15 Film Camps for High School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 10 hours ago
- 10 min read
If you are a high schooler looking for flexible opportunities to explore your interests, camps can be a great option to explore! Camps can help you dive deeper into your interests beyond schoolwork, gain exposure to college-level academics or extracurricular activities, and develop practical skills. You can also build valuable connections that can help you gain industry insights and career exploration opportunities.
If your interests lie in filmmaking, acting, cinematography, or film production, film camps can help you get started. Film camps can offer you strong exposure and experience in various aspects of filmmaking, often allowing you to build a portfolio for college applications and future career opportunities.
How are camps different from other programs in high school?
Camps and traditional programs both offer academic and extracurricular enrichment, but camps can offer unique experiences for a few reasons. Camps are typically shorter, more flexible experiences, with most lasting up to one or two weeks, while regular programs can last a month or longer. Programs also tend to offer structured classroom-like sessions, while camps involve more activities and project-based work.
In this blog, we have narrowed down 15 film camps for high school students. We have focused on options that offer rigorous training, exposure to professional film equipment, opportunities to network with industry professionals, and relevant project work.
If you are looking for film programs, check out our blog here.
Location: University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $1,250 (or $1,200 for SFFILM members); sliding scale and scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Starter Lab: July 14 – 25 | Advanced Lab: July 28 – August 8
Application deadline: Not specified; you can check the program page for updates.
Eligibility: Teens, ages 14 – 18; the Advanced Lab requires prior experience with filmmaking
SFFILM’s Youth Filmmakers Camp is designed for high school students with either beginner-level or advanced filmmaking experience, focusing on helping them build a diverse skillset for major roles in the film industry. You will learn how to create films, gaining exposure to storyboarding, screenwriting, cinematography, sound, production, and post-production. You will engage in group work, exploring the roles of director, cinematographer, sound, and grip. You will finish the camp with the screening of a short film, which you will develop from start to finish in collaboration with your group members. You will also hear from guest speakers, who may include Academy Award nominees, Pixar employees, and executives from production companies.
Location: Remote
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Application deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort
Dates: Several cohorts run throughout the year, in summer, fall, winter, and spring; sessions last 12 weeks to a year, depending on the program format.
Eligibility: High school students who demonstrate a high level of academic achievement
Lumiere’s Research Scholar Program is a virtual research program for high school students offering one-on-one mentorship to help you investigate a topic of your choice. You can indicate your preference for research within areas of filmmaking, film history, production, technology, or media studies. You will connect with a Ph.D.-level mentor to conduct a deep dive into the chosen field before developing and executing an independent research project. You will finish the program with an academic research paper that you can publish in student journals and use as a jumping-off point for ongoing research. You can find more details about the application here.
Location: Campuses in New York, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; or Burlington, VT + online camps available
Cost: Varies by program
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Varies
Dates: Multiple programs each summer, with options ranging from two to six weeks
Application deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Students, ages 14 – 18; the Advanced Filmmaking track requires experience in writing, directing, editing, and sound production.
The School of Creative and Performing Arts Summer Film Camp offers training for both beginning and experienced high school filmmakers, helping them develop key industry skills and build a portfolio. You will undergo training in cinematography, sound, and digital editing while engaging in technical activities. To build your writing skills, you will receive both one-on-one support and group workshop-based guidance on developing scripts. Instructors who have experience in working with agents and at film festivals lead the sessions. You will complete three short film projects under unique assignments, including working in the styles of Hitchcock, Kurosawa, or Kubrick. SOCAPA additionally hosts a master class each year, where you can spend a day training under leading industry professionals.
Location: Various locations, including Oxford, Cambridge, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto, and Boston
Cost: Varies; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Varies
Application deadline: Multiple summer cohorts with rolling admissions
Dates: Two weeks during the summer
Eligibility: Students, ages 13 – 18, currently enrolled in middle or high school
The Academic Insights Program provides school students with the opportunity to enroll in undergraduate-level classes at universities worldwide. You will work with academics from universities like Oxford, Harvard, and Cambridge, joining classes of 4–10 students. You will engage in university-style lectures and 1:1 weekly sessions with your tutor. The program offers practical experiences, such as dissections in medicine, robotic arm building in engineering, or moot courts for law. You can choose from over 20 subjects, including film, artificial intelligence, business management, computer science, economics, medicine, and philosophy. By the end of the program, you will complete a personal project and receive written feedback, as well as a certificate of completion. You can find more details about the application here.
