The Movie Institute

A big shout-out to Rick Villa for donating equipment to our new studio at The Shops at Willow Bend !

Very grateful for your support!

We're starting a new era with a new look, and we're ready to celebrate!

The MI team is so excited to have new means of supporting kids through our proven methods - empowering young people with life and leadership skills through motion media.

While we serve the same mission today as we did back in 2000, we have listened to feedback from our students and alumni to help kids everywhere.

We are expanding through MI North Studio, a 6,500-sq-ft Production & Training Center in Plano, Texas. This center will help us increase support to youth by at least 10x per year. In addition, businesses can support MI programs and operations through professional video production, studio rental, and Team Hollywood teambuilding events.

MI programs are coming soon to kids in East Texas, expanding reach and support for youth through an affiliate.

Come on the journey with us! Join as a parent, donor, volunteer, mentor, or board member today.

SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL OUR FINISH OUT PHASE ONE VOLUNTEERS
Lee Shapiro
John Cann
Jason James
Howard Gee
Orlando Vargas
Justin Hall
Fiona Hall
Florence Hall
Ethan Hall
Logan Harris
Jordan Jewell
Eric Jewell
Ying Qin
Ariana Vail
Shad Moore
Lucy Burnside
Jacob Ball
Amanda Elkins
Chris Abram
Marlo Mathews
Johann Gerdts
Jason Vail
Stacey Vail
Jim Nelms
Charles Haley, JR.
Martha Duncan
Keith Duncan
Tracy Anderson
Brian Alexander
Laura Alexander

So much progress was made on Saturday with finishing touches - thanks, volunteers! We have another group coming in on Sunday as we get ready for MI North Studio's Grand Opening Celebration on Thursday, July 18.

We will be celebrating all week and look forward to sharing with you all as we enter a new era!

Thank you to all the volunteers who are all-hands-on-deck today to help with finishing touches in preparation for the Grand Opening next week. We appreciate you! If you want to join in the fun, we have one more volunteer day tomorrow (Sunday) to keep our progress moving towards the big event on Thursday.

Stay tuned for lots of thank yous and some fun announcements this week - we're so excited to welcome you all to MI North Studio!

We're getting everything ready for visitors and can't wait to show off the new studio to the community. We're also really excited to see our students and alums, their families, and our mentors to celebrate a lot of work that's been put in over the past 14 months. If you're available to pop-in for a visit on July 18, we hope to see you at the Grand Opening Celebration!

This fall we're preparing workshops that are popular, like the Halloween Movie Workshop, and new ones that will bring different topics to the table. We're also collaborating with new experts and mentors to bring cutting-edge innovations that are possible in our new facility. Come join in on the fun and learning!

If you love our programs, then tell the world! Stories about us from people like you will help us make an even bigger impact in our community. GreatNonprofits – the #1 source of nonprofit stories and feedback – is honoring highly regarded nonprofits with their 2024 Top-Rated List.

Please help us raise visibility for our work by posting a brief story of your experience with us. All content will be visible to potential donors and volunteers. It’s easy and only takes 3 minutes! Go here to get started!

https://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/write/movie-institute

Alums who completed MI programs tell us they gained self-confidence, skills that led them to their future careers, lifetime friends, and decision-making ability that helped them navigate their teens and early adulthood successfully. They also tell us that the team at MI were there for them throughout it all.

They say we should help more kids – kids everywhere. We listened.

The Movie Institute is expanding, with pilots in progress to demonstrate how we can help kids in rural, suburban, and metropolitan areas to adapt and expand our mission where it’s needed across the country and beyond.

Join The Movie Institute team for a Grand Opening Celebration at MI North Studio for kids in Plano. This studio takes our youth development programs to the next level through ongoing classes, video production services, teambuilding events, and more! Take a tour, enjoy some popcorn, meet the team, and learn about MI!

https://www.facebook.com/share/rkXMePSk4bMMu8hv/?mibextid=oFDknk

www.facebook.com

Calling all Movie Institute program alumni!

If Kamp Hollywood or other MI programs had a positive impact on your life and career, we'd love to chat with you about a few ways we could include you in our new studio.

Examples:
- We are looking to honor former alums and inspire current participants through art in our studio classrooms.

- The MI team are collecting alumni perspectives for a series of short form videos that will become part of a documentary capturing where we've come from and where we're going.

- An Advisory Board is being formed with parents and former students to provide ongoing feedback to the MI Board and Staff.

- Our Grand Opening Celebration at the new studio in Plano will take place next month. This would be a great time to visit with mentors, get a tour of the studio, and see how the program has evolved over the years.

Think back to how you felt as a child when you were awaiting your favorite holiday. Whether you were looking forward to a special activity, a gift, or traditions, the closer you got to that day... it almost seemed further away. That anticipation was magical though, wasn't it?!?

Here at MI, we've been so close for a very long time now... we can hardly stand the wait. A few weeks ago, we had to bump our first workshops due to delays... and we've now had to bump the second workshops. Each of these delays have a pretty significant financial impact on our organization. Not only are we missing out on working with the great youth in this area, helping them develop talents and skills and passions that will help them become successful adults, but we are missing out on revenue to cover things like operations and programs work that would typically happen between workshops. We're now in our 13th month of this situation, and we really need your help.

If you can afford to help, any dollar amount would be really important in helping us recover from these significant overruns so we can get back to the business of running programs for kids and generating great results. Once we're up-and-running, we anticipate helping more than 2,000 kids per year through the new studio. And, we are so excited to get moving! Thanks for your consideration.

https://gofund.me/191cde05

Happy National Drive-In Movie Day from The Movie Institute!

Enjoy some trivia related to drive-in movie theaters in the United States to celebrate the anniversary of the first drive-in movie theater, which opened in New Jersey in 1933:

- The concept was created by Richard Milton Hollingshead, Jr., whose father ran the Whiz Auto Products Company. After a lot of experimenting, he secured a patent for an outdoor theater where "transportation facilities to and from the theater are made to constitute an element of the seating facilities" in 1932. The original design delivered sound through speakers on the screens.

- The next innovation came in 1941 when individual car speakers were introduced. This was a great improvement in sound quality for moviegoers.

- Drive-in theaters took a while to catch on, seeing their greatest popularity in the 1950s when more than 4,000 theaters were open in the U.S.

- Families with young children chose drive-ins as an ideal way to enjoy a movie without worrying about their children disturbing others.

- Programming expanded during the height of drive-in popularity, with concerts, graduations, and religious services among the options available.

Had a good turnout at the Shops at Willow Bend's Kids Summit event yesterday.
Special thanks to Sr. Mentors Lee Shapiro, Eric Jewell and Jordan Jewell for creating the fun of MI'S Movie Magic Green Screen Adventure!

Hello from the team at The Movie Institute!

This post is coming to you from Stacey Vail, and I am excited to support the MI team and our student families as we get ready to open the MI North Studio.

We have received several questions from people about our programs, the new studio, and basics about MI over the past few weeks. I will share a few of them below, but I would like to open it up to everyone so I can pull together a great FAQ for our website.

Ask away! You can ask below or message me. And, if you would like a more in-depth conversation, please let me know. I'm available for calls or a cup of coffee and a chat.

The sample questions, as promised:
Q. I see that the new studio is in The Shops at Willow Bend. Where in the mall is it located?
A. MI North Studio is located on the 2nd floor between Dillards and the mall entrance at The District.

Q. My child has never done anything like this. Is that okay?
A. Yes! Many of the kids who participate in our programs are new to moviemaking. Training on equipment is always part of a program, and mentors are working with everyone to ensure questions are answered and help is available if someone is uncomfortable. Parents are surprised to learn the talents their kids discover while in our programs.

Q. My child is an actor. How will film captured through Movie Institute programs be used?
A. The focus of our programs is on the filmmaking process, so much of what participants do is focused on behind-the-camera activity. This is great to help actors gain additional perspective and insight into other areas they may want to pursue in their career. However, to put a story on film there are students who are part of on-camera talent in speaking or non-speaking roles.

Film is used in a few ways.
(1) Finished scenes or short films are posted on the YouTube channel so all participants can share with their families and friends. Some programs, such as Kamp Hollywood or 9-Hour Video Race, may also be shown in a movie theater one time to a limited audience.
(2) Behind-the-scenes footage is often uploaded to the YouTube channel as well, as it is helpful for people to understand how the program works and for context when we apply for grants or other funding. This could also apply as a brief sample in a social media post to help give prospective families context about a program.
(3) If a participant is already a professional or is working towards entry into an educational program, we will provide students with their own footage to assist with their reel. If a participant is an ongoing student with the program, we also assist with applications and reference letters as appropriate.

