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Fall 2007 Workshops and Institute  Summer 2007 Audio Institutes Summer 2007 Video Institute Summer 2007 Literacy Through Photography Institute Winter 2007 Documentary Happening Institute Gallery: Slide Shows of Institutes and Workshops Student Testimonials about CDS Workshops / Institutes / Continuing Studies Past Workshops/Institutes  Gallery: Slide Shows of Institutes and Workshops 
Student Testimonials about CDS Workshops / Institutes / Continuing Studies 2004 Video Documentary Institute What were your expectations of the Institute? "I wanted: 1) Basic technical instruction: camera, lights, sound, Final Cut Pro — got that. 2) Exposure to other filmmakers, screenings — got that with instructors and guest speakers. 3) An opportunity to take a project from start to finish — got it. 4) An energizing experience to fuel my motivation — got a lot of it!" — Michelle Faucher, Santa Fe, New Mexico "Everything was new to me. Your organization, your idea, your execution, are all extraordinary!" — Rick Madden, Durham, North Carolina "I attended wanting to learn and understand the ethics of documentary ... and by the end, boy did I ever! I really feel I am walking away with such an amazing understanding of the medium. The amount of care and effort that went into planning this institute really came across. It was a seamless week and I was very impressed with how comfortable I was at all times, giving us the freedom to focus on working." — Stefanie Fedor, Baltimore, Maryland "I wanted the overview and definitely got it. I wanted to discover what it was that I needed specifically as a director — coming in I wasn't even sure what skills I needed, how to verbalize my struggles to get where I need to be as a director, etc. — so the class showed me in so many ways where I am in relation to all that, what I seem to possess instinctively and where I need more development. Being able to stop any instructor and bounce stuff back and forth was great. Great to see all the different approaches." — Mary Barnett, Chattanooga, Tennessee "I just thought everyone of these people was so generous, so open, so helpful, so knowledgeable. I just can't imagine a better staff. They were so complementary to each other." — Documentary Video Institute Participant, Durham, North Carolina "The uncompetitive atmosphere ... was a great tone for a beginner ... the calm demeanor of the teachers for those of us who were anxious. The enthusiasm of everybody — for software, cameras, equipment — very infectious." — Susan Barco, Durham, North Carolina "I really enjoyed all the instructors — and gained different perspectives and knowledge from each. Most importantly, they created a supportive, collaborative, environment for learning." — Peg Sousa, Springboro, Ohio "Excellent! I just came to be exposed to every part of the process and I was — and then some. The side benefit was actually completing the piece. That was a great feeling. I was a complete novice, and I now see myself doing this on my own." — Peg Sousa, Springboro, Ohio "Incredible! Learned enough in this afternoon [with visiting filmmaker Marco Williams] to make the week — then the week and all I learned on top of his talk pushed my experience here over the top. It will take a while, I think, to realize everything I absorbed." — Documentary Video Institute Participant 2004 Audio Institutes "I think we came expecting to 'learn audio' but learned about those other issues [ethics, collaboration] as well. I'm most grateful that this place exists, that I don't have to be a Duke student, that I can drive two hours [to walk in these doors]." — Rebecca Moon, Petersburg, Virginia "I think the best part has been the people. I'm leaving very inspired and excited about possibilities in audio. The atmosphere has been supportive and warm. I came into this with a lot of fear. I was scared that the atmosphere would be competitive or that I would be overwhelmed by the technical aspects. Instead, I felt like I was amongst a group of friends the entire time and amazed at how quickly I was up and running on Pro Tools! I'm leaving with more questions than I came in with, but in a good way. I'm energized by all the things I have left to learn and awed by the challenge and power of telling a good story." — Lora Smith, Corbin, Kentucky "I was so incredibly impressed with the preparation, the class, instructors, the care they put into this week. [The best part of the institute was] the interaction with other students and instructors. The skills I learned were useful, but the contacts and chats I had with others were the best. I felt really inspired to make good work and push myself hard." — Kate Mudge, Minneapolis, Minnesota "Very rarely do I have an experience such as this — tons of inspiration and drive to go back home and create more work. The program balanced lectures and hands-on experience very well." — Hearing Is Believing participant "I think it's pretty amazing that after a week I'm leaving unafraid to begin a project using Pro Tools on my own." — Hearing Is Believing participant "The week was so full, so fruitful, on a mind and heart level, that I can't even begin to articulate the best part until I step away from it (what is the best part of a hot fudge sundae anyway?). I will tell everyone . . . Radio Camp rocks!" — Kimberely Rome, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts "CDS is a magical place, a special place with extraordinary instructors and staff whose enthusiasm almost crackles with electric energy. This place is sorely lacking in other cities, regions . . . Every community needs one of these centers!" — Daniel O'Donnell, Miami, Florida "[CDS] is the greatest educational haven on Earth!" — Tina Tennessen, Minneapolis, Minnesota From instructors and staff: “We call them, rather loftily, Audio Documentary Institutes, but those who’ve come tend to call the experience, affectionately, Radio Camp. That’s more like it. You’ll spend a rich, intense time, making friends, eating well, working hard and learning more than you can imagine — about how to make an audio documentary and how to make it sing.” — John Biewen, American RadioWorks Producer and CDS Radio Programs Director “Participants arrive on Sunday afternoon, driving in, flying in, from across the country. They are ready to make audio documentaries, to learn the tools, to be inspired by learning from and listening to some of the best audio folks working today. To be inspired by each other. Monday, the first day, they are in the field, working in pairs to interview their subject. Minidisks in hand, microphones at the ready. Collecting voices, collecting sound. Log tape, load audio, sit at the computer, whittle an hour (or two) of tape down to four minutes, seven minutes. We spend twelve hours a day together, seeking sunlight at breaks and when we come together for lunch on the porch. Participants refuse to leave, faces glowing in the light of computer screens. Stories emerge, voices sing. Saturday morning, bleary-eyed, bolstered by bagels and coffee, we listen to each other’s stories. We all remember where we started, less than a week ago: listening to raw tape, struggling to learn Pro Tools, entering a theoretical conversation about documentary work. We watch the sound waves, admiring fades and edits. We celebrate, whoop, and applaud. We are a community now, tied together by accomplishment and the work that we love. Some vow to return. Others continue to collaborate. They leave with a charge: Go make more work. And write home often.” — Dawn K. Dreyer, CDS Learning Outreach Director ![Former movie critic Todd Lothery reviews his experiences as a student in the CDS Continuing Studies program [view video clip]](images/kickerlotheryfromfcp80q.jpg)
banner image: Documentary Video Institute, summer 2004. Photograph by Christopher Sims. |
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