Location: Sites in New York, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Cambridge, MA; Florence, Italy; Paris, France; or online
Cost: Varies by program
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Multiple one- to six-week camps offered over the summer
Application deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Students, ages 14 – 17
New York Film Academy’s Filmmaking Camps are designed to help you learn hands-on techniques for making a film from start to finish. You will explore the world of production, including aspects like pre-production planning, casting, and set design, as well as technical roles like sound mixing, boom mic operation, and post-production audio synchronization. Camps also focus on directing, lighting, and digital cinematography. Depending on the camp you choose, you will create one to three short films: a continuity film focused on camera work, a music/montage film focused on merging multiple recorded clips, and a dialogue film emphasizing sound design skills. Additionally, you will hear from industry experts about their paths into the film world, with past guest speakers including Steven Spielberg, Al Pacino, and Bryan Cranston.
Location: First Baptist Church, Austin, TX
Cost: $405 – $495
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not provided
Dates: Multiple week-long sessions from June 9 to July 25
Application deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Teens, ages 13 – 18; the Advanced Filmmaking track prefers applicants with prior filmmaking and/or video editing experience.
The Austin Film Festival Summer Camp is designed to offer teenagers training in filmmaking and narrative development. You will gain exposure to screenwriting, directing, cinematography, post-production editing, and sound design, which you will then use to craft a short film of your own. Based on your interests, you can opt for sessions focused on the genre of horror or comedy. You will hear from guest speakers, with past guest lists consisting of Tom Schulman (screenwriter of Dead Poets Society), Dave Reynolds (screenwriter of Finding Nemo), and Caroline Thompson (screenwriter of The Nightmare Before Christmas) in past years. You will showcase your work at the Summer Film Camp Showcase at the end of the camp. If you have some experience and want to go beyond the basics, you can choose the Advanced Filmmaking session.
Location: Providence High School (PHS), Burbank, CA
Cost: $1,400 for non-PHS students | $1,100 for PHS students
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 6 – 10 | July 13 – 17
Application deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students
Providence High School, in partnership with the All-American High School Film Festival, offers a week-long Film Camp designed to help high schoolers explore the filmmaking process. You will start off with sessions covering the pre-production process, emphasizing storyboarding, narrative structure, and script development. You will explore the nuances in the writing process, including pacing and both linear and nonlinear story development. You will also gain exposure to cinematography, camera work, lighting, and post-production editing. You will then apply these skills to develop short films with your peers while trying on roles in directing, shooting, and editing. You will also attend an IMAX Panel Discussion to learn about the production process and the underlying technology behind IMAX films.
Location: Anderson University, Anderson, IN
Cost: $550 ($650 for registrations after April 18)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not selective
Dates: June 2 – 7
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students, ages 14 – 18
The Anderson University Filmmakers Camp allows high school students to learn from film professors and industry professionals on campus. You will attend classes in screenwriting, camera operation, post-production editing, sound recording and mixing, and film distribution. The program also offers insights into career opportunities in filmmaking subfields. You will get to use Anderson’s advanced filmmaking equipment to develop and produce short films. If you have already developed short films of your own, you can bring a copy to camp and showcase it at an evening screening.
Location: GFA campuses in Norcross and Fayetteville, GA
Cost: $500 – $625
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not provided
Dates: Multiple three- and five-day camps offered in June and July
Application deadline: Not specified; you can check the site for updates.
Eligibility: Students entering grades 9–12 who are under the age of 18
GFA hosts summer camps for high school students in the fields of screenwriting, film production, and post-production, allowing you to specialize in your preferred area. In the Screenwriting for Short Films Camp, you will study narrative structure, character development, and dialogue through writing exercises and group workshopping, finishing with a final short film screenplay that you can produce in the future. In the Film Production Camp, you will explore the skills used by pre-production, lighting, grip, and sound editing professionals while working on sets used by Georgia Film Academy students. In the Post-Production Camp, you will study video and sound editing using Adobe Premiere or DaVinci Resolve software. Each camp offers access to guidance on planning for a career in film and/or TV.
