TIC TALK, our newsletter, February 2010

DC NEWS    VA NEWS     MD NEWS

TIC IS HOSTING OPEN HOUSES AT EACH SITE DURING MARCH

Mark your calendar for the Open House nearest you:

• TIC-DC: Sunday, March 7, at 4:00 p.m.at the Mount Vernon campus of George Washington University, 2100 Foxhall Road NW, Washington DC 20007;


• TIC-MD: Sunday March 14, at 4:00 p.m. at the French International School, 9600 Forest Road, Bethesda, MD 20814;


• TIC-VA: Sunday, March 28, at 4:00 p.m.at the Oakcrest School, 850 Balls Hill Road, McLean, VA 22101;

Come and visit the campus, have a tour of the site your children may attend, have your questions answered, and enjoy some delicious treats.

TIC RETURNS TO DC AFTER 27 YEARS!

TIC's first camp in 1983 was located at Mount Vernon College. Fast forward 27 years, and TIC is back! Now owned by the George Washington University, MVC has been renovated and expanded with state-of-the-art facilities, including collegiate Division I soccer and softball fields.

For families living or working in DC, GWU’s Mount Vernon Campus is conveniently located at 2100 Foxhall Road NW. Campers, parents and staff may ride the FREE shuttle, The Vern Express, to the Mount Vernon Campus from the Foggy Bottom Metro stop. The Mount Vernon Campus is also accessible by Metrobus, along the D6 bus line.

TIC's mission and philosophy will be carried out splendidly by an experienced and excellent management team. Emily Riedel, TIC's new Executive Director who was Site Director at TIC-MD last summer, is DC's new leader. From TIC-VA last summer we have Tech Director Garrett Hennigan and Athletic Director Katie Taylor who are reprising their roles in DC this year. All three directors together have 15 years of TIC experience!

Although we are in a new (old?) location, it is still the same great TIC! We always have the perfect balance of technology and sports. The personal attention given to each camper, which you expect from TIC, will not diminish. In fact, we are limiting enrollment at each of our three locations in order to keep each site manageable and to ensure quality program with amazing staff. TIC-DC will offer all seven technology options (programming, robotics, animation, web design, digital arts, filmmaking, and digital music) as well as drama and tennis as extra cost athletic options.

TIC-VA returns to Oakcrest for a 2nd year

The TIC staff has been working hard to improve TIC-VA's athletic facilities, looking into various options of using gymnasium and field space at nearby Cooper MS and Churchill ES. Or if we are not able to rent this space, we will continue to shuttle to Langley Forks, but possibly add a field trip option to the mix. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available....

Swiderman is back! Nick Swider will be heading up the crew at TIC-VA with exuberance and swagger! We are delighted to have him back as Site Director again this year. This year he is joined by two familiar faces— Rene Kizilcec returns from England, this time as Technology Director, and Emily Schwartz moves up to Athletic Director. This talented team is ready for whatever challenges may come!

5th year at French International School for TIC-MD

TIC-MD is probably going to lose some campers to DC, but we'll still be going strong as TIC's largest (and longest running) site.

MD's leadership team is a bunch of familiar faces: The dynamic Dan Morais, last year's Assistant Director, is Site Director for 2010. Dan has five years of TIC under his belt, and has been teaching PE and running an after school program in Boston this year. Our Assistant Director, who directs the CITs and Staff Assistants among his other duties, is Jeff Greenstein, Athletic Director last year and Camp Nurse with EMT credentials before that. Our Technology Director, Meg Tobin, did half the job last year (Programming), but adds Multimedia to her responsibilities in 2010, her third year at TIC. Our new Athletic Director is Jenny Fey, whose four years on the TIC sports staff and two years of teaching school make her a formidable leader.

Have you seen TIC’s video?

It was created by Jimmy Page, TIC-VA '09 video counselor. We recently interviewed him about this, as well as the filmmaking program at TIC.

1. What was your goal as video counselor at TIC?
My main goal was to teach interested youngsters some of the main components of cinematography, sound,directing, and editing. We really worked on group collaboration, teaching the campers how to take several ideas and work together to create one cohesive story.

2. What was your favorite thing about last summer?
I was absolutely thrilled to be surrounded by such talented individuals who were also passionate about their jobs and the children they were going to reach out to.

3. How long did it take you to shoot and then edit a video? What was the method you used?
We would import footage using Final Cut Pro and campers would take turns sitting in the editor's chair. Scenes that were shot would be edited together into a rough cut. Dailies were watched almost every morning so the campers could get an idea of how the film would "fit together" as well as foresee any possible "plot holes" or film continuity errors. The campers rotated positions ― to let each camper have a fair turn, and also so each editor would get more than one opinion.

4. Any advice for our budding filmmakers?
For campers who are interested in pursuing a career in film, I would definitely urge you to watch movies as often as you can. One of the most important things I did when I was young was to focus on developing my skills in photography. Personally, I find the ability to paint with light and action the most interesting thing about film. Take some time to find out what interests you most ― sound, acting, directing, editing, special effects ― so you can hone in and sharpen those skills!

5. Tell us about your own background.
I was fortunate to be admitted to the USC School of Cinematic Arts as a Trustee Scholar, which gave me a full ride for all four years. When I think about those four years in Los Angeles, I realize that was nothing short of a miracle! Another interesting fact is that I actually have a second passion: dance. One of my favorite things to do is to produce music videos, both live and pre-recorded. I plan to one day merge both of my passions into one.

SEE THE VIDEO HERE