Kid Filmmakers Hosts Summer Camp in Rhode Island Movie Studio

What’s better than a Kid Filmmakers summer camp? A Kid Filmmakers summer camp held in an actual movie studio!

"Kay Studios is the only full-service motion picture company in Rhode Island ," says Kid Filmmaker’s founder and Executive Director Eleyne Austen Sharp. "Producing films in a real movie studio with a giant green screen will be a unique and exciting experience this summer."

Summer Shoot (Monday, July 27, 2009 thru Friday, July 31, 2009) is a working movie production unit. Held from 9 AM-4 PM at Kay Studios, 66 Valley Street in East Providence , Summer Shoot offers an intensive full-day curriculum for beginning and returning filmmakers, i.e. hands-on instruction in acting, animation, directing, editing, lighting, sound, makeup, screenwriting, set design and videography. Each crew (divided by age) will produce a documentary about peace or ecology, a Kid Filmmakers commercial, a silent film and drama, comedy or musical. Selected projects will appear on the Kid Filmmakers YouTube channel.

"Summer Shoot provides nearly 1800 minutes of professional filmmaking instruction in just 5 days," says Sharp. "The camp introduces young filmmakers to the Hollywood moviemaking experience, from planning and budgeting to getting the 'green light' from the studio, casting and producing the movie." Additionally, Summer Shoot offers daily movie screenings, production meetings and special guest speakers.

Space is available for 25 registrants, ages 10-15 years. Early Bird Registration is $325 per participant ($295 for returnees and Kid Filmmakers Club members) until March 1, 2009. After the Early Bird deadline, general registration is $365 per participant ($335 for returnees and Kid Filmmakers Club members). Registration includes a DVD copy of film projects and certificate of completion.

Now celebrating its eighth year, Kid Filmmakers is a traveling filmmaking academy for children, available year-round to schools and organizations for after school, weekend and summer programs. Faculty members are experienced film industry professionals with credits from MGM Pictures, Paramount , Warner Brothers, Dreamworks, Discovery Channel, NBC, PBS, ESPN, TNN, Turner Broadcasting, AOL/Time Warner and more.

For details, call (401) 294-4922 or write to: Eleyne Austen Sharp, Executive Director, Kid Filmmakers, P.O. Box 12 , Newport , RI 02840-0001 or visit the website at:


On Set Studio Teachers

Employers shall provide a studio teacher on each call for minors from age fifteen (15) days to their sixteenth (16th) birthday (age sixteen (16)), and for minors from age sixteen (16) to age eighteen (18) when required for the education of the minor. One (1) studio teacher must be provided for each group of ten (10) minors or fraction thereof. With respect to minors age fifteen (15) days to age sixteen (16), one (1) studio teacher must be provided for each group of twenty (20) minors or fraction thereof on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or during school vacation.

The studio teacher, in addition to teaching, shall also have the responsibility for caring and attending to the health, safety and morals of minors under sixteen (16) years of age for whom they have been provided by the employer, while such minors are engaged or employed in any activity pertaining to the entertainment industry and subject to these regulations. In the discharge of these responsibilities, the studio teacher shall take cognizance of such factors as working conditions, physical surroundings, signs of the minor’s mental and physical fatigue, and the demands placed upon the minor in relation to the minor’s age, agility, strength and stamina.

The studio teacher may refuse to allow the engagement of a minor on a set or location and may remove the minor therefrom, if in the judgment of the studio teacher, conditions are such as to present a danger to the health, safety or morals of the minor. Any such action by the studio teacher may be immediately appealed to the Labor Commissioner who may affirm or countermand such action.

The payment or salary of the studio teacher shall be paid by the employer.

Beginners Resume For Child Actors

I am often asked about what to put on a child's resume when they have little or no experience. Well, we all have to start somewhere. When I first started acting, I only had some extra work that I had done. And I still landed an agent. Some people may say to lie. DO NOT lie! The business side of the entertainment industry is a tight knit community, and you will most likely be caught. You do not want to burn bridges in this business, especially when you are first starting out.

So here is a sample of what you should put down on your child's resume when they are starting out:

(NEVER list your home address or the school they attend if you are a minor for safety reasons)


____________________________________________________________







Savannah Starlet


(your email address here)
(your phone number here)




Date of Birth: 06/15/1998
Height: 4'11"
Weight: 92 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Green


Acting & Modeling Objectives:

Films
TV Shows
Commercials
Commercial Print


Experience:

Class Skits-

Anne Frank-Mrs. & Mr. Van Dann.


