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Introduction to Filmmaking Lab B

Three students setting up a video camera in a studio.

PROGRAM

Summer Academy Camps

Age

14
17

Date

June 22, 2026
June 26, 2026

Program Status

open

Code

2177-002

Cost

530.00

NOTES

Category: Media and Communication
Option: Day/overnight

About this camp

Dive into a week-long exploration of filmmaking specially created for high school filmmakers. Master the fundamentals of cinematic storytelling through an exciting, hands-on, project-based filmmaking experience. Under professional guidance, you’ll learn exactly how to transform your simple idea into a cohesive motion picture using the tools and tricks of the trade.

You will develop a short visual concept, taking it all the way from script to screen. Every day, you will concentrate on a different crucial element of filmmaking, covering foundation-level necessities such as story basics, cinematography basics, editing, learning key crew positions, and understanding essential on-set workflow. You will need to collaborate with the rest of the crew in an authentic “on-set” experience that will build your confidence and inspire further exploration in filmmaking. You will culminate the week shooting, editing, and screening a completed two-minute scene. When you walk away, you will have the basic foundational knowledge of what it takes to create a short film, a valuable project for your portfolio, and a Bulldawg certificate of completion!

You will culminate the week shooting, editing, and screening a completed two-minute scene. When you walk away, you will have the basic foundational knowledge of what it takes to create a short film, a valuable project for your portfolio, and a Bulldawg certificate of completion!

Instructors

Lead Instructor: Connor Pannell
Connor Pannell is a director, writer, and cinematographer. He is currently an MFA Student in Film, Television, and Digital Media at The University of Georgia. In the past, his works have been featured by the Tribeca Film Festival, The Austin Film Festival, SeriesFest, Catalyst Film Festival, and many others. Pannell’s work has taken him across the globe from the USA to Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, creating feature films, short films, web series, and television.

Pannell has also served as Senior Producer for the Peabody Awards, one of the most respected institutions in American media, where he contributed to projects featuring The Last of Us, Shōgun, and The Bear, among many others. His artistic honors include support from the Willson Center Graduate Research Award and the Janelle Padgett Knight Graduate Award, the Center’s most selective honor, presented only in exceptional years to its top-ranked artist.

Co-Instructor: Chris Pendry
Chris Pendry is a multi-hyphenate artist whose work comprises screenwriting, directing, and stage acting.

Hailing from Kansas, Chris moved to Athens after being accepted into UGA’s MFA in Film, Television, and Digital Media program where he has since written and directed multiple short films that are currently in competition throughout the festival circuit.

He holds degrees in Film Production and Theatre Performance from the University of Kansas, and has trained as a playwright with the Powerhouse Theatre at Vassar College, where his plays Destroyed by Horses and Play Play were workshopped and performed. He has worked for the Kansas City Chiefs, Circus Flora, and the Florida Studio Theatre.

Chris’ acting credits include Legionnaire/Mike (U/S) in What the Constitution Means to Me at the Florida Studio Theatre, George in The Devils Between Us at the University of Kansas (world premiere), and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet at the Lawrence Arts Center.

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