Location: Nashville Film Institute, Nashville, TN
Cost: $365
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 24 students/session
Dates: Four one-week sessions offered from July 6 – 31
Application deadline: Not specified; first-come, first-served enrollment
Eligibility: High school students
At the Nashville Film Institute Summer Film Camp, you can explore careers in the film industry while creating your own films in a collaborative group setting. You will participate in daily workshops to learn and apply skills in screenwriting, directing, shooting, lighting, and casting, developing a short film in the process. You will learn about career paths and the daily operations of directors, cinematographers, in-house media producers, and post-production supervisors. You will finish the camp with a screening of your final film, to which you can invite friends and family.
Location: Coral Gables Art Cinema, Coral Gables, FL
Cost: $800
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 25 students
Dates: June 15 – July 24
Application deadline: Rolling admissions ending June 8
Eligibility: Students, ages 13 – 18
The Florida Film Institute Summer Film Camp is a six-week program that offers training in filmmaking with a focus on commercial movie development. Within a small-group setting, you will study topics like script preparation, cinematography, lighting, sound editing, music, and acting. You will work under the instruction of professionals in the South Florida film industry who have experience in pre- and post-production, casting, and music. You will develop both a music video and two short films over the course of the camp, for which you and your peers will write, act, direct, and edit
Location: Motion Picture Institute, Troy, MI
Cost: $749
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 20 students
Dates: July 13 – 17
Application deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school age students in grades 9 – 12
The Motion Picture Institute Summer High School Film Camp offers high school students the opportunity to build key filmmaking skills under the instruction of professional cinematographers, producers, and production managers. You will gain experience in camera work, directing, and pre- and post-production work in audio, lighting, and sound design. You will also gain insights into on-set etiquette. Over the course of the camp, you will write, direct, film, and edit a short film with peers, which will be screened in a local movie theater at the end of the camp.
Location: Penn State University, University Park, PA
Cost: Not specified on the official page; estimated to be $1,500 ($1,700 after April 30)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 5 – 10
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students
Penn State’s Film Production Camp offers high school students the opportunity to dive into filmmaking techniques through a project-driven curriculum. You will gain experience in aspects like shot grammar, story construction, camera work, shot composition, lighting, and scripting, while exploring careers across writing, directing, cinematography, and editing. You will gain hands-on exposure to lighting, sound design, green screen usage, and editing software in the university’s film shooting space under the instruction of Penn State faculty and visiting industry professionals. Over the course of the week-long camp, you will write, film, edit, and screen three different short films. You can also explore other camps available under the program, including the visual storytelling.
Location: Interlochen Center for the Arts, Interlochen, MI
Cost: $7,265
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 28 – July 18 | July 19 – August 9
Application deadline: January 15
Eligibility: Students in grades 9 –12; applicants must have a strong background in film as applications require a portfolio of work samples (e.g., photo stills, short films, screenplays, etc.)
Interlochen’s Filmmaking Camp is a hands-on opportunity for high schoolers interested in filmmaking to learn from industry leaders and build their portfolio. You will study under the guidance of professional filmmakers and refine skills in various aspects, from writing scripts to film editing, while engaging in workshops on production, screenwriting, post-production/editing, tech skills, and film history. You will work on sound editing and refining other technical skills in professional-level editing suites housed within Interlochen’s DeRoy Center for Film Studies. Your main project will be creating an original movie from start to finish, culminating in an official screening at a cinema-quality 2K HD projection space. You will also connect with directors and filmmakers, with former guests including Peter Gould, a co-producer of Breaking Bad, and Janet Leahy, a co-producer and writer for Mad Men.
Location: ASU California Center Grand, Los Angeles, CA
Cost: $800 | $400 for students accepted to, but not yet attending, ASU’s Poitier Film School
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 16 – 20
Application deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High schoolers and prospective college students
Hosted by the Sidney Poitier New American Film School at Arizona State University, the Summer Film Camp offers students a look at the college life of film students and the opportunity to learning filmmaking skills from writing to post-production. You will study under faculty members, attending workshops on one to two subtopics each day. Topics typically include applied writing, storytelling, hands-on camera work, producing, and directing. You will additionally build technical skills in post-production, virtual production, and sound editing at camp.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program in which students work one-on-one with a mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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