OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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In the spirit of Oregon State University's outreach mission, the Oregon State Production team looks for opportunities to collaborate with communities around the world, developing youth-centered storytelling workshops that explore careers and the ability to use visual media to empower regional voices. We're especially interested in working with communities on the front lines of climate change resilience.
For the past four years we've been working with the ATSIMS (Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in Marine Sciences) Program on Orpheus Island, Queensland, Australia. We will also be participating in the 2019 Tribal Climate Camp in Polston, Montana.
So often as documentary filmmakers we find ourselves in conversations with subjects in scientific disciplines, community members and subjects from a range of backgrounds from all parts of the world. By sharing what we know with youth groups in regions dealing with anthropogenic changes, we hope to stimulate dialog, empower voices within affected areas and inspire young people to consider college, especially in storytelling and media fields.
Our staff collaboratively teaches a film class, Documentary Film Studies 445/545, in the School of Writing, Literature and Film. In the course, we delve into nonfiction storytelling for the big screen, and we trace the history of documentary film and analyze current and past films. Students explore the medium from a filmmaker's perspective, developing their own feature film plans, learning the techniques and tactics that directors have used through the decades to bring real life to the cinema. This is a great class for work shopping your own feature documentary idea, or to gain a deeper understanding of documentary film just as the format is gaining a resurgence in interest and exposure.
This annual program is a funded experience for students interested in documentary filmmaking. Accepting applicants with a range of video production experience from all majors and disciplines at OSU, the program awards a $1,000 stipend and $500 in expenses to students who complete short documentary films about research and science-based subjects. Applications are accepted every year at the end of the fall term.