Visual Storytelling Projects

This semester-long SIPA class is a project-based course designed to help introduce students to documentary film technique, and help student teams produce documentaries on local issues. The course offers rich custom-produced guides to smart phone filming, interviewing technique, field production and editing, as well as small group mentoring sessions and workshops. Teams will receive gear, training, and funds for local filming costs. All films will participate in an end-of-semester film festival, together with other partner institutions. This class is open to all SIPA Students.

Cases created will be shared on platforms such as SIPA’s Public Policy Case Collection. Students will have opportunities to interact with guest speakers from Discovery Channel, PBS and National Geographic, as well as with other cohorts of this class being offered across the world as part of the Open Society University Network.

This class and training allow students to use gear and seek funding for MPA-DP summer placement projects in the Capstone video projects in the spring and summer of 2025. It is taught by Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker Adam Stepan, PhD, author of the 2023 Columbia University Press book Leveling the Learning Curve. More info at www.digitalcases.org