NewsPhoto by Darby Hinkley Kara Bauer LeMonds and Zachary Irving pose with filming equipment at Irving Entertainment in Alpena. The pair will team up again to lead a seven-week beginning film class at Art in the Loft starting March 29.

ALPENA — Budding filmmakers are invited to enroll in Art in the Loft’s Introduction to Film Series, taught for the second time by filmmakers Kara Bauer LeMonds and Zachary Irving.

The seven-week course was so popular last year that the duo decided to team up to offer it again this spring. Classes start Wednesday, March 29 at Art in the Loft.

“It was really fun, and it was quite a success, so we’re really excited to do it again, to give more people the opportunity,” Bauer LeMonds said.

She said there are so many creative people in Alpena, and if you have ever thought about filmmaking, this is a great way to check it out.

“A big thing that we talked about, that was the impetus of why we’re doing this, is to find talent where it’s sleeping,” Bauer LeMonds added. “This class is about passion for film. This class is about having fun with filmmaking.”

The cost is $325 for this series, which will guide participants through making a three-minute film, start to finish. Those films will premiere in the finale of the course May 13.

Scholarships may be available and can be applied for online at artintheloft.org. This class is geared for teens age 15 up to adults. The class is limited to 20. A waiting list will be created in case of cancellations.

In this series, participants will receive in-depth one-on-one personal instruction with Bauer LeMonds and Irving.

“You just don’t realize how much skill goes into it,” Bauer LeMonds explained. “It’s not just shooting on your iPhone. It’s lighting it, it’s perspective, it’s a dolly shot, it’s a still shot, it’s a wide, it’s a tight, it’s all these things that give film life.”

This hands-on immersion into the film industry will include meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. for five consecutive Wednesdays prior to shooting your film. The course will cover the following: Character development and using the medium of film to tell a story, lighting, editing, shooting style, production basics, chain of command, casting, script writing, art direction, musical scoring, sound effects, and much more.

Participants will then work in collaborative groups with personal guidance from Bauer LeMonds and Irving. The new skills learning in the classroom setting will then be applied to shooting your own mini films on May 5, followed by an afternoon of editing.

Then the films will be shown at a Red Carpet Premiere at 6 p.m. on May 13.

“It’s more about what your vision is as a filmmaker so that you can be excited about it and really get engaged in it, and then, through that, we want to hook you, so that you will be interested in the technical side,” Bauer LeMonds said. “What’s cool is they will walk away with a beginning to their reel — a whole three-minute short film.”

Bauer LeMonds said she and Irving have talked about offering a second-level film class in the near future for those who have already taken the introductory course.

Alpena native Bauer LeMonds has over 20 years of production experience in television commercials, music videos, movie promos, and high fashion shoots. She has had the opportunity to work with many A-list actors and the best crew in the industry.

“Producing something takes a lot of efficiency, and it takes a lot of weird little rules that you would take for granted, but once you learn them, it’s cutting you right to where you need to be,” Bauer LeMonds said. “And being resourceful and knowing what you need and how you need it is also a key element to producing anything that’s a film.”

“Bookending the start and end of her career in Chicago, with 10 years in between in Hollywood, Kara has worked with production companies like MTV, Stardust Visions, Backyard Productions, Park Pictures, Smuggler, Anonymous Content, @radical media, Paramount Pictures, and RSA,” a bio from Art in the Loft states. “The indie short ‘SOAP’ she wrote and directed was accepted into seven film festivals, including the LA Shorts Fest and Palm Springs Festival of Shorts (which was Oscar qualifying). The web series she wrote and directed, ‘Destined to Fail,’ was featured on the Funny or Die website.”

She added that character development is key to a good story, and it doesn’t hurt to throw in a little humor, especially in short films.

“The best ones are in a very small space, very unambitious storyline, but they’re really well-acted, and they’re really well-written, and most of them are funny,” she said.

International award-winning filmmaker Irving, founder and CEO of Irving Entertainment in Alpena, has been Emmy nominated and has worked on multiple projects from feature films, documentaries, commercials, and TV work with PBS, FedEx, and more. Irving is also contracted with the “U.S. Army Futures Command.” You may recognize his name from “Fresh Waves,” “Michigan Micro Adventures,” or as a judge for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s “Thunder Bay International Film Festival.”

Irving Entertainment is a multimedia company that creates professional quality videos with a state-of-the-art editing bay, sound stage, and light studios. For more information, visit irvingentertainment.net.

“We’re film dorks,” Bauer LeMonds said with a laugh.

“We really are,” Irving agreed.