Motion Storytelling for Photographers

Thu 22nd Oct, 2020 – Thu 29th Oct, 2020

Posted by Steve Brooks Posted in Career Development, Workshop

Speakers:

Scott Thompson

Thu 22nd Oct, 2020
Thu 29th Oct, 2020

Virtual workshop

Tickets:

$400: Admission (plus Eventbrite fees)

Scott Thompson leads the workshop Motion for Photographers

Photographer and Director, Scott Thompson teach the principles of storytelling for motion.

Course description

Learn to create a visual story in a documentary/editorial style. You will find, discover, and expose a narrative about a slice of life that evokes an emotion that draws the human race together. As a photographer, we work on capturing that single frame using various foundational elements and storytelling techniques. Now let's ask how do we transition from this to telling a compelling motion story?

In this hands-on workshop, we will learn how to use the foundations of photography and build upon that with proven techniques that will provide a new skill with confidence. Each participant will create a 45-60 second motion story from the methods taught in the workshop. With virtual classroom lectures and scheduled one-on-one mentorship, each participant will get tailored training to their needs and walk away with a finished product.

Course topics

The workshop is broken down into 3 phases; in the end, every attendee will understand all aspects of:

Pre-Production

Finding your story (beginning, middle, end)
Five (5) elements of storytelling
Shot sequencing
Shot list/storyboard
Audio/music/ambient sound/narration

Production

Basic camera set up
Differences between shooting still and motion
Shooting techniques
Cinematic movement
Audio/ambient sound/narration

Post-Production

Ingest/organize/select clips
Audio base
1st rough cut
Develop audio
2nd cut
Critique
3rd cut and fine-tune
Export for presentation

Workshop Schedule

Oct 22 - 2-5 PM, 3-hour virtual class
Oct 23 - 1-hour virtual class going over pre-production
Oct 24-Oct 26 - Schedule a 90 min virtual one-on-one with Scott
Oct 27-Oct 28 - Schedule a 30 min virtual one-on-one with Scott
Oct 29 - 3pm cut off final project is sent to Scott
Oct 29 - 7pm group viewing and critique of your project

Note: exact workshop times to be determined.

Workshop prerequisite

Basic understanding and how to use video editing software. (Premiere, Divinci Resolve, Final Cut, etc.) How to import footage, cut footage, work with a timeline. (I can supply some links to youtube for basic setup)
Come with 3 possible story ideas that you have access to and can easily reshoot.
Equipment - a camera that shoots video.

Equipment Rental

APA Chicago has partnered with Sony to provide an equipment kit (digital camera and mic) to attendees who need rentals free of charge. Equipment kits can be requested by sending us an email (director@apachicago.org) and conveniently picked-up at Dodd Camera.

Sample story ideas

Here are a few story ideas that are easy to shoot and reshoot. You can take a simple story and turn it into a robust emotional film.

Making breakfast
My dog and his new toy
My child building a fort out of blankets
A pillow fight
Harvesting honey from my beehive
Drinking beer and playing cards with my friends
The smell of clean clothes coming out of the dryer
Running around the block

Scott Thompson Bio

Scott's work strives to tell the stories of its subjects. He creates photography and motion that is a mix of narrative, life, and authentic imagery that brings to the surface the nuance and beauty of everyday adventures. Personal storytelling serves as the perfect embellishment to his work, enabling the viewer to be transported into the vision created.

Partial client list
Caterpillar, Allstate, Google, Rubbermaid, Soho House, Chicago Magazine, McDonald’s, Walt Disney, Toyota, Sony Music, RCA Records, American Airlines, Keurig, KIA, Subaru