High school students get paid to learn how to make movies with non-profit studio in Boston
CHARLESTOWN - Boys and girls from around Boston got an education in filmmaking this summer at Charlestown High School.
Fresh Films is a non-profit movie studio on a mission to build a diverse group of future movie artists and storytellers.
"I think it's important in general for students to learn skills," said Fresh Films' Kelli Feigley. "And if they're interested in something to have access to learn it."
Over five weeks, the students from high schools around Boston worked on the entire process from pre-production to shooting and editing.
"What kind of shots are we going to do," Feigley said of the lessons. "Who are our characters? What's our creative concept going to be?"
Many of the students said they heard about the program from WBZ-TV's story earlier this year.
"My mom actually saw it on TV and said 'I know you like film,'" student Sarah Huff told WBZ. "So I was like yeah, Let's do it."
The teenagers also got paid, making more than $16 an hour for 100 hours of work.
"It was like a 10/10," student Essence Tucker told WBZ. "Because we definitely made so many connections with other people in the industry."
Many of the students said they would not have gotten this experience anywhere else.
"There aren't a lot of opportunities to explore more creative fields," said Becky Ngyen. "Especially if you don't attend an art school or liberal school."
And their career paths could now lead them in a new direction.
"I don't really know what I want to be in the future," Rudhly Dorcy told WBZ. "But I really like filming. And I really like creating stories. So, I thought this could be my step up. This could be my beginning."
Fresh Films takes some students on as interns after high school. There are also after school programs during the school year. You can apply for those, starting next month.
For more information, click here.