Workshops
At NW Documentary, award-winning professionals provide the tools, instruction, and constructive encouragement to discover, research, write, and record important stories. We emphasize a learning-by-doing approach, where students, interns and volunteers are actively engaged in telling stories–encouraging creativity, problem solving, and collaboration. At the end of each term, we premiere completed works at our popular Homegrown DocFest.
Spring 2012 Workshops:
DIY Documentary Bundle
See schedule below.
$600 members/$900 non-members
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Take DIY Documentary, Shooting Interviews, & Intro to Editing and receive a discount. Recommended for the first-time filmmaker, or anyone looking for a refresher course on editing and camera techniques. DIY Documentary and Personal Narrative students without editing experience are required to sign up for one of the Final Cut options. Please note there are two options for Intro to Editing: Final Cut 7 or Final Cut X.
DIY Documentary
Ten Sundays: 2/5–4/8 from 12–2 pm
$400 members/$600 non-members
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Make a short documentary in 10 weeks! Week 1: brainstorm ideas; week 10: prepare to premiere your work on the big screen. Each class covers the steps of making a documentary with a strong emphasis on storytelling. Students work in groups outside of class to shoot and edit their films. Editing computers are available during Open Lab, or you can work on your own. Projects are screened at Homegrown DocFest at McMenamins Mission Theater on 4/20. Must have digital editing experience or sign up for Intro to Editing. DIY Documentary & Shooting Interviews are taught by Jay Cornelius, a professional Director of Photography who has worked for the History Channel, A&E, PBS, HGTV, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic.
Shooting Interviews
Two Mondays: 2/20 & 2/27 from 6–9 pm
$50 members/$100 non-members
Skill Level: Beginner
At the heart of most documentaries is an interview. A well-lit interview with clean audio can elevate a film’s production value while a poorly-lit and inaudible interview can spoil a promising story. In this workshop, we’ll show you the professional techniques to make your interviews look and sound their best. We’ll cover how to approach filming ve?rite? scenes, along with composition, 3-point lighting, mic placement, and making sure you get good coverage. Strongly recommended for DIY Documentary students.
Intro to Digital Editing: Final Cut Pro 7
Five Tuesdays: 3/6–4/3 from 6–8 pm
$250 members/$400 non-members
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Final Cut Pro 7 has been the industry standard for years, and most people rely on this robust editing program – including NW Documentary’s Editing Lab. Using hands-on exercises, this introductory course is perfect for anyone looking for a start-to-finish editing overview. Learn concepts such as match action, cutting to music, creating transitions and adjusting levels, and how to combine visuals and interviews in the documentary style. If you’re planning to edit projects at NW Documentary, make sure to sign up for this course. Taught by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and director of NW Documentary, Ian McCluskey.
Intro to Digital Editing: Final Cut Pro X
Five Mondays: 3/5-4/2 from 6-8pm
$250 members/$400 non-members
Skill Level: Beginner to Advanced
Apple recently released a very different version of Final Cut, known as Final Cut X. It’s a simple, entry level editing program similar to iMovie. If you’re a beginner editor or a curious professional, join Tom Parker for an overview of Final Cut X and find out if it’s a good editing solution for you. First time users of Final Cut Pro X will find it easy to make edits, do effects, manage your media and much more. Tom Parker is a NW Documentary DIY alum, now launching his first feature film.
Personal Narrative
Eight Wednesdays: 2/8–3/28 from 6–8 pm
$400 members/$600 non-members
Skill Level: Beginner to Advanced
Anything can be the seed of a great short documentary project: an old letter, a reel of home movies, a stack of photos, or even “found” footage. In this workshop, you can tell a personal memory, make a tribute to a loved one, or simply experiment with audio and visual storytelling. Once completed, your film can be shared with friends, family, and the world, or remain simply a personal memento. Come join a small, supportive group to express your creativity through documentary art.
