Next Gen

Don't just consume media, make it.

Learn how to tell your own story through video or animation using high-quality equipment and software in a supportive, collaborative environment. Create short films and media projects for your college application portfolio, AND earn a $300 incentive at the end of each semester!

If you are between the ages of 14-17 and live in San Francisco, you are eligible to join Next Gen, BAVC Media's FREE after-school youth program.

Please note that all youth programming is currently held in person in San Francisco.

Next Gen is led by knowledgeable teaching artists and provides foundational skills in multiple media-making domains. Classes meet twice a week from 4:30 to 6:30pm, Tuesday and Thursday, with a focus on hands-on practice and application of new techniques. Classes include career and college goal-setting workshops, college portfolio development, film and media industry guest artist lectures, field trips, and other opportunities. At the end of each program semester, Next Gen students will convene for a collective media showcase and community celebration.

Students who complete all requirements of the program will receive a $300 incentive! Requirements include a minimum attendance rate and completion of all major projects.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through September 26. Seats are limited, as enrollment is capped at 24 students, so apply now!

All applications will be reviewed by our instructing team, and applicants will hear back within two weeks of applying.

Next Gen 2025-2026: Factory and Animation

Next Gen is proud to offer our award-winning media-making foundation programs, Factory (Video Production Foundations) and Animation. Each unit is a semester long, and all students will have the opportunity for hands-on media-making experiences. Our Factory and Animation units take place at KQED Headquarters in the Mission (2601 Mariposa St).

Factory (Video Production Foundations)

Have you ever wanted to make your own film? Are you curious about the process of video production from start to finish? In Factory, students will learn industry-standard technical knowledge about video and filmmaking pre-production, production, and post-production. Through storytelling techniques using DSLR cameras, creative cinematography techniques, and more advanced post-production, filmmakers will create a range of short projects through hands-on exercises and instruction. Filmmakers are encouraged to explore topics important to them and their communities while also making videos that touch on issues of social justice.

  • Class will be held at KQED, 2601 Mariposa Street, San Francisco

Animation

Have you ever wondered how cool anime is made? Learn what it takes to create your own animation, from drawing frames to learning industry-standard software. Participants with an interest in visual art and animation will learn foundational techniques for studying and creating motion. Students will have the opportunity to explore the basics of animation techniques, such as traditional frame animation to experimental styles and stop-motion. No animation experience required!

  • Class will be held at KQED, 2601 Mariposa Street, San Francisco

Artist Lecture Series (in partnership with Gray Area)

Gray Area is a San Francisco-based nonprofit cultural incubator and category-defying hub for public events, education, and research projects. Their mission is to cultivate, sustain, and apply antidisciplinary collaboration — integrating art, technology, science, and the humanities — towards a more equitable and regenerative future. Since their inception in 2008, Gray Area has established itself as a singular hub for critically engaging with technology and culture in the Bay Area, while also reaching a global audience.

For the 2025-26 season of Next Gen, we are partnering with Gray Area again in a different capacity. Our students will meet at Gray Area's theater space in the Mission up to three times a semester to attend artist lectures from Gray Area affiliated, successful new media and new technologies artists. The content of lectures will focus particularly on workforce development and skills for youth – on the artists' journeys starting out, how to build one's career in the arts as a young person, and modes of creative and professional self-development.

  • Lectures will be held at Gray Area – 2665 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 941109

A note about course lengths

Next Gen is a semester-long program. Students do have the option to continue in the Spring, if they choose. In the Spring Semester, students will have the chance to deepen skills they have learned in the Fall Semester, and elect to create a collaborative, capstone project. Students will earn a separate $300 incentive for each semester they complete. Climate Warriors (our summer program) is a month-long program that earns a $150 stipend.

  • Fall Semester: October 7 – December 18, 2025
  • Spring Semester (dates TBA)
  • Summer Semester – Climate Warriors

Have any questions? Contact us at youthprograms@bavc.org

Have any questions? Contact us at youthprograms@bavc.org