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TWN Workshops
TWN has trained over 400 film and video artists in the past 30 years through its
annual TWN Film & Video Production Workshop. In addition, over the past five
years, the organization has also presented each spring and fall: the Final Cut Pro/Media
Literacy workshop series', the Wednesday Night Workshop Series, and in 2005, began
presenting Youth Alternative Media Workshops as well. In 2009, with
the extra support of the Asian Women Giving Circle, TWN presented the AGEM
(Asian Girls Empowerment through Media) Summer Workshop, a program of media
literacy and production where 11 Asian young women produced 4 videos. TWN regularly
collaborates on workshops, conferences, seminars and special projects such as The
Writers & Makers Film Series, the New Visions Series, the Human Rights, Reunification
and Korean Diaspora Film Festival with NYU A/P/A studies and local community groups.
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Annual TWN Film and Video Production Workshop
Now celebrating its 32nd year, the TWN Film & Video Production Workshop is a
unique "hands- on" program that provides practical skills and resources
for emerging film and video makers. The Production Workshop emphasizes the training
and support of people of color who have limited resources and access to mainstream
educational institutions and traditional training programs within the film/video
industry. Most past workshop participants now work in film, video and the media
arts, including Academy Awards nominees and Emmy winning filmmakers. Instructors
and guest speakers are working professionals. The curriculum of this intensive 6
month program focuses on the pre-production, production and post production skills
necessary to take a short project from conception to completion. Workshop members
will participate in projects shot on 16mm film and digital video. Workshop members
will gain technical skills and experience through the projects, and will be trained
to edit using the non-linear Final Cut Pro system. The Production Workshop begins
in early February and meets every Thursday at 6:30 pm in the offices of Third World
Newsreel. The workshop is time intensive and participants must be able to attend
regular class meetings as well as meet the out-of-class demands of pre- production,
production, and post-production. Prior film, video or related experience is recommended
but not required; creativity, self-initiative, time and a collaborative spirit are.
The selection to the Production Workshop is limited to 9 participants. An initial
written application is required and a second round of applicants are selected for
interviews. The cost of the 2010 workshop will be $600.
Application process is closed.
More information on our other workshops.
TWN Production Workshop Director
Herman Lew received his BA from the State University of Los Angeles and his M.F.A.
from New York University Graduate Film/TV Program. He is an associate professor
and the director of the B.F.A. Film & Video Program in the Department of Media
and Communication Arts at The City College of New York. He has been a director of
photography on over 65 films, documentaries and commercials, as well as other forms
of film/video productions such as dance, experimental, and museum installations.
He has been the recipient of
a New York Foundation For The Arts Fellowship and has received grants from the New
York State Council On The Arts for his own film and video projects. His most recent
production is (En)Countering Bias, a documentary on
Asian American performer activists. Since 1989, Herman has been the director of
the nationally recognized Film & Video Production Workshop program at Third
World Newsreel.
Workshop FAQs
What types of films/videos can be made in the workshop?
Dramatic, documentary, experimental and various cross genres. Regardless of the
formal structure, projects must be kept short, simple and manageable to keep production
time and expenses down.
What other costs are associated with the Production Workshop?
The workshop provides basic production equipment and a limited amount of tape/film
stock. Other production costs such as extra video tape/film stock, transportation,
food, props, etc. are at the participants' expense.
When are applications available and when will I be notified of acceptance/rejection?
Applications are up on our website in the fall of each year and the deadline for
this year's completed applications is January 8th, 2010. Second round interviews
are conducted soon after and people will be notified in the first half of February
of acceptance or rejection.
How competitive is the application process?
We want as many people as possible to have access to the application process. However,
only about half of the applicants are contacted for a second round of personal interviews
for the 9 available slots. If necessary, interviews can be conducted over the phone
for out of city/state applicants.
Are there other training programs that TWN offers?
The Film & Video Production Workshop is project driven and the only production
training program that TWN offers. It is conducted once a year and starts in late
winter / early spring. However, TWN also offers two other workshop programs that
are not project driven or primarily production oriented: Intro to Final Cut Pro
Nonlinear Editing & Media Literacy Workshop and the Wednesday Night Seminar
Series. The Final Cut Pro workshop is a 6 week program conducted twice a year, once
in the winter and again in the spring. The cost is $300 and participation is by
registration. The Wednesday Night Seminar Series is an 6 week workshop with each
week covering a different media topic or issue, from proposal writing to budgeting
to practical tips in production. The Wednesday Night Seminars also run twice a year,
once in the spring and again in the fall. The cost is $20 (student/low income rate
avail) per session and participation is also by registration. For more information
on these two workshops, call 212-947-9277 ext. 15 or email:
workshop@twn.org
What kind of time commitment is necessary for the Production Workshop?
If your time is limited or you have other commitments, it will be very difficult
to fully benefit from the Production Workshop. In addition to the regular Thursday
evening meetings, participants are also required to attend the Wednesday Night Seminar
Series (Production Workshop members do not have to pay for the Wednesday Workshop
Series). There is also a tremendous amount of work in pre-production and post-production
that each participant must accomplish outside of the regularly attended Thursday
and Wednesday sessions. In addition, because people often work during the weekday,
most productions are shot on the weekends or in the evenings so you must be available
and flexible with your time. Workshop participants are also required to do a Community
Service Project where members provide some kind of service, i.e. shoot an event,
screen films or videos, conduct a media workshop, etc. for a grassroots community
organization. It must be emphasized that the Production Workshop is not a "school"
situation where one meets for class once a week, takes notes and then comes back
again the following week. It is a project driven and production orientated program
where one must be committed to learning basic production skills while making progressive
media projects.
What have past participants done after the Production Workshop?
Past participants have produced, written and directed feature films, documentaries
and experimental works. They have worked as cinematographers, editors and other
technical positions on fictional films, documentaries, commercials, music videos,
etc. They have been Academy Award nominees. They have been accepted to graduate
film programs at NYU, UCLA, CCNY and Columbia University and have attended AFI,
IFP and the Sundance Directors and Writing labs. They have started their own production
companies and film collectives. They have produced community based video & film
projects and training programs....the list goes on. Workshop graduates include:
Loira Limbal (Estilo Hip Hop), Byron Hurt (Beyond Beats and Rhymes),Grace Lee (The
Grace Lee Project), Ada Griffin (A Litany for Survival:The Life and Work of Audre
Lorde), Randy Redroad (Doe Boy), Renata Gangemi (Professor, Ramapo College), Alice
Wu (Saving Face), Jamal Josephs (30 Days, Professor, Columbia Univ.), Renee Tajima-Pena
(Calavera Highway, Who Killed Vincent Chin?, Professor, UC Santa Cruz).
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