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The Golden Globes announced their history-making 2021 nominations on Wednesday, with three women in the running for the best director: Regina King, Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell. In the Globes’ 77-year history, only five women have ever been nominated in this category before. That’s great news for any parents out there who wonder if they might be raising a budding young filmmaker of any gender. This could be the perfect time to sign up for filmmaking classes kids can take from home.
American director King, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for acting in 2018’s If Beale Street Could Talk, is nominated for directing One Night in Miami. She is the second black woman to be celebrated in the category; Ava DuVernay was the first, nominated for directing Selma in 2014. Chinese director Zhao, nominated for Nomadland, has become the first woman of Asian descent to be up for the Golden Globes’ best director award. British director Fennel was nominated for her first feature film as director, Promising Young Woman, and may be familiar to viewers of The Crown for her role as Camilla Parker-Bowles. Nomadland and Promising Young Woman are also nominated for best film drama. As more women and people of color are being celebrated in this traditionally white cisgendered male profession, more and more of our kids can see themselves reflected in the industry and get excited about making their own movies.
Check out these filmmaking classes that can get kids started on their path to the director’s chair. Even if we don’t see their names in lights one day, they’ll have loads of fun trying it out.
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For the Tiniest Auteurs
This kit lets kids draw their own movie scripts and animations on paper rolls that can then be “played” on screen of the included wooden TV. Also included are five pre-made coloring story rolls, one blank paper roll and an instruction booklet. (Ages 4 and up.)
Make ‘LEGO Movie 3’?
Kids can bring their LEGO minifigures to life with this beginner-friendly guide to stop-motion animation. With step-by-step instruction, the kit will walk them through how to use a smartphone, tablet, or computer to make short, funny clips. Set the stage with any of the six included background settings and 36 LEGO elements. The guide also shares some tricks of the trade in more advanced skills, such as lighting, sound effects, and camera angles. (Ages 8 and up.)
Live Filmmaking 101
Outschool’s class Film School in Two Months is a six-session “crash course in filmmaking.” Students will go through every step of the filmmaking process, culminating in finishing their very own short film. (Ages 10 to 15).
Film School On Demand
Touted as “film school in an hour, this Udemy course teaches quick lessons on easy storyboarding, camera framing, transitions, and editing for impact. It’s good for tweens through adults.
Learn From a Master
In Ron Howard’s MasterClass, the Oscar-winning director of Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind offers lessons and on-set workshops in 31 videos. This is targeted at adults, but we see no reason older teens wouldn’t get it too. They’ll learn how to evaluate ideas, work with actors, block scenes, and bring their vision to the screen, whether it’s a laptop or an IMAX theater. MasterClass subscriptions are $180 annually and give access to its full catalog of 100+ courses, so the whole family can enjoy them.
Celebrate diversity with your kids with these beautiful children’s books by black authors.
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