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Home > Documentary Workshops > Three-Week Documentary Film Workshop – Cape Town, South Africa

 


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Three-Week Documentary Film Workshop – Cape Town, South Africa

Early Bird Deal: Save $300!

Get a discounted price of $3,350.00 when you register by June 15th. if you have questions.

 

Three-Week Documentary Film – Cape Town, South Africa

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November 2nd – November 23rd, 2014
Cape Town, South Africa
$3,650.00
Save $300 when you register by June 15th
$1,000.00
$3,650.00 includes deposit. $1,000.00 deposit is non-refundable & non-transferable. Deposit must be in by July 15th, 2014. Balance due August 15th, 2014.
Housing and meals are not included and should be booked through the Living Art Farm. Pricing on housing varies depending on your choice and what is available. Please see under Planning Your Trip.
9 students max
Alison Fast
Chandler Griffin
Chandler Griffin

 

NOTE: Combine this workshop with another three-week workshop and save 20%. Please if you are interested in signing up for more than one workshop.

   

Location

Take a workshop with Barefoot and make a difference in the world by using your knowledge together with HD technology. Create skills that will allow you to continue making positive change anywhere and everywhere.

This class is structured for individuals who are interested in mixing travel, social activism, and HD documentary filmmaking into three weeks in Cape Town, South Africa. The workshop is set up for the adventurers who feel the pull to use their skills to contribute to a grassroots non-governmental organization (NGO) in sub-Saharan Africa. Subject matter is not limited to NGO stories. Cape Town is rich with stories that have not been told.

Possible topics: Environment, cuisine, education, HIV/AIDS, music, agriculture, orphans, building sustainable communities and civil rights.

Overview

Content

This 3-week workshop is designed for new documentary filmmakers who want to launch their careers in film and television documentaries or for those with experience in some aspects of filmmaking that are looking to expand their skill, understanding and mastery of the whole process. Producers, cinematographers, editors and writers with narrative experience who are considering working in non-fiction filmmaking are also encouraged to enroll. This workshop is ideal for working professionals who want to develop important skills, which will allow them to work with other filmmakers.

The workshop is unique because it explores every aspect of documentary filmmaking.

Chandler Griffin and Alison Fast will help you develop an understanding for the visual structure, style, and production requirements of a wide variety of documentaries along with storytelling and the art of writing and directing. This will include laying a visual foundation by spending many hours exploring how light, composition, and emotion make up the image. Many different lighting techniques and styles will be covered. Chandler will also be covering all editing demos using Final Cut Pro. Using case studies along with student's ideas, the goal of the course is to provide an intense overview of the art of documentary productions. Every student will learn how to evaluate non-fiction ideas, create their own ideas and develop an understanding of documentary film aesthetics and the storytelling process.

The Program

The workshop meets 7 days each week. There will be lectures, screenings, presentations, technical demos, a review and critique of all dailies, supervised editing sessions, discussion of documentaries, and individual meetings with the Chandler and Alison. Assume you will be in class all the time and schedule time appropriately if you do want a day off.

The workshop combines lectures and presentations with supervised and formal instruction in production (camera, lighting, sound, editing), shooting on location, transcribing, screening and discussion of current and classic documentaries, meetings with visiting filmmakers and written assignments.

Production

Students will make trips to local communities where they will meet individuals and organizations. Locations include District Six, Masiphumelele, Kahyelitsha, Simons Town, Kalk Bay and other fascinating places in and around Cape Town.

The workshop will break into groups of three, with each group producing a completed 8 to 12 minute piece shot with HD cameras sponsored by Canon South Africa and edited with Final Cut Pro. Students will meet and scout their subjects and write outlines to guide their production. From there they will conduct interviews, film B-roll and coverage for a sequence, record sound and take their material into post-production. Students will transcribe all interviews using InqScribe software. Students will be instructed in creating first an edit on paper, then on the computer, where after assembly into a final edit, they will color correct, mix sound and add titles to their finished work. The projects will encompass the diversity of documentary styles and allow the individual the chance to problem-solve by learning to work as a team.

Presentation

At the end of the workshop, all documentaries will be screened for the community at a theatre in Cape Town. The filmmakers are encouraged to invite locals who have participated in their documentaries. This is a very important part of the workshop.

Food

Meals are part of the housing booking but we recommend that you purchase snacks if you want something other than the three meals a day. There is a grocery store nearby so it's no big deal to purchase things locally. We'll occasionally go out to an optional "dinner out" where students are responsible for their own meal. If you opt out, there is always a meal at home. On designated days students will be allowed to go out on their own. You'll want to get out for meals when you can. We spend so many evenings in the classroom that it's nice to get out. But there is always dinner at home if you choose to stay in.

Please let Living Art Farm know if you have any dietary needs that should be addressed. * Vegetarian, gluten free, etc.

