American Film Institute Launches "Screen Nation" An Online Video Posting and Sharing Community for Middle and High School Students and Teachers
 

What is SCREEN NATION?

 http://screennation.afi.com

AFI ScreenNation™ is an online video posting-and-sharing community from the AFI Screen Education Center, targeted at middle- and high-school students. http:screennation.afi.com

Young people aged 13-18 produce and post their own videos, made in the classroom, in clubs and after-school programs, and beyond. Links for these videos will be posted all over the web, including social network pages, blogs, websites, emails and instant messages. AFI ScreenNation™ users can browse and view, forward, rate and tag and post comments. 

AFI ScreenNation™ will showcase work produced by students in classrooms utilizing the AFI Screen Education filmmaking process, proven to help kids master core curriculum subjects, excel in 21st Century skills, and learn how to learn. In addition, the site launched with videos posted by students involved with a host of featured partner programs, organizations, schools, districts and festivals --- a veritable portal for video as a tool for learning and personal expression.

AFI ScreenNation™ is an exciting place where young people can share their filmmaking endeavors and receive recognition for their efforts. AFI will create online events, contests, challenges and showcases, complete with prizes and awards.

AFI ScreenNation™ will:

- Build an online community of empowered 7–12th grade student filmmakers who give voice to their creativity while sharing ideas and feedback.

- Provide a focused online portal for millions of students using video in creative and educational ways, as well as thousands of schools, and other organizations which support these activities.

- Inspire and support students with instruction, challenges and tips from top movie professionals;

- Provide avenues of recognition for quality work;

- Become the definitive site for young people who create movies in the classroom and beyond;

- Provide educators with a safer online video posting and sharing site that integrates well with the increasing use of video in the classroom and related educational endeavors;

- Provide a tasteful, exciting media site for a select group of sponsors who wish to support the increased use of quality production by young people.


AFI ScreenNation™ Site Features:

- Video Challenges, where young people compete for rewards and recognition by making the best short films on a defined topic or using a specific technique.

- Celebrity spokespersons and involvement throughout the site.

- Annual AFI Open Lens Awards, a student filmmaking competition integrated into AFI’s world-class film festivals.

- LEARN video tips, posted throughout the site and the web

- AFI’s comprehensive e-course Lights, Camera, Education!

- Tiered-levels of “deeper” content on each discipline

- Informative Blogs for filmmakers and teachers, covering tips & tricks, filmmaking in education, and news of AFI Screen Education opportunities

Three features differentiate this site:

AFI ScreenNation™ Challenges. AFI will issue regular calls to young people to produce a short film on a defined topic such as a school subject or a social issue. These young filmmakers will compete for national recognition and prizes, while mastering both content and filmmaking techniques. Many of the challenges will feature celebrities recruited by AFI. The challenges will be issued as short videos, which will be posted across the web, helping to bring greater numbers of young people to ScreenNation.

AFI ScreenNation™ Learn. Users will have access to a host of tools from AFI, home of the prestigious AFI Conservatory for professional filmmakers. Resources will include “LIGHTS, CAMERA, EDUCATION!”, a comprehensive online course hosted by actor-director Sean Astin, and “LEARN” a series of light-hearted and bite-sized video production tips designed to help the YouTube generation improve their filmmaking skills, improve the quality of their challenge videos, and master the “language of the screen.” These videos will also be widely released throughout the video web as a service and a viral marketing tool.