “HOME,” and were awarded a $225,000 grant to introduce new technology into our programming. The grant funded a series of productions and projects focused on telling uniquely American stories about immigration, home, and belonging. The Innovation Grant has been awarded to only three other organizations in the United States, and none on the East Coast.

Take One - 7th + 8th grades

A taste of what’s to come: 7th & 8th grade students will explore all aspects of film production and acquire an understanding of the process from pre-production, production and post-production. By dipping their toes early on, students will be able to recognize different facets of filmmaking that they can develop and deepen in their following years at the R2R program.

Rough Cuts - 9th grade

With an emphasis on camera work, photography, and a combination of traditional narrative and personal storytelling, Rough Cuts, builds off the skills built in Take One. Taking a deeper dive into the world of film, students will also look at the art of comedy through the screening and discussion of sketch comedies, feature narratives, and short films.

Point of View (POV) - 9th + 10th grades

Continuing the work started in Rough Cuts, the P.O.V. group is focused on personal storytelling. Students will explore the tradition of personal narrative through memoir writing, essays, and creative writing workshops. R2R also exposes P.O.V. students to the history of personal filmmaking. Additionally, we will explore the use of lighting, sound and typography for film and photography. Guest artists will be a featured part of this program.

Focus - 11th grade

Traditional documentary filmmaking is explored. If the P.O.V. group is about pointing the camera inward, Focus is about turning the lens towards the community and the world, with a strong professional edge. Additional areas of focus include electronic news-gathering (ENG) production, location shooting/sound recording, interview techniques, lighting and photography, and organizing a shoot. Documentary filmmakers are invited as guest speakers.

Direction - 12th grade

Youth filmmakers will explore how to create a music video collaboratively between their peers and will get their first experience in working with and communicating with a “client” (the artist whose music video they are shooting). The group also explores on-location production with a small budget to work within to bring the music video to life.

Click on a photo below to see what we've been up to. 

Through an aesthetic, emotional, and technical exploration of cinema, Real to Reel (R2R) students creatively engage in the art of visual storytelling. Our teens are able to validate their own stories and experiences through the creation of honest and often deeply personal films. From pre-production through post-production, our students learn the responsibilities of preparing, shooting, finishing, and exhibiting a film. They learn what it really means to say, "I'm a filmmaker." In the process of learning how to make films, our students gain a larger understanding of the role popular media plays in their lives and how it affects both their identity and their worldview.  

While some of our students pursue filmmaking after high school, that is not necessarily the goal. Real to Reel focuses on life-skill building that translates far beyond the film industry. Students from the program have continued on to many different career fields from engineering to photography to art therapy.