UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Film Camp will provide high school students the chance to gain hands-on experience in film and video production when it welcomes campers to the University Park campus this summer for the 15th year.

Maura Shea, camp co-director and associate head of the department of film-video and media studies, said technology improvements throughout the years have created a new type of camper.

“In the early years, most campers had no experience but lots of passion. Now we see more kids with experience, particularly with special effects and editing, from what they’ve learned in high school and the internet,” she said. “We wanted to make the camp more fun, so we shifted to less lectures and increased the number of projects.”

The Film Camp, offered through Penn State Outreach Youth Programs and the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, will be held July 9-14 for students entering grades nine through 12. Campers will plan, shoot and screen three separate projects, and will have the opportunity to pitch story ideas; work with a small team to produce videos; and learn to be a writer, director, actor, cinematographer and editor.

Aaron Herschlag, who majors in both film-video and engineering science, attended the camp as a high school student in 2012 and will serve as a counselor this year.

“I want to help campers find their passion for filmmaking,” he said. “If you have a good time with the people you’re working with you’ll create a better product. The camp made me want to come to Penn State to study film.”

The Film Camp is one of three summer offerings through the Bellisario College of Communications. Additional Communications Camps include the Broadcast Journalism and Multimedia Journalism camps.

Penn State Outreach offers five summer camps for students in grades seven through 12, providing campers opportunities to explore careers, experience new challenges, and visit the University Park campus. All camps are taught by Penn State faculty and graduate students, and leaders in the field.

Summer programs include the Architecture/Landscape Architecture Camp from July 16-20, Communications Camps from July 9-14, Honors Music Camp from July 16-22, Visual Art Camp from June 25-30, and Weather Camps from June 18-13 and June 25-30.

Visit the Penn State Outreach Youth Programs website for more information.