July 14 – August 6, 2020 Tuesday/Thursday: 2:00pm – 3:30pm EST
Course Description
In the era of fake news, how do you know what media to trust? In the age of social media, how can teens make a positive contribution to the media landscape? During a global pandemic, how do you make a documentary film in quarantine? In this course, students will work with professional filmmaker and educator Jackson Kroopf to answer these questions, and, in the process, learn the basics of documentary filmmaking. By learning about the history of documentary film, journalistic ethics, fact-checking, interviewing, archival research, and A-Z filmmaking (preparation, production, editing), students will gain the skills necessary for producing their own media content — responsibly. Over the course of four weeks, students will go through a series of filmmaking exercises, learning camera and editing techniques while gathering information they are passionate about. Each student will produce a final project that reflects both their interests and their values that they can easily share online with family and friends. If you’re interested in storytelling, visual art making or journalism, this course is for you.
Course Schedule Overview
Week 1 – July 14th and 16th
History of the Documentary Form/Technology Exercises
History of Documentary Film and Ethics
Interview vs. Direct Cinema
Technology Exercises to Learn the Basics
Week 2 – July 21st and 23rd
Project Proposal
Making a Plan – Shot Lists, Light Tests, and Location Scouting
Archival Research
Week 3 – July 28th and 30th
Film Your Project
Watch Rushes
Pick Up Shoots
Week 4- August 4th and 6th
Editing
Group Feedback
Finalizing Your Project’s Sound and Color
Final Project Presentation: August 6th – 2:30pm
Technology Requirements
- Smart Phone (preferably iPhone)
- Laptop (preferably Mac)
- Editing Software (Adobe Premiere preferred, iMovie is an option)
- External Hard-drive (Optional, but highly recommended)
- External Microphone for Phone (Optional)
- Phone Tripod or Steadi-cam (Optional)
Instructor Bio
Jackson Kroopf is a filmmaker and educator from Los Angeles. He works in both fiction and non-fiction filmmaking, but usually somewhere in between. He has taught storytelling for over 10 years at various schools and organizations including Harvard-Westlake School, Crossroads School, Vassar College, IKAR, Peace Works Travel, The Righteous Conversations Project, Streetside Stories, and Youth UpRising. His short films have screened at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival and over 30 others worldwide. In addition, his work has been presented as a Vimeo Staff Pick, Short of the Week, Nowness Pick, and broadcast on PBS. Jackson received his BA in Imagined Alternatives from Vassar College and an MFA from University of California, Santa Cruz in Social Documentation. Recently he has made content for NBC/Oxygen, Wow Skin Science, 60 Second Docs, Sandwich Video, Leafly, Stitch Fix, and The Mellon Foundation. He currently teaches documentary film at Harvard Westlake School.
Contact Global Academic Consultants at +1-720-546-2314 or joanna@globalacademics.us for more information.