Research/Ideas For Stories

If you want to get a jump on ideas and learn about the "characters" in town please feel free to start looking around. Email us if you want to get started early.

Equipment

The workshop is sponsored by Canon South Africa, Camera Tek, Sennheiser, Lowel Lighting, Bogen Imaging, Delkin, GoPro, Inqscribe & PluralEyes. Other companies will send equipment as needed. Each team gets their own camera, tripod, shotgun mic, wireless mic and MAC laptop assigned to them.

Can I bring my own equipment to use in the workshop?

If you are using any of the Canon HD or DSLR cameras, feel free to bring your camera along to possibly use. If you have another brand, you will not be able to use it for filming your documentary but you are more than welcome to bring your equipment and show it. We say this because we have no room for error and can't get sidetracked with outside formats, conversions, etc.

Will I need a hard drive?

YES, We HIGHLY recommend that all students bring an external hard drive to back up projects. When the workshop is over, you will want to take your documentary media and Final Cut Pro project file home. Barefoot will have a copy of your entire film on our drive, but it is one of the most important things you will take with you. This is not required but if you want to leave with your media, bring a drive.

Suggested Hard Drive:

1. Glyph Technologies 2TB Quad Interface Hard Drive. This drive is around $239.00 at Tekserve (NYC people) or B&H. See this drive at B & H.

Drives are inexpensive these days so go with the best. Glyph drives will not go down. If your Glyph drive goes down during the workshop, I'll personally call Glyph and have it replaced. Do not bring anything that is less than 2TB.

You cannot use a USB2 drive to edit your film. Firewire 800/USB3 is the best option.

Can I bring a drive made by another company?

Yes, but we can't guarantee that the drive will not go down. Remember, this is a three-week workshop and we have no room for error.

Should I bring my laptop?

YES... it will be hugely helpful to have your laptop. Barefoot will assign your team a MacBookPro but it is a huge help to have your own laptop for research and transcribing. If you have a MAC, we highly recommend you bring it. We can load a temporary transcription software on your computer, which will speed things up when typing out your interviews. You are not allowed to use a Barefoot Workshops computer to surf the internet and check your email. It is specifically for editing your documentary and not for personal use.

Planning Your Trip

For the seventh time, the workshop is based out of Living Art Farm in Noordhoek, South Africa. Barefoot Workshops books out the rooms ahead of time but students must pay for their housing before the workshop begins. Housing includes all three meals. Please email Living Art Farm for additional information on the housing price that best fit your needs.



Living Art Farm

(South Africa) 011 + 27 + 432-729-3669

www.livingartfarm.co.za


























Transportation

We recommend students rent cars for the workshop. We do not recommend trying to coordinate something outside of the Cape Town airport.


Check kayak.com's car rental options.

Airport

Fly into the Cape Town airport. It is easy to get to Living Art Farm from the airport, 45 minutes.

Please copy/paste this link and you will have directions from the airport to Living Art Farm. http://g.co/maps/u4mdg

When To Arrive & When Do We Start

The class runs from November 2nd - 23rd. We recommend that all students arrive on Sunday the 2nd in the early afternoon 1pm or 2pm arrival at the Cape Town airport. This will give you enough time to get your rental car and get to Noordhoek in the late afternoon. If you have them time, PLEASE consider coming down the day before (Saturday) and relaxing before it all starts. It will be a very long workshop once we begin on Monday morning. If you want to come down a day earlier, let Living Art Farm know by emailing Barry at bookings@livingartfarm.co.za. If you are coming down a day early, check with Living Art Farm before you book your ticket to make sure housing is available.

We will have a meeting after dinner on Sunday evening (the 2nd), which you must attend.

When To Leave

The workshop is over on the morning of Sunday the 23rd. Checkout is at 11am. People pack up and are usually headed back to the Cape Town airport in the late morning or early afternoon.

Quotes

“What makes this workshop rise so far, far above is how fully all of the instructors give of themselves – they give not just what they know, but also who and what they are. It's one of those impossibly wonderful experiences that really does have to be experienced to be understood.”

Paula Froke, USA

Deputy National Editor Associated Press

Photos & Videos

Kalk Bay, a small Western Cape community once vitalized through the practice and heritage of fishing, now questions it's identity moving forward.










Responsibility

Barefoot Workshops will not assume responsibility or liability for any loss or damage of personal effects or for any injury or loss during your program. Barefoot Workshops is not liable for any loss, damage, or injury caused by war, weather, sickness, government restrictions or regulations or any other causes over which we have no control. Barefoot Workshops recommends that each participant carry personal travel insurance to cover the cost of any unforeseen emergency, damage to or loss of baggage, cancellation or sickness. If a participant becomes ill or incapacitated, Barefoot Workshops may take whatever action it deems necessary to preserve his health/safety, including medical treatments, hospital transfers at the participant's expense.


* By paying deposit and tuition and/or by attending this workshop, students agree to these non-negotiable terms. *