MediaStorm One Day Master Class

The MediaStorm One Day Master Class provides a general, yet precise, overview of documentary video and multimedia storytelling approaches. MediaStorm founder Brian Storm will walk you through specific examples, and share his business experience, as well as proven tips to improve your interviewing, shooting and editing techniques.

Although this is not a hands-on workshop, active discussion is both encouraged and expected from all participants. Theory is backed up by real world examples using MediaStorm’s award winning work.

The One Day Master Class is designed for anyone interested in learning about the ins and outs of producing and distributing documentary video and multimedia content.

For a more in depth approach, we suggest taking the Methodology Master Classes, where the whole MediaStorm team offers individual presentations on different aspects of documentary video and multimedia creation, distribution and business models.

You can attend in person or via video conference.

• Saturday, May 24, 2025

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Tuition for selected participants $500.

Cancellation Policy: We don't offer refunds to the workshop, but should you need to cancel we will offer you a spot in a future workshop.

Time

The virtual workshops will start at 9am PST and end at 5pm PST with an hour for lunch.

Application

Interested applicants must fill out the online application. Once you submit the form, you will not be able to edit it. We strongly recommend copying the questions and working offline, and then pasting in your answers so that you don't lose any information.

What You Will Learn

Narrative Storytelling

• Developing the best approach for creating effective multimedia stories
• Pre-production planning, finding the story's focus and execution of those ideas and techniques

Reporting Approach

• Using the best tools to get the story
• When to use a still camera, when to use audio and/or video
• How to ask questions and get to the heart of the story

Teamwork

• Getting the most out of the reporter/editor relationship
• Common issues and how to resolve them

Business Model

• Collaborating with clients
• Syndication models
• Distribution of projects across various platforms

"This workshop left me feeling more confident, inspired and committed to storytelling with a deep sense of purpose. Brian is a phenomenal teacher and a generous one-- in addition to sharing his decades of experience in business, his personal perspective and practice in the craft of storytelling, he works to make each workshop participant feel that they belong and that their voice matters. I deeply appreciated Brian's unpacking of the journalistic ethos that informs all MediaStