Teach Film Making in Malawi, Africa
Mzuzu, Malawi Screen Course Oct 7-12, 2013

I will be teaching 10 African students film making skills over six days. We will be making a short documentary story (a student idea) from planning, filming and editing to demonstrate industry standard pre-production, production and post-production techniques.

The students are Africans from all over Malawi who have various skill levels from the local film and television industry and independant film makers. As Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world there is little opportunity for local practitioners to train in industry standard production techniques or use high definition video production equipment.

My hope is that the participants will gain industry standard skills and techniques, so that the films they make can be of a quality that they can tell their stories and screen their films both within Malawi and overseas.

I have lived and worked in East Africa for a few years and know their is little opportunity for local Africans to gain the level of education or access to technology like video camera's and computers we in the first world take for granted. I am hoping to give the students the tools to tell their stories.

Students will plan, film and edit a short documentary and prepare the finished video for broadcast, DVD and online distribution.

Equipment used in the workshop will include a tripod, video camera, boom and lapel microphones, lights, laptop computer with video editing software (Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere) and a hard drive. I will be taking my equipment over, unless I can raise enough money to purchase and leave equipment with the students or get equipment donated.

I will also be approaching companies to donate camera, sound and lighting equipment to leave with the students in Malawi so they not only have the knowledge to make productions, but will have the equipment to make them on. I will also approach airlines to ship the equipment to Malawi.

Here is my proposed teaching schedule

Day 1
Video production process overview
Camera setup and composition
Story is everything – three act structure
Synopsis and treatment

Day 2
Storyboarding
Sound recording techniques
OH&S Risk Assessment
Location scouting and the reconnoitre

Day 3
Three point lighting
Camera techniques
Filming the interviews
Filming the B Roll

Day 4
Filming the interviews
Filming the B Roll
Video Editing overview
Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere video editing overview
Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere logging rushes and transfer

Day 5
Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere assemble editing and fine cut
Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere adding music
Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere adding B Roll to interviews
Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere adding and animating stills

Day 6
Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere adding titles and credits
Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere colour grading
Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere exporting the finished video for broadcast, DVD and online distribution.

If I don't reach my target of $3000 I will be teaching this course in Malawi anyway, whether I meet my budget or not.