WHAT I SAW: DOCUMENTING HISTORY THROUGH FIRSTHAND ACCOUNTS
Ages 16-29
Summer 2018, Johns Hopkins Homewood and on location
In this digital documentary workshop student fellows will explore the history of Baltimore through the people who lived it. Working with the nonprofit social service provider GEDCO, fellows will identify elders in the community whose biographies promise special insight into pivotal moments in the last century. They’ll research the eras, locations, and events that compel them and develop thoughtful questions for interviews. They’ll then meet with the elders and visit the locations. They’ll learn the elders’ personal stories and attempt to contextualize those stories within the larger historical framework. They’ll film significant settings with a new understanding of their meaning. In partnership with instructors and with each other, they’ll make four short films that include interviews, archival material, and original footage of Baltimore. This cross-generational collaboration will provide a unique opportunity for fellows to engage with and tell complex, true stories of individuals and of a community, a city, a nation in the 20th century. Fellows will learn research and interview protocols, and all aspects of digital video production, including audio recording and editing. Finished films will be shown at a public screening and on the program website. Limited to 12 student fellows.
Jim Mahjoubian, Video Production Coordinator for the Baltimore City Public Schools, believes any young person with an interest in film should be given an opportunity to explore and find their voice. In fifteen years of production and education he's helped many former students move into the industry with passion and integrity.
Stan Saunders is a retired broadcaster for WJZ-TV Baltimore. He mentors youth in the Baltimore City Public Schools through his nonprofit program, Baltimore Area Sports and Entertainment (B.A.S.E.). He also creates community-impact documentaries, leveraging his more than thirty years telling Baltimore stories.
Xavier Plater is a filmmaker, videographer, photographer, and broadcaster, who lives in Baltimore. His company, X-Media Productions, specializes in client work, including short films, documentaries, and music videos. He's also an incoming freshman at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he plans to study filmmaking.
Jake Golden is a Philadelphia native and a senior Writing Seminars major at Johns Hopkins University. After graduation, he hopes to pursue a career in screenwriting and film production.
