From the morning to the afternoon, Day 2 was action packed! To start the day off, campers split into their teams to prepare for a busy day of shooting. The theme for Day 2 was Rock Stars and the campers rocked at collecting footage for the day.

The Woozles were the first to head out for filming. The team interviewed Frances Fergusom, the Director of Development at the Virginia Museum of Transportation and filmed the numerous trains found at the museum, including a giant model train set.

At the museum the Woozles also got to climb into some trains to see what it might be like to operate or ride in a caboose.

The team wrapped the day up with creating a team logo and  the group game: Director Says. Tomorrow the team will continue and will begin to learn iMovie! Day 3 should be awesome!

Blue Ridge Stories 2011 started off with a bang today as all 12 campers arrived eager to learn. We all got accustomed to the new location at the Taubman Museum of Art and, after a few games, were quick to work.

Tiara led us in an in-depth discussion on what constitutes a documentary and we watched a few of the shorts from previous years as examples. All of the counselors pitched their documentary ideas: stories about Roanoke and the surrounding Blue Ridge area. The campers received ballots and voted on which group they wanted to be in.

After a short break for lunch at a nearby park, we returned to the Taubman to watch an example of how not to make a documentary. In the video, Rita Skeeter tried to solve a mystery at Hogwarts, followed by her awful film crew. We discussed the few things that did work in the video, and the many things that did not work.

We then announced the four groups and their projects for the week. Campers broke into their groups and learned about camera basics, composition, and sound from their counselors.

To end the day, we did a 45-minute scavenger hunt in downtown Roanoke. Each group had to find several local items, as well as practice the skills they had been taught earlier in the day.

Tomorrow we will resume the fun, as many groups will begin their interviews!

Today was the fist day of Blue Ridge Stories. Although the camp wasn’t new the location had changed as well as the people, but even so the day was a blast. The camp started with some fun games to help everyone get to know each other, and before we knew it friendships formed.

The campers learned or help to teach each other the basics of what is a documentary and watched examples of both good and bad documentaries, like the ones they would be filming.

We all enjoyed a nice lunch in the park and played some more out-door games. And then everyone got to fin out which groups they were working with for the week.

In our groups campers got to get hands on experience with the equipment they will be using in the upcoming week, and even got to do a scavenger hunt to show off their newly gathered skills.

With so many activities to do it was hard to believe the day had come to an end by 4pm. Everyone left looking excited about the films they would make this week.

We were pleased and thrilled this past July to receive a letter from U.S. Senator Mark Warner, complimenting the Blacksburg Stories Youth Video Workshop, and wanted to share it with all our readers. We hope you’ll be equally thrilled with our new pilot program and expansion to Roanoke this summer as Blue Ridge Stories!

Dear Blacksburg Stories fans and alums,

Tentative dates for the 2011 workshop are June 13-17, 20-23, with a screening on June 26. Registration information and confirmed dates will be posted as the summer approaches. Stay tuned!

Update: 2011 dates are June 13-17th with a screening on the 19th! Registration forms are now available on our website here! Thanks for your patience!