CEDAR FALLS - More and more of today's 12-year-olds want to use their YouTube film-making skills when they grow up.

"The pinnacle job used to be doctor or lawyer; now it's game designer or media mogul," said Richard Vanderwall, a middle school teacher at Price Lab School.

Enter Camp Multimedia, a summer camp for high school students interested in digital media. In June, students spent a few days on the University of Northern Iowa's campus learning digital video editing, Adobe Photoshop and Web design programs such as Flash and Dreamweaver. Students learned from professors and professionals in the field.

According to a Feb. 3 New York Times article, the trend toward more meaningful summer camps is increasing - from SAT prep courses to community service in Thailand. This camp, said Vanderwall, focuses on filling a need.

"A need for workers who are in the field of digital media is huge, especially right here in the Cedar Valley."

He said although area high schools may offer some computer and business application programs, students who are truly interested in the field are clamoring for more.

"There is a sixth-grade girl with a real fire in her belly to edit movies, " he said. The girl already has produced a six-minute video for the school's Character Counts program.

That type of student was typical of Camp Multimedia's attendees, who can earn college credit for their work, said Bettina Fabos, assistant professor of communication studies at UNI.

"They're all very talented already; the learning curve will come up fast," she said. "We just want it to be as rigorous and intense as possible."

Vanderwall and Fabos said the camp also is aimed at serving women and minorities, who may feel the field is closed to them.

"Other camps focus on the skateboarder guy who wants to be the next Steven Spielberg, we're trying to reach out to all sorts of people," Fabos said.

The students learned how to animate their Flash creations. It was one of 10th-grader Mason Walsh's favorite parts.

"It's really a smooth program, and it's amazing what you can do with these things," said Walsh, who attends Price Lab School and had become interested in the Flash animations he saw on the Internet, but lacked the funds to purchase expensive programs.

"I'd been trying to find a way I could use those (programs), and this seemed like the best choice," he said. "We're here for nine hours a day and it just flies by because we're never bored. "

Sara Gabriele, a ninth-grader at Holmes Junior High School, says she has an interest in film and photography. She enjoys learning how different programs can be used with each other and likes how the camp is set up like a college class.

"A lot of programs will be useful in high school, so I thought it would be good to work with them," she said.

Students also got a two-in-one chance to tour local multimedia companies. Workers at Phantom EFX, a company that designs casino computer games, had to relocate their offices to Mudd Advertising due to flooding. When students arrived for their Mudd tour, they were invited to check out both companies.

"The tour to Mudd and Phantom EFX was especially profound for them, because they could see people in the industry actually working with the same programs they've been learning," Fabos said. "Everything in the camp became suddenly tangible."

Camp sponsors included Spinutech, Mudd Advertising, Phantom EFX, Darning Pixels, Hellman and Edgecore.

Contact Laura Grevas

at (319) 291-1423 or

laura.grevas@wcfcourier.com.