Over the past week, three Dartmouth students have been getting a hands-on look at television production at Dartmouth Community Television’s new week-long Kids Camp.

The middle school students–Braley Neto, Sarah Lopes and Jacob Camara–spent the week learning the ins and outs of television production. The students were given a tour of the Dartmouth Community Television studios, learned how to use the studio’s camera and production equipment, and even hosted and produced their own shows.

Mike Fernandes, Dartmouth Community Television’s (DCTV) production coordinator, explained that he came up with the idea for a week-long learning program for kids after hearing about a video production program offered by the library.

He reached out to the library to find out if any students enrolled in the program would be interested in a learning program at DCTV, and soon found three eager students to participate in the inaugural week-long program. The students who were selected all expressed an interest in television production.

“It’s almost a training session, a lot of them are going into video production classes at the high school, so this gives them a step up,” Fernandes said.

For the three students who participated in the Kids Camp, the experience was an eye-opener that allowed the students to see firsthand what goes into producing and starring in a television program.

“I learned that video production is a team effort, it’s not something one person can do on their own,” Neto said.

"This has taught me a lot about what really goes into producing," Lopes said. "It's a lot more hands-on."

During the camp, the students were able to integrate their own hobbies and interests into their learning experience. Camara, who enjoys photography, produced a show featuring images and videos captured from his drone around Dartmouth, while Lopes hosted her own cooking show. The three also produced a news program.

"I want to go into engineering, but I also want to include photography in [my work]," Camara said.

Going forward, Fernandes hopes to continue the Kids Camp program next year, introducing a whole new group of kids to the world of television production.