BALTIMORE UPROAR: DOCUMENTING MEMOIR AND JAZZ
Ages 16-29
Fall 2017, Morgan State University and on location
This digital filmmaking workshop will introduce best practices and basic production techniques for documenting memoir, and for filming and recording live musical performance. Inspired by Romare Bearden’s (bio) famous glass mosaic, "Baltimore Uproar" (link), fellows will document stories from across generations told by jazz musicians with solid roots in the city, including Grammy Award-winning alto saxophonist Gary Bartz. In the spirit of Bearden, described by the New York Times as America's "foremost collagist," the workshop will explore connections between jazz and the art of collage, aided by expert insight from Dr. Diedre Harris Kelly, Co-Director of the Romare Bearden Foundation. Fellows will collaborate on one or more films responding to the art and the artists they encounter. They'll be introduced to the Adobe Creative Suite, including After Effects, Premiere, and Parallax, as 2D animation is employed to transform art into a living porthole to the past, present, and future of jazz in Baltimore. Their film(s) will be shared on the program website and at a public screening. Some workshop meetings will take place on location at the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center. Limited to 12 student fellows.
Baltimore Uproar is a co-production of Baltimore Youth Film Arts and Morgan State University.
Keith Mehlinger is Director of the Digital Media Center and Coordinator of the Screenwriting and Animation program (SWAN) at Morgan State University. A producer/writer/director, he produced episodes of the syndicated series, Story of a People, and recently completed a short documentary about parents of sons lost to street violence for the Morgan multimedia project, Mother's Lament.
David Lee Roberts Jr., an award-winning television producer and documentary filmmaker, is Adjunct Professor in the Screenwriting and Animation (SWAN) program at Morgan State University. Television credits include Metro Focus, and film credits include the upcoming features Covenant of Peace, about the Washington, D.C. juvenile justice system, and Charm City, about Baltimore community reform and engagement.
Kyle Yearwood is an assistant in Morgan State University’s Screenwriting and Animation program, with proficiency in cinematography, editing, photography, special effects, and animation. He has worked as a videographer for the Baltimore MTA, interned for HBO’s Show Me a Hero, and currently freelances in visual production.
Jessica Pettiford is an undergraduate in the Screenwriting and Animation (SWAN) program at Morgan State University. She hopes to improve her own skills in animation while working with others and helping them learn something new.
