Monday, November 23, 2009

Freedom Forum offers advanced multimedia boot camp Jan. 6-10 in Nashville

An Advanced Multimedia Boot Camp will be run by the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute, Jan. 6-10, 2010, at the John Seigenthaler Center in Nashville, Tenn. The course is open to any journalism educators, professionals, college students and others who know the basics and want to become more sophisticated multimedia storytellers.

Participants will create and publish a mini-documentary project using Final Cut, Google Maps, WordPress and other multimedia tools. The curriculum will cover advanced skills in audio, video storytelling, video editing, mapping and blog set-up.

To qualify for this class, registrants must have basic proficiency in multimedia storytelling through audio, still photography and video. Past participants in Freedom Forum multimedia training are strongly encouraged to sign up.

Tuition is $850, payable in advance. Low-cost housing at Extended Stay/Vanderbilt is available for an additional $71.40 per night. Registrations for the January advanced boot camp will be accepted until Dec. 22, or until classroom capacity is reached.

Applications and additional information are available at www.freedomforumdiversity.org. Questions may be directed to lead instructor Val Hoeppner at vhoeppner@freedomforum.org or 615/426-7160.

The hands-on training is equivalent to a 3-credit-hour college course. The Media Studies Department of Nashville’s Belmont University sanctions the course and awards credit to undergraduate students from other schools who pay a special, reduced charge for tuition.

The schedule is intense. The boot camp opens at 8:30 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 6, and adjourns at 2 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 10. Most days, instruction will begin at 8:30 a.m., continue through the morning, afternoon and evening.

Participants will work in small teams and will do some reporting and assignment preparation before arriving in Nashville.

The training will occur at the Diversity Institute’s state-of-the-art school facilities in the Freedom Forum’s John Seigenthaler Center, 120718th Ave. South, Nashville, Tenn. Tuition covers all supplies, use of multimedia equipment and software during training, some meals and a take-away binder filled with step-by-step guides to audio, video, Google Maps, WordPress and other multimedia applications.

Participants will learn how to:

• Use advanced Final Cut editing techniques for video storytelling.
• Shoot and edit a mini-documentary.
• Learn advanced video shooting techniques.
• Create a WordPress blog to host a project.
• Encode video and post it on a personal blog.
• Embed Google Maps and photos in a personal blog.
• Incorporate Twitter and Facebook Connect on a personal blog.

The Diversity Institute was established and funded by the Freedom Forum as a school dedicated to teaching journalism skills and First Amendment values by advancing news media diversity, fairness and excellence. The Freedom Forum Diversity Institute, Inc., is a Tennessee public charity corporation with offices, staff, programs and classes at the John Seigenthaler Center in Nashville, at the Al Neuharth Media Center in Vermillion, S.D., and at the Freedom Forum headquarters and Newseum in Washington, D.C. For inquiries about the Diversity Institute, contact Jack Marsh, vice president, at jmarsh@freedomforum.org.