Ian Willey, 28, had his first experience with hip hop early.

"I wrote this great poem once in second grade called Fat Pat. It started like this, "Once there was a boy named Pat, who was very, very, very Fat." And ever since then I liked rhymes," Willey said.

Willey is now actively pursuing his dream of becoming a hip hop artist, having recently released his first professional album.

But the words and motivation behind that album originate from an unexpected place — 90 fifth grade students at an elementary school in Harlem.

Voice is a product of the MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop, where participants work alongside MediaStorm staff to create an intimate, character-driven documentary in just one week. Learn more about upcoming MediaStorm workshops and online training at mediastorm.com/train.

Christian Als, Video

I chose this workshop mainly because it is a product oriented workshop. For a guy that usually throw away the manual as the first thing after getting a new gadget, the learning by doing atmosphere of this workshop just seemed right to me. So I arrived in New York with a wish of getting the skills needed to produce short documentary films, and hopefully feel more inspired than ever. I certainly did. Both. But what I couldn’t know was, that I would leave the city with amazing new friendships and the proudest feeling bubbling inside. Proud as hell of the piece we did as a team, and proud of myself for pushing the limits of what I thought possible as a visual storyteller. We created, did we!

I knew that MediaStorm is at the forefront of our business when it comes to narrative storytelling, but nonetheless I was surprised to see just how sharp these guys are on the narrative. Talent was abundant, and dedication was limitless. At MediaStorm the story is always at the center of everything, and they really want to share all their secrets. Any technique applied to the piece, being about sequencing, about workflow or about building the narrative, always happened with explanation and open-minded discussions.

It was intense, hard work and long nights. But also hilarious, mind-blowing and ecstatic. I had a blast!

Edith Champagne, Video

Brian Storm's instructions, insights, project vision style, as well as his editing abilities made me see a different way of working. At MediaStorm there is a desire to find character driven 'emotionalism' and 'truth' that is raw and revealing, both with video and pictures. The marriage then, of the two mediums, is what I find inspiring about MediaStorm's work.

My own future projects will certainly benefit from this approach. At the same time, being exposed to working with a DSLR, helped me understand its appeal as well as its challenges. My week with MediaStorm provided me with an enhanced view of notable video production.

Janine Boreland, Editor

I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. There was a sense of belonging, and being a part of something really exciting. I will be using the narrative skills learnt in this workshop in my future work.

The workshop was a vortex of time. MediaStorm had warned us about this prior. There were late nights, team members started to resemble POW’s getting cat-naps on the edit room floor, there were belly laughs and dummy spits. Yep, just how it is when you make a good film.

There was a great sense of collaboration working with the MediaStorm Producers on our piece. The entire process was taken very seriously, and we literally hit the ground running, but with constant support, dialogue and guidance. Thank you Brian, Tim, Rick, Caitlyn and Bruce for all your support, and I hope there may be some way to collaborate in the future.

It is a unique experience in that you are not hypothetically going through the motions of making a film – you are really doing it. Amidst the normal stresses of being in production, the Producers were also teaching us. They were continually patient, clear with information and suggestions, pushing us to make the best film possible, yet were considerate and made sure that we were enjoying the process also.

The strongest learnings that I have taken from the workshop are MediaStorm’s athletic-style commitment to narrative, and their point of difference – always being of the highest production quality. What good are pretty images when the story is flawed? It is the story and always the story that comes first and foremost. Their method of building a narrative is disciplined, followed in specific stages and is an arduous process of elimination. It is the secret in the sauce, and I found it equally painful and very satisfying going through the process.

MediaStorm online training videos provide essential tools and techniques proven to enhance production and post-production. Created from years of live training experience, the online training videos provide useful tips no matter what your role.

MediaStorm's award-winning team of producers and cinematographers lead the online training videos with lessons learned from their experience producing films and training groups and organizations around the world.