MAKING IT SCRAPPY, KEEPING IT REAL: PERSONAL FILMMAKING  
Ages 16-29
Spring 2020, Online

In this distance learning workshop, student fellows will be exposed to film theory and gain hands-on experience in creating short films of their own.  In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, fellows will be pushed to find ways to achieve artistic expression through the tools and locations still available to them.  Their cameras will be their phones.  They’ll use metaphor and stand-ins to make up for lost access; a rubber band, a piece of string, and a toy car for a dolly; a pillow to muffle background noise.  Through limitations can come great art, and Baltimore has always responded to challenge and scarcity with grit and determination.  Fellows will work hard and finish confident they have the ability to tell their own stories – even in the midst of a pandemic.  Fellows should expect to spend at least five hours per week on this workshop.  They’ll watch films; keep films journals; and have regular virtual meetings with instructor and peers via phone through Skype, Zoom, or other meeting app.  Limited to 5 student fellows.

Annette Porter is a documentary filmmaker and co-founder, with Helen Morell, of Nylon Films, UK.  Comfortable with her camera in a corporate boardroom or on a high altitude trail in Chile, she produces, directs, and shoots both stills and moving images.

Justin Ryu, a native of Seoul, South Korea, is a senior at Johns Hopkins University, pursuing a double major in film and media studies and international studies. He is passionate about purposeful filmmaking and hopes to make a mark in the film industry by showcasing unseen stories on the big screen.