Actor Brian Baumgartner, the Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School (HIES) alumnus known particularly for his role as Kevin Malone on "The Office," will return home this June to teach at a new Holy Innocents’ Film & TV Academy.
Academy classes, scheduled June 2–20, will teach students in Metro Atlanta to write, direct, film and edit their own films. Registration is open to students from area schools now through May 15 at: tinyurl.com/l3gawp9.
Baumgartner took advantage of acting opportunities when he was a student at Holy Innocents’ —after a leg injury sidelined him from sports—and the result has been a successful career.
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“The first acting I ever did was at Holy Innocents’. I chose to get involved, and that led me somewhere I never could have imagined,” Baumgartner said when he visited the campus in 2010.
The actor plans to deliver a welcome message to Film & TV Academy students via Skype at the beginning of the summer session, teach an acting class the last three days, and serve as a judge on final productions. Baumgartner will also be named a founding member of the Academy.
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In recent years the actor has appeared in "Hot in Cleveland," "Rake" with Greg Kinnear (new Fox series), and the award-winning "Mike & Molly."
Other Academy teachers will be James H. Jackson -- an 11Alive Class Act teacher in 2012 -- and Joe Conway, who is also a professional screenwriter.
“We're excited that someone with Brian's expertise and professional background will be joining us as we kick off this film academy,” said Conway, who has script credits for the movie "Undertow" as well as the new movie "Things People Do," which will debut in February at the Berlin International Film Festival, one of the top five film festivals in the world.
The focus of Holy Innocents’ Film & TV Academy will be on teaching students with little or no experience the fundamental elements of visual storytelling -- fundamentals that will ultimately enable them to create and shepherd their own projects from script to screen, said Niki Simpson, an HIES English teacher and director of the Upper School Summer Academic and Enrichment Program. The integrated curriculum will include instruction in sound design, lighting, editing, directing, hands-on camera work, and writing.
Each day, the academy will be divided between in-class instruction and on-set production.
Said teacher James H. Jackson, "We are thankful to Holy Innocents' Episcopal School for giving us a platform to create our summer film academy. We cannot wait to see what these aspiring, young filmmakers create."
