Media Making Change
4013 N Gantenbein, Portland, OR 97227 (503) 975-4545
Since 2006, we have hosted a dozen college students each summer and taught them how to produce engaging and effective documentaries. They come from across the country—from Princeton, Brown University, Macalester, Whitman, Reed and other top-notch schools. (For more information about our students, please Our Students & Their Projects.)
The program runs eight weeks—from late June through mid-August—and is hosted in Oregon. The city of Portland serves as a hands-on laboratory as students make their radio and video documentaries about “local solutions to global issues”—whether that means a radio program about backyard chicken coops to encourage more local food production or a program to provide returning soldiers mental health services. (Examples of past students’ work is available at Our Students & Their Projects.)
The program is a mix of hardcore classroom academics and a hands-on production house; it is a potent recipe that helps students mature their passions into practical job skills, and in the process produce a series of engaging, professional-quality radio and video documentaries. We work award-winning filmmakers, radio personalities and local politicos to teach about how media projects can effectively bring about positive social change.
All college undergraduates are eligible (including graduating seniors). Students are handpicked for their smarts, passion and optimism. The program is limited to 12 students. (For more details about the admissions process, please check out the application packet.)
A background in Political Science and/or Media Studies is helpful, but the program is open to all disciplines. The ideal candidate is someone who has worked with community projects and is interested in “making a difference.” Many of our students have never picked up a microphone or video camera before, yet they leave the summer with professional-grade skills for producing media projects and a strong knowledge about how to affect social change.
We are not necessarily looking for the A+ student who sits front-and-center, but are looking for students who have potential. We work hard to maintain a low tuition; the entire program is available for $1250, a cost charged to offset production and some instructional fees. In addition, there are a limited number of scholarships available to help offset travel and living expenses. The Northwest Institute wants to make certain that there are no financial barriers to attendance.
The majority of the program takes place in Portland, Oregon with the exception of the first week when students live at a summer camp in Zig Zag, Oregon, near on Mt Hood. This week is a remarkable opportunity for students to tune out the distractions of city life, immerse themselves in coursework, and meet each other. (Please check out a couple Audio Postcards [link to Our Students page that has Audio Postcards] that students have produced about their time at camp.) Students attend seminars on interview styles, learn to build engaging narratives, and still have time to hike the beautiful mountain trials and chill out around nightly campfires.
The remaining seven weeks of the program are spent in Portland, where they attend classes in the mornings at the University of Oregon Turnbull Center (located adjacent to the Willamette River) and work on projects throughout Portland. Students have the option to live with homestays around the city.
Portland is a young, dynamic and growing city that serves as the students’ hands-on laboratory as they learn about the city‘s many inventive programs and as they have an opportunity to develop their own ideas into real projects. The city serves as a robust resource. It is home to many forward-thinking ideas for transportation, sustainability and community building. It also is home to many talented media-producers. Two years ago, for example, Dennis Fitzgerald, who produces music videos for The Shins and The Decembrists, served as a mentor for students, teaching video skills and techniques. Last year, students worked with Curt Ellis, who starred in and produced the documentary “King Corn” and with Matt Martin, the editor for “No Impact Man.”
Students also enjoy access to local politicians, who help teach the students about effective methods to bring about political changes. One summer, former Mayor Tom Potter even threw out the first pitch for the students‘ softball game against cross-town rival, the Oregon Bus Project’s PolitiCorp (another locally-based summer program that focuses on political campaigns) and students attend seminars hosted by the likes of U.S. Senator Ron Wyden’s chief of staff and the current mayor of Portland Sam Adams to learn persuasive ways to present their work to elected officials and civic leaders.
Although the focus for the summer program is media and students spend time hands-on with projects, it should not be confused that the Northwest Institute is a trade school; it is hardcore academics, taught by top-notch professors and journalists. It is a liberal arts-styled program that demands and teaches critical thought. These are the cerebral skills necessary for students to pursue a political career in the media and arts.
Students also attend seminars on professional development, and work on their resumes, improving interview and presentation skills and, ultimately, create a five-year “career map” to help them navigate into their professional lives.
And yes of course, students do fill up their portfolios: Each student produces a radio documentary and a short video documentary. For examples of these documentaries, please check out Our Students & Their Projects.
Download this application » (pdf)
©2006–2010 Northwest Institute for Social Change.