This summer holiday, young filmmakers at Sparks Film School have been creating their own action-packed, time twisting movie productions!
This summer, hundreds of young filmmakers have been busy taking part in movie making summer camps with Sparks Film School. They’ve been learning new filmmaking skills, working as the film crews on their own films sets and producing their own short movie masterpieces.
Take a look, as we visit the filmmakers on set to see the movie making magic the young filmmakers got up to this summer…
Filmmaking Summer Camps 2025: Camps for Ages 5-14
Every year, Sparks Film School hosts movie making summer camps for young filmmakers aged between 5 and 18.
Each year has its own unique theme to inspire the filmmakers taking part and to open up pathways into different filmmaking techniques. This year, filmmakers taking part in the summer camps all explored Action Replay, a creative exploration of how time can be used a storytelling tool, and a dive into high impact action techniques! The young film crews produced their own unique, time-twisting action adventures as they explored techniques that bend time, slow it down, speed it up, and rewind the action!
Studio 1 (Ages 5-7)
In Studio 1, our summer camps for ages 5-7, our youngest filmmakers looked to 1933 film Duck Soup for inspiration for their film.
They experimented with the technique of mirroring and soon decided on creating a scene in which their characters are transported to a future where everything they do is copied like a mirror!
Studio 1 crew members also delved into creating their own montages, and how they can use them in their film to really entertain the audience in unique and interesting ways. After watching some examples from a montage sequence from Despicable Me 2, the crews quickly got to work creating their own montage to show something happening over a long time in a very short sequence.
The results were really great and added a layer of comedy which the filmmakers really enjoyed. There was some really great work across the summer in the Studio 1 groups!
Studio 2 & 3 (Ages 7-9, 9 -11)
This summer the crews in Studios 2 and 3 (for ages 7-9 and 9-11) got creative with the green screen. After learning how the green screen can be used to create a variety of special effects onscreen, filmmakers discussed how they might want to use the green screen to show their characters travelling back and forth in time.
The crews created some great scenes showing their characters spinning through time using backgrounds they had designed themselves.
Young filmmakers in Studio 2 and 3 also looked to classic cinema for inspiration. After watching a clip from The Magician, created all the way back in 1898, the crews experimented with the technique of the Stop Trick.
They created scenes in which characters appeared and disappeared by using the camera and some clever filmmaking. Well done on some great work this summer Studio 2 and 3!
Studio 4 (Ages 11-14)
In our Studio 4 camps, for filmmakers ages 11-14, the young filmmakers looked to the recent film An American Pickle for inspiration into the technique of where an actor is able to play two characters at once in film. They then quickly applied this to short sequences they created, using multiple takes and body doubles to create the effect.
The young filmmakers in Studio 4 also focused on shot composition and symmetry in cinema. After seeing how symmetry is used in films such as Isle Of Dogs, the crews got practical and developed short scenes with a focus on how they composed their shots and how symmetry affected the atmosphere of the scene.
Animation Summer Camps: Ages 7-11
This summer, young animators joined us for Sparks Film School’s Animation Camps.
Young animators delved into producing work with lots of different animation techniques and worked towards their own short animated sequence over the week. Young animators started their weeks by exploring fundamental principles of animation, including how to vary the speed of an object and how to mimic movement.
The animation crews also explored how to use different shot types in an animation project.
Young animators focused on creating animated characters that are from the future. After developing who their character is and what they are like, the animators got to creating what they looked like.
They used the idea of colour theory for costume, how different colours can help us understand who a character is and what they may be like. The groups designed some really interesting characters and created some visually striking backdrops for their scenes.
Based on the incredible collection of youth film productions made by the crews from throughout the summer, the Action Replay theme proved to be the perfect catalyst for unleashing our students’ creativity and showcasing their technical development.
The diversity of interpretations, from animated adventures that rewound through magical worlds to live-action thrillers exploring parallel timelines, demonstrated not just technical skill, but genuine storytelling innovation.
What strikes us most about these productions is how naturally our students combined their creative visions with professional filmmaking techniques. They didn’t just learn about cinematography, editing, and sound design, they successfully applied these tools to serve their stories. The confidence, collaboration, and pure joy evident in every frame reminds us why hands-on filmmaking education matters. These aren’t just summer projects, they’re the foundation stones of the next generation of storytellers. We couldn’t be prouder of what our young film crews accomplished this summer!
About Sparks Film School’s Holiday Camps
Sparks Film School offers filmmaking, animation and photography workshops for ages 5-18, including term time classes and holiday camps.
You can find out more about our filmmaking courses here >>>