Training:

High School Drama Club


Special Skills, Talents & Hobbies:

Singing, Dancing, Drawing, Ballet, Soccer, Ice Skating, Basketball, Swimming, and Cheerleading. Like to hang out with friends, and volunteer for things to help people and animals.




____________________________________________________________




That's it! You see, if a casting director really REALLY likes their photo and look, they will call them in. Regardless of experience, or if you are in the Screen Actors Guild or AFTRA.



California Coogan Law Information

Coogan Act History

In 1919, five year-old Jackie Coogan (1914-1984) got his big break, landing a role opposite Legendary actor/director Charlie Chaplin in “A Days Pleasure”. Two years later, Chaplin hired Coogan again for “The Kid”. The film was a huge success and Jackie Coogan became the world’s first major child superstar. With fame came fortune, and for decades Jackie Coogan held the record of being the youngest millionaire in history. He earned an estimated $4 million as a child star. Unfortunately for Jackie, in the 1920’s there were no restrictions on how children in film were to be treated. In addition to improper treatment on set, (one director reportedly threatened to shoot Jackie’s dog to get him to cry), in 1938 Jackie was forced to sue his mother and step-father for what was left of his earnings. The court decided that Jackie had no right to his income due to his age at the time he earned it. The public uproar over this situation caused California to pass “The Coogan Act” in 1938.

The Coogan Law preserves a portion of a child performer’s earnings until that child reaches adulthood. The act has been revised a few times since 1938, most recently on January 1st, 2004.

What is a Coogan Account?

A “Coogan Trust Account” is a blocked trust account that is established at a qualified financial institution in California that is insured at all times by either the FDIC, SIPC or NCUSIF.

Under California law, whenever a minor renders artistic services, employers are required to deposit 15% of gross earnings directly into the minor’s “Coogan (blocked trust) Account”. The monies placed in trust cannot be touched by anyone until the minor turns 18 or becomes legally emancipated. Parents or Legal Guardians are required to establish a Coogan Trust Account within seven business days after a minor’s employment contract is signed, and to provide the minor’s employer with a copy of a trustee’s statement (evidencing proof of the account) within ten (10) business days after the start of employment. credit union, brokerage firm, or company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. To view a partial list of qualified financial institutions. For more information on Californias’ Coogan Law.

Coogan Account Update

On January 1st, 2004, the California Coogan law was amended. The following changes are now in effect:

Actors Fund of America

If a parent, guardian or trustee fails to provide the minor’s employer with a trustee’s statement within 180 days after the start of employment, the employer shall forward the set-aside funds to the Actors Fund of America (a non-profit organization that provides services to performers in the entertainment industry). The Actors Fund shall become the trustee of such funds until the parent/guardian produces the trustee statement, the minor turns 18, or the minor becomes legally
emancipated.

Entertainment Work Permits void without Coogan

California entertainment work permits are now void 10 business days after the date of issuance unless a copy of the trustee’s statement evidencing the establishment of a “Coogan Trust Account”, for the benefit of the minor, is attached.

Child Work Permit Information

A minor desiring to be employed in the entertainment industry must obtain an Entertainment Work Permit. The application for permit can be obtained at any of the Division's District offices. The minor must provide the information called for on the application, to-wit: his/her name, age, birth date, address, sex, height, weight and color of hair and eyes. In addition, such minor must obtain verification in writing from the appropriate school district of the minor's school record and attendance, and must satisfactorily meet the requirements of that school district with respect to age, school record, attendance and health. Such verification of school record and attendance and proof that the school district's requirements with respect to age, school record, attendance and health have been met must be filed with the Division, concurrently with the filing of the application. Such verification and proof may be in any form as provided by the school district if reasonably demonstrative of the information required to be furnished by this subsection. The Division may require in appropriate cases a physical examination of the minor to ensure that the minor's physical condition permits the minor to perform the work or activity called for by the Permit to Employ Minor and Entertainment Work Permit.

Upon the filing by a minor with the Division of a completed Application for Entertainment Work Permit satisfying the requirements of this Section, the Division shall issue an Entertainment Work Permit to such minor. Such permit shall permit the minor to work only under the conditions prescribed by these regulations and in conformity with all provisions of law governing the working hours, health, safety, morals and other conditions of employment of minors. The permit shall be for a period not to exceed six (6) months, and application for renewal must be made in the same manner and under the same conditions as the original permit.

Typically, after an employer agrees to hire a minor, the minor obtains from his or her school a Department of Education form entitled "Statement of Intent to Employ Minor and Request for Work Permit". The form must be completed by the minor and the employer and signed by the minor's parent or guardian and the employer. After returning the completed and signed form to the school, school officials may issue the permit to employ and work.

Permits issued during the school year expire five days after the opening of the next succeeding school year and must be renewed.

Click Here for Statement of Intent to Employ Minor and Request for Work Permit.

Click Here for Child Work Permit Application.

Click Here for I-9 Form.

In general:

  • Most states require a letter from your child’s school indicating that the child is in good academic standing before they will issue a permit.
  • You must also have a copy of your child’s birth certificate available.
  • Always check with your local school and your State’s Department of Labor regarding employment in your area.

For more information about your state’s laws in relation to the employment of minors visit the following websites:


Alabama: http://www.alalabor.state.al.us/CD/Movie%20Release.pdf
http://www.alalabor.state.al.us/PDFs/Work_Permit_Application.pdf


Alaska: http://labor.state.ak.us/lss/childlaw.htm
http://labor.state.ak.us/lss/lssforms.htm


Arizona: http://www.azcommerce.com/Film/Child+Labor+Laws+(Arizona+Youth+Labor+Law).htm


Arkansas: http://www.arkansas.gov/labor/divisions/labor_standards_p1.html


Colorado: http://www.coworkforce.com/emp/know_your_rights.asp


Connecticut: http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/wgwkstnd/faqs-minors.htm


Delaware: http://www.delawareworks.com/industrialaffairs/services/LaborLawEnforcementInfo.shtml


Florida: http://www.state.fl.us/dbpr/reg/childlabor/index.shtml


Georgia: http://www.dol.state.ga.us/em/child_labor.htm


Hawaii: http://www.hawaiifilmoffice.com/film-permitting/filming-regulations/child-labor-law


Idaho:
http://cl.idaho.gov/Portal/ICL/aliasjobservice/tabID4980/DesktopDefault.aspx
http://www3.state.id.us/idstat/TOC/44013KTOC.html


Illinois: http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/056/05600250sections.html


Indiana: http://www.in.gov/labor/childlabor/


Kentucky:
http://www.oet.ky.gov/des/pubs/jobser/childlabor.pdf
http://www.labor.ky.gov/ows/employmentstandards/childlaborlaw/


Maine: http://www.maine.gov/labor/labor_laws/wagehour.html


Maryland: http://dllr.state.md.us/labor/empm.html


Massachusetts: http://www.ago.state.ma.us/sp.cfm?pageid=1119


Michigan: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Work_Permit_FACT_SHEET_July_2006_169123_7.pdf


Minnesota: http://www.doli.state.mn.us/childlbr.html


Mississippi: http://www.mdes.ms.gov/wps/portal#null


Missouri:
http://dolir.missouri.gov/ls/brochures/11-AI.pdf
http://www.dolir.mo.gov/ls/childlabor/


Montana: http://erd.dli.mt.gov/laborstandard/wagehrchild.asp


Nevada: http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-609.html


New Hampshire: http://www.labor.state.nh.us/youth_employment.asp


North Carolina: http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/rules1933/rules1933.html


Oklahoma: http://www.ok.gov/~okdol/wh/ChildLabor/CHILDLABORSTATUTES.HTM


Oregon: http://www.boli.state.or.us/BOLI/WHD/CLU/index.shtml


Pennsylvania: http://www.dli.state.pa.us/landi/CWP/view.asp?a=185&Q=58124


Rhode Island: http://www.dlt.ri.gov/ls/childlabor.htm


South Carolina: http://www.llr.state.sc.us/Labor/wages/index.asp?file=childlabor.htm


South Dakota: http://www.state.sd.us/dol/dlm/dlm-home.htm


Tennessee: http://www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd/childlab.html


Texas: http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/lablaw/cllsum.html


Utah: http://www.laborcommission.utah.gov/Utah_Antidiscrimination___Labo/Employment_
Standards/Employment_of_Minors/employment_of_minors.html


Vermont: http://www.labor.vermont.gov/


Virginia:
http://www.dli.state.va.us/infocenter/publications/laborlaws/guideforteens_web.pdf
http://www.dli.state.va.us/whatwedo/labor_law/childlabor_faq.html


Washington State: http://www.lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/TeenWorkers/default.asp


Wisconsin: http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/er/labor_standards_bureau/child_labor_laws.htm