I have always loved making videos. My friends and I would always turn in videos instead of papers whenever possible. It has always just been a passion. When i started at YES, I approached the administration about possibly creating an after school club where students could learn how to produce their own videos. We purchased eight 12-inch PowerBooks and 8 copies of Final Cut Express. The demand to be in the after school club was so great that I asked the school if we could make it a class. I wanted more computers in order to meet the needs of the students. I worked out a deal with the school. They would cover half the cost, while I would have three years to cover the other half. I basically needed to raise $15,000. It seems like a lot, but my class decided that we would sell our videos to local companies. Within two years, we had produced enough videos to pay back our half of the deal.

Over the past two years, I've been working on actually turning my video production club into a company, yBlazer Studios. I currently have 13 students who "work" for the company. We have a positive reputation in the education industry (YES Prep and Teach For America). Just with those two steady clients, we are able to keep the company up and running.

Like I mentioned, this is my passion. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have. I could write a book about this experience!

Hello Craig,

I'm the woman from Kentucky that Betty mentioned above. I think its wonderful what you have done at your school. That is certainly what I had in mind, but as a community effort not just in school. I would focus on short film production and maybe start a local annual film festival so that their work may be submitted and shown to the community. Or even assist them in submitting their work to national film festivals.
What equipment and software would you recommend? How would you suggest bringing my idea to fruition?

Hey Yolanda,

Sorry I am late getting back with you. Probably the easiest way to do this would be to actually speak over the phone. If you want to e-mail me your phone number, I'll give you a call and we can work through some things. My address is craig.brandenburg@yesprep.org.

Thanks!