Four Lessons in Filmmaking

I’m currently wrapping up editing on a new short film. Here are four lessons I’ve learned over the years from making movies. Crew Work with the best people you can afford. And if you can’t afford a great Director of Photography, call in favors and plan to trade services in return. You’ll have to work around others' schedules but nothing can ever replace working with talented people. Advice Feedback is critical. And there’s never a shortage of opinions. As the saying goes, everyone’s got one. It may be tempting to seek out as many opinions as you can. But doing so often leaves me at least feeling like I’m drowning in conflicting ideas. I’ve had more success seeking out the advice of two or three trusted friends who understand what I’m trying to do. In the end though, I think we have to learn to trust our own vision, even if others…

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Pictures of the Year International 2013 Awardees Announced

MediaStorm is honored to announce we have won second place in the Pictures of the Year International Best Website category. Other winners in this category were the Los Angeles Times, which won first place, and TIME, which won third place. It is always a pleasure and inspiration for us to see the best of the industry's work honored in the annual POYi competition and this year is no exception. Here are some highlights from this year's multimedia competition. The winner of the Documentary Project of the Year was Liz O. Baylen, Mary Vignoles, Scott Glover, Lisa Girion, Hailey Branson-Potts, Marc Duvoisin, Matt Lait, Megan Garvey, Stephanie Ferrell, Hailey Branson-Potts, Doug Smith, Sandra Poindexter, Maloy Moore, Armand Emamdjomeh, Lily Mihalik and Lorena Iñiguez Elebee of the Los Angeles Times for "Dying For Relief - A Times Investigation." MediaStorm Spring 2013 Interns, Joshua Davis and Jon Kasbe were part of the team that produced…

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Applications Open for WKU Mountain Workshops

Western Kentucky University’s (WKU) Mountain Workshops draw a team of dedicated teachers and determined learners to a small Kentucky town to explore the richness of community, the beauty of landscape, and the possibilities and challenges of visual storytelling. The 37th annual Workshops will take place Oct. 16-21, 2012 in Henderson, KY. Early registration ends on Sept. 15. The Mountain Workshops are three workshops in one. Participants can select from one of the three to suit their current need of visual development: The Photojournalism Workshop focuses on still photography, as coaches and participants explore individual character, the give and take of relationships, the deeply-felt sense of belonging to a place and the pride of participating in a shared heritage. The Picture Editing Workshop draws on the design sensibilities and electronic publishing expertise of its coaches to help participants learn to weave photographs and text together into memorable narratives. The Multimedia Workshop challenges participants…

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