--By Audrey Larson

One year ago today, Fountain of Youth Productions was born. 

It all started at the movie theater. Shay and I saw Mission Impossible 4.  Afterwards,  we talked about movie-making. Funny thing, we discovered that we were both interested in behind-the-scenes and learning about filmmaking.  Shay and I already shared an interest in acting as we were in a drama class together. The more we talked about making movies, the more excited we got. Our imaginations went into overdrive.

 “I always wanted to put together a group of kids to make a movie," I told Shay.  "Wouldn't it be cool to have kids directing, filming, making costumes, doing make-up, acting? ” 

That night Shay called me.  “Why don’t we just do it?" she said. "Make our own movies.”  And here we are one year later, preparing to shoot our first short film in February. 

Then came our brainstorm name: Fountain of Youth Productions. And there it was. Our vision. 

In between then and now we've been meeting like crazy.  We designed our website, planned a kick-off event (see the pictures here), created our Facebook page, spread the word to email groups, wrote and revised three scripts (we chose the best one to film), held two open auditions, and cast our first project. 

Looking forward to new experiences and milestones in our second, fun year of FYP 2013!  

          I’m Audrey, 14, co-founder of Fountain of Youth Productions. This is the inaugural blog post for our new website. My co-founder, Shay, and I are excited to share our venture with you.

Here’s what we’ll post on our blog:

• Behind-the-scenes at Fountain of Youth Productions 
• Profiles/interviews with filmmakers, screenwriters, actors, directors, and others in the “biz”. 
• Reviews of books on filmmaking, screenwriting, and acting.
• Tips and advice to fellow young filmmakers
• Reviews of movies and TV shows we think are cool. 
• Examples of terrific short films.
• What we are learning along the way. 

And for those of you who have supported our efforts and expressed interest in FYP--a big thanks!  Yes, it has taken as a while to pull things together.  Here is what has been happening since our official kick-off event last June.

Designing our website and Facebook page, planning, and spreading the word out about FYP.  We’re also in the tedious and murderous stage of revising our first script (which you will hear about soon), scheduling auditions in November, AND completing our soon-to-be launched Indiegogo campaign. 

More-- I’ve been researching camera equipment, getting people on board, trying out filming techniques, and making a promotional video for Fountain of Youth. 

Calling all movie-lovers, actors, aspiring filmmakers, screenwriters, cinematographers. Please introduce yourself and subscribe to our blog!