Personal Mentoring.

Sometimes opportunities are found in the threats. Born out of the realities of the Pandemic, we have developed a Personal Mentoring Program for Filmmakers and Songwriters. It is where the staff of the Prodigy Camp bring you their best knowledge and inspiration—one-to-one via virtual mentor sessions. This new offering has made much of what’s great about our camp programs accessible to a wider audience.

Each mentor relationship starts out with a personal interview by Dr. Rick Stevenson who has conducted more in-depth interviews with kids around the world than anyone in recorded history through the 5000 Days Project.  

After Rick has helped the student articulate their passion and set their summer goals, the mentorship continues each week for five weeks.  Sessions include additional mentors as needed in the student’s specific area of interest.

The relationship concludes with a final session covering personal growth, lessons learned and display of work.

Filmmaking—Depending upon the student’s specific area of interest, subject matter may include film production, acting, screenwriting, story structure, photography, videography, editing, digital and visual effects, documentary, art directing, composing, modeling, costuming, interviewing techniques, film festival distribution and social media. 

Songwriting—Depending upon the student’s specific area of interest, subject matter may include writing lyrics, writing hooks, song structure, performance, studio recording, promotion, marketing and distribution.

Personal mentoring is available at anytime throughout the year. We’ll work with you on a weekly meeting schedule.

Interested? Say hello@prodigycamp.org to sign up.

Storytelling Webinars & Activities.

Also born out of the Pandemic have been new Storytelling Webinars & Activities throughout the year. One of these events, called Hope and Cope, has been in partnership with The 5000 Days Project and the University of Washington’s suicide prevention institute (“Forefront”). Here, all Prodigy Campers get to participate in the webinar and are invited to use a web app to record your own personal time capsule about your experiences through these tumultuous times.

enough.

enough is a 13-minute cinematic experience capturing the awakening of a 10-year-old black boy as he evolves into an idealistic 16-year-old musical artist and eventually into a 20-year-old activist.  Making use of actual footage shot over ten years covering the creation of his first hit song Truce through to its 2020 counterpart, the story mirrors that of a generation of Americans waking up in the age of a social revolution. 

Under the rallying cry, “Maybe I’m not loud enough”, enough is both a prayer and a protest, portraying the pain of losing some of the altruism of Truce. The project is a grassroots effort by Nzanga’s fellow young artists at the Prodigy Camp on a mission to amplify Nzanga’s voice in the age of Black Lives Matter. Attracting numerous volunteers as well as Eminem director, Caleb Slain, and the gofundme backing of over 100 supporters, this young community pulled together to film this high level offering as an ultimate time stamp. 

Watch the film here!

Camp!

Our 2022 camp was a overwhelming success. 28 newly accepted students joined us in the beautiful Leavenworth, WA for an intensive week of learning, creation, and connection. Additionally, we hosted our annual “Production Camp” for alumni.

We’ll soon be sharing photos, films, music and more from this year’s program!