OKCPS announces film and video production program for schools
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - Oklahoma City Public Schools announced the beginning of a film and video production education program Wednesday at Frederick Douglass High School in Oklahoma City.
The program has already started for both Douglass and Northwest Classen high schools, but others are soon to follow.
Douglass students made a hype video for their football team as part of a class involved in the program announced as Scissortail Studios.
It’s a chance for students in Oklahoma City Public Schools to work with industry professionals while learning about video and film production in the classroom.
They also have the chance to be a part of what Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said is a growing industry in our state.
"We're very diversified here in Oklahoma City, and it's thanks to a lot of the people in this room that the Oklahoma film industry is now such a major part of our local economy,” Holt said.
It all got started with a partnership between the district and Film Education Institute of Oklahoma.
"We want our kids to find something they love that they can do for a living, make a career out of, and stay right here in Oklahoma,” said District Superintendent Dr. Sean McDaniel.
"We're doing this at the right time,” said Film Education Institute of Oklahoma Executive Director Austin Taylor. “We're doing it as the industry grows. We're training the kids to learn new crafts, to unlock creativity."
The room in which the announcement was made is also set to become a sound stage for students to use.
The program will also provide classroom kits for students like sophomore Christopher Runnels, who helped make the football hype video, to continue to learn and grow.
"A lot went into that video,” Runnels said. “We were there from sun up to sun down and as you can see by the quality of the video, it came out good."
"What we want to pour into these kids is that same kind of thought process and tenacity that you can do whatever you set your mind to,” said teacher in the program and former Douglass High School student Dr. Dekoven Riggins.
Officials said Capitol Hill High School isn’t far behind joining the program, with others in the district soon to follow.