For the second year, Penn State Lehigh Valley was the only university in the area with this behind the scenes access, which allowed campers to gain hands-on video production experience at Musikfest.
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — Ten local high school students got special access at Musikfest, one of the largest free music festivals in the country, during a summer video camp hosted by Penn State Lehigh Valley in partnership with ArtsQuest.
For the second year, Penn State Lehigh Valley was the only university in the area with this behind the scenes access, which allowed campers to gain hands-on video production experience at Musikfest. The goal was to give students real world experience and provide them with the tools for future success in the media and film industry.
The camp, held Aug. 8-12, was led by veteran television journalist Liz Keptner, who is director of Penn State Lehigh Valley’s Multimedia Innovation Center (MIC) and Amber Campbell, videographer and editor for the MIC.
Keptner and Campbell began the experience by showing the students how to use high-definition cameras and Adobe Premiere editing software. The campers were then given media credentials and spent the rest of the week on the grounds of Musikfest shooting footage of the performances and interviewing ArtsQuest staff and volunteers, along with participating in a press conference for one of the musical acts. Campers then wrote, produced and edited packages about Musikfest.
“The kids come in with varying levels of experience, but all leave having produced incredible video content. The highlight for me was watching our campers ask professional, engaging questions in a news conference with Disney recording star Sabrina Carpenter. You would have thought they had been reporting for years,” said Keptner.
The camp culminated with a special viewing party showcase of the students’ video packages for their family and the broader community on Aug. 12 at ArtsQuest. The videos detailed their unique experiences and highlighted their newly learned skills.
Kaitlyn Fritz was one of the Musikfest video camp students. Her video package focused on the unique offerings at Musikfest.
Dennille Schuler
Public Relations Specialist
Penn State Lehigh Valley
