High School Students Dive Into Filmmaking at Georgia Tech in New 'Cinemagination' Summer Camp

If you were around the D.M. Smith Building in late June, you might have seen groups of eager high school students filming scenes with dramatic, comedic, and suspenseful flair. 

They were participating in the Cinemagination Film Camp with award-winning documentary filmmaker John Thornton. The camp is the first to be offered through a collaboration between the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and Georgia Tech’s popular Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing, which connects Georgia Tech faculty with K-12 students.  

“The Cinemagination camp showcases everything the School of Literature, Media, and Communication offers in filmmaking and film practices,” said Thornton, who is the director of film and media production and teaches filmmaking courses in LMC. “It’s a great outreach tool. I enjoyed it and hope we can offer it again next year.” 

Thornton is one of the reasons LMC shines in the filmmaking education space. He has created films, award-winning documentaries, and TV shows with studios such as Walt Disney Pictures, ABC Family, and HGTV. Most recently, Thornton directed the documentary Navigating Autism in Communities of Color, produced by Jennifer Singh in the School of History and Sociology at Georgia Tech. 

“John is an amazing teacher and so supportive of the students,” said Michelle Powell, whose daughter Helena took part in the camp. “Helena came home every day animated about what she’d learned and experienced.” 

Thornton says he wanted students to experience as many aspects of filmmaking as possible during the weeklong camp, from preproduction, scriptwriting, and lighting to editing and postproduction. 

Throughout the week, students worked in small groups to film short scenes using the same script. Thornton asked each group to interpret the scene in a different genre, such as comedy, drama, or suspense. Later, they created a 60-second commercial spot, managing the entire process from start to finish.  

“I wanted them to feel at ease using professional tools, but I also showed them how they can make films using the tech they have at home,” said Thornton. “I didn’t want them to feel like they couldn’t create something without the very best equipment.” 

On the day the camp wrapped, Thornton sent students home with a professional film slate. 

“The film slate is a keepsake they can hang on the wall — a reminder to keep making films, keep creating.”