This spring, the Kimball Art Center will bring a little slice of cinema to town. A new class is scheduled to find its place among the organization’s educational offerings. For the first time, the Kimball will host a filmmaking class, which will be presented in collaboration with Spy Hop Productions.
The Salt Lake City-based nonprofit will travel to Park City to teach the classes, providing the area with a new film education opportunity.
Kimball education director Annie Kennedy said she has known about the program since it started shortly after she graduated from high school. With a combination of public demand and Park City’s love of cinema, trying a new class seemed the logical thing to do, she said.
“I thought it made sense,” Kennedy said. “Right after I was hired, I decided it was something I wanted to do.”
According to Stacy Ringo, programs director at Spy Hop, the organization has been looking for a chance to bring a class to Park City.
“There has always been an interest in teachers and youth and organizations,” she said.
When the Kimball expressed an interest in creating a multimedia class, working together seemed to make sense for the organizations. And while coordinating the efforts, organizing the class and agreeing on the particulars has taken some time, both organizations are hopeful that the course will succeed.
“It hasn’t been any easy path,” Kennedy said, “but we’ve both made sacrifices because we both want to get it done.”
“We just feel like it is worth that time and the extra effort,” Ringo added.
The class will offer an introduction to film and video, specifically focusing on documentary filmmaking. To teach the class, Spy Hop will bring its equipment to Park City, including everything from cameras and sound equipment to laptops for editing and post production.
While the class will be one of the first Spy Hop has offered outside of its Salt Lake City headquarters, Ringo said the trip up Parley’s Canyon shouldn’t pose too big a problem. The organization often travels to do its filming, so this class will be no different.
“This is just going to be an opportunity for students to participate in a productive out-of-school activity,” she said.
The class, she noted, should be a fit for anyone with an interest in film and filmmaking.
The class is part of a new category of courses the art center is offering for teens. Aside from the filmmaking class, the Kimball will also have a beginners’ ceramic course and a light and color theory course. Kennedy said she hoped all of the classes for teens could fulfill a need in the community.
“I think it’s really important,” she said. “We haven’t had a teen program before and I think it’s a really important time to be educated in the arts.”
The classes, she said, are designed to help youth bridge the artistic gap between school and adulthood, allowing them to continue with the arts as they grow.
“It’s important to have a place you can develop skills you can use in your adult life,” Kennedy noted.
The film class will provide just that sort of training for young movie makers.
“I think it will be great to have a place where kids can learn about the technical side of filmmaking,” Kennedy said.
She said the Kimball hopes to continue the classes in future seasons, and in the future the art center hopes to create a specific space for the filmmaking classes, Kennedy added. The facilities and equipment might include cameras, computers and editing software.
“We’re making an effort to find funding to do that,” Kennedy said.
But for now, Kennedy said she is seeking help for students and prospective students in the class.
“If people want to nominate a student for a scholarship or sponsor a scholarship, tell us,” she said.
The cost of the filmmaking class with Spy Hop Productions is $195. The course will run for eight weeks on Thursdays from 4-6 p.m. For more information or to sign up, visit www.kimball-art.org or call 649-8882.