Note: From an actor resume perspective, our programs would belong in the training portion of the resume.

Hi Facebook Supporters!

The Movie Institute is looking to acquire some black stage curtains, flame retardant, used, new, at cost, donated.

If you know of any available, please let me know in a PM!

Thanks for considering!

The Movie Institute is proud to make some announcements:

Stacy Vail, our Board Chair Elect, will now also be our new Chief Executive Office.
Stacey is an accomplished executive and also a Movie Institute Alum Parent. Her insight, guidance and heart are all vital to effective mission ex*****on.

Board Member Keith Wilson has stepped in to become The Movie Institute's Chief Financial Officer.
Keith has vast experience with being a Financial Director for Fortune 500 companies and is a military veteran.

A new position was created for Keith Randal Duncan, our Founder, as Chief Imagination Officer.
This unique position will better utilize Keith's expertise and talents across various MI departments and projects.

Also, with Keith Wilson becoming CFO, Tracy Anderson can now focus completely on her position as Chief Operations Officer without splitting focus being CFO too.

The Movie Institute is so grateful to have these professionals step up to guide our 2024-2025 expansion.

Who of all my Facebook friends that can build will help me build a infinity c*c wall for our nonprofit MI North Studio for young people and kids in February?
www.MInorth.org.

PM me if interested....

The Movie Institute would like to extend a HUGE “Thank You” to Buffalo Wild Wings for sponsoring our 2023 Year End Jingle Mingle!
(and a special shout-out to the incredible team at Buffalo Wild Wings in Addison, Texas, for generously hosting our fantastic celebration on December 28, 2023!)

We extend our deepest gratitude to the management and Stephanie Brewer, along with the entire marketing team at Buffalo Wild Wings, for making this event a memorable success. 🎉

Our guests, including Movie Institute award-winning directors, producers, mentors, board members, and staff, had an amazing time enjoying the warmth, generosity, and hospitality of Buffalo Wild Wings.

The delicious flavors in every variety, the mouthwatering side dishes, and the casual, upbeat atmosphere created a perfect setting for celebration! Your ongoing support contributes to the growth of future filmmakers in Dallas-Fort Worth and beyond.

To potential sponsors, please consider joining the Movie Institute in Mentoring Imagination by supporting our upcoming events, Kamp Hollywood, and our program expansion throughout 2024.

For more information on how to become a partner or mentor and champion the future of young creatives, contact: [email protected].

Happy New Year!
Now, let's make some magic together! 💫

Here's a year-end opportunity to become a Founder of an innovative nonprofit moviemaking training and production studio for young people: The Movie Institute's MI North Studio in Collin County at the Shops at Willow Bend is about to begin construction (www.minorth.org)

The studio offers kids and teens a safe place for:
> Gaining VITAL Life & Leadership Skills
> Fosters Creativity & Critical Thinking
> Shows Youth How To Create Their Own Successful & Purpose-Drive Lives-
>> All While Having Fun!

This studio will help about 2,000 kids per year!

All Of This Is Done In A Fantastic Studio Environment That has:
> 2 Production Studios
> A Post Production Suite with Video Editing & Sound Recording
> 2 Training Rooms/ Labs
> A Special FX Makeup Lab

The Movie Institute has been utilizing the creativity and discipline of the motion media arts and sciences for mentoring life and leaderships skills for over 23 years, www.movieinstitute.org.

Join us as a Founder of this new studio location and bring in the new year knowing that you have contributed to making a better future for young people, which in turn makes a better one for you!

Both individual/ family and corporate positions are limited and filling.

For more information of how to become a Studio Founder, please contact Keith Duncan, Chairperson of the Board, [email protected].

Hoping Everyone Has A Fabulous and Successful New Year!

The Movie Institute parents, alum, fans and stakeholders:

Please consider a small stocking stuff gift of $5 and up to the The Movie Institute to help kids make a better future for themselves- and for you!

Whether to our movie studio for kids fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/movie-institute-willow-bend-studio
OR
to the The Movie Institute itself: www.MIDonate.org

Happy Holidays!

Help The Movie Institute Help Kids, organized by The Movie Institute WITH SUPPORT FOR AN ACTUAL MOVIEMAKING STUDIO! The Movie Institute (MI) is a … The Movie Institute needs your support for Help The Movie Institute Help Kids