We’ll watch examples of short projects and develop ideas, work together to refine your creative concepts, and focus on writing and editing your materials into a well-crafted short film. You’ll leave feeling proud of your accomplishment and have a beautiful personal film to share. This workshop is specially designed to go hand-in-hand with Intro to Editing, or previous editing experience is required. Taught by Ian McCluskey, Artistic Director of NW Documentary.
Discovering the DSLR
Three Thursdays: 3/1, 3/15 & 3/22 from 6–8 pm; Shoot Saturday, 3/3 from 11 am–5 pm
$350 members/$500 non-members
Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced
In this class we combine two of our favorite things, documentary and music, and offer a unique opportunity to practice using DSLR cameras to shoot a music performance. Using the latest Canon DSLR cameras from Pro Photo Supply, we’ll talk about techniques, then join the Live Audio Recording workshop to shoot a special performance by a Portland band. Then we’ll transfer and edit the multi-camera footage. You’ll get hands- on experience with these amazing new cameras, learn shooting and editing techniques for working with DSLR HD, and in the end, you’ll have a cool video to show off. Intermediate to advanced FCP skills required. Instructor John Waller is a professional shooter and editor. His award-winning work has been featured at numerous film festivals. His film, Into Darkness, was shot entirely on a Canon DSLR.
Live Audio Recording
Three Saturdays: 2/18, 2/25 & 3/17 from 11 am–2 pm & Shoot Saturday: 3/3 from 11 am–5 pm
$250 members/$400 non-members
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
This audio workshop offers hands-on instruction in live audio recording. In the first session we’ll cover audio set-up and common mistakes of recording sound. Next we’ll cover basic live music recording techniques to prepare for the music video shoot. Then we’ll team up with the Discovering the DSLR class to record the audio for a special performance by a Portland band. In the final class we’ll work on post-production techniques to sweeten the audio for the music videos. Instructor Ken Webster is a professional audio engineer with experience in music composition, field audio for sound design, and field audio for film dialogue.
Conquering Film Festivals
Monday 2/6 from 7-9pm
$20 members/$40 non-members
Skill level: All are welcome!
Film Festivals are a great way to give your work attention and acclaim. Before you hit the festival circuit, it’s
important to have a festival strategy and know which ones to apply to. In this one night workshop we’ll have money saving tips and suggestions on how to make the most of the festival experience. Come with plenty of questions. Taught by Ian McCluskey, Artistic Director of NW Documentary, whose latest film, Summer Snapshot, screened at more than 30 film festivals including BFI London and Tribeca Film Festivals, as well as Clermont- Ferrand International Short Film Festival.
Ride and Shoot
Two Sessions: 3/19 from 6 to 8pm & 3/25 from 1 to 5pm
$200 members/$350 non-members
Skill Level: All are welcome!
Camera, bikes, what’s not to like? We’ll gather for two sessions to learn how to shoot while riding your bike. During the first class, we’ll discuss various mounting techniques and provide tips on getting the smoothest shots possible. You’ll spend the next week rigging up your bike for the next session when we meet for a short ride around the city. Afterwards, we’ll head back to NW Documentary for hot cocoa and to review footage. The best shots will premiere on the big screen at the Filmed by Bike Film Festival in April! You don’t need to be a pro cyclist or a pro filmmaker to take this course. Everyone is welcome! Taught by filmmaker and cyclist, Joe Biel.
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Hollywood Film Series Workshops
Join us as we bring a new documentary to the Hollywood Theatre each month in 2012. Screenings are held at the Hollywood, and accompanying workshops with visting filmmakers are held at NW Documentary.
Next up:
How to Die in Oregon Workshop with Director Peter Richardson & Editor Greg Snider
Saturday 2/18 from 1-2:30pm
$15 NW Doc & Hollywood Theatre members/$30 non-members
Skill level: All are welcome!
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Documentaries from our Community
Visit our Video Gallery to check out clips from original documentaries created in our workshops. Check out the Selected Works DVD Set for the best, boldest, most creative documentaries from our past workshops. Proceeds benefit our education programs.
NW Documentary's workshops are made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Oregon Arts Commission, the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, and individual donors.
