The Platypus Digital Video Storytelling Workshop is now accepting applications for its training in Santa Fe, New Mexico this May.
The Platypus Workshop 2013: Digital Video Storytelling
A 21st century digital storyteller has to be producer, writer, camera, sound, editor, and everything else. Just as the millennia-old platypus—a mash-up of otter, duck and beaver—has evolved and survived, so must the modern photojournalist.
In this workshop you learn how to be a digital storyteller using DSLR cameras, compact lights, wireless microphones, and professional editing software. You learn how to find a story, how to interview, how to shoot video sequences that keep your audience enthralled, and how to edit it all together.
The workshop is led by one of the icons of photojournalism, Dirck Halstead, formerly TIME Magazine’s Senior White House photographer. Also contributing their knowledge and experiences are Beth Corwin, an award-winning network news cameraperson, and Tom Wolsky, one of the gurus of Final Cut Pro.
Since 1999, The Platypus Workshop has trained hundreds of photojournalists in the art of video storytelling. The Platypus team will be hands-on, filled with professional tips, tricks, and solutions, as well as exemplary and inspiring work—and perhaps life-changing moments.
The workshop tuition is $1795. Tuition for producers is an additional $900.
Members of NPPA and ASMP and active duty members in the military receive a 10 percent discount.
For further information, contact Dirck Halstead at dhalstead@me.com, or Beth Corwin at btc@me.com.
The Instructors
Dirck Halstead is a freelance photojournalist and filmmaker; he holds the record for the most TIME magazine covers shot by any single photographer. Dirck has been one of the most prolific advertising photographers for the motion picture industry. His clients have included Warner Brothers, Universal Pictures, Tri-Star, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, and DEG. Other corporate clients have included ITT, Merrill Lynch and IBM. He has been a leader in the transition from still photography to high definition video, and has produced stories for ABC, The State of Texas, and AARP. His web site is dirckhalstead.net.
Beth Corwin has been a news photographer since age 15, when she began freelancing for her local newspaper. After majoring in communications in college, she apprenticed in local television, mastering the craft of editing and camera work. Hired by ABC News in New York in 1982, Beth has worked as a network news camera operator ever since. Examples of her award-winning videography have been showcased on PrimeTime Live, ABC World News Tonight, Nightline, 48 Hours, and other national news programs. Along with Tom Wolsky, Beth owns and operates South Coast Productions, a project production company.
Tom Wolsky is a respected techno-guru and author, with a resume rich in software-training experience. He’s an Apple-Certified Instructor in Final Cut Pro who trains teachers and students across the United States. A graduate of the London School of Film, Tom is the co-owner and producer/editor of South Coast Productions, a television production company in northern California.
Before becoming a prominent software expert, Tom enjoyed a full and rewarding career in television and film production. During his 40 years of broadcast experience, he worked in London as a writer, producer and technician, notably as an operations manager and producer for the London Bureau of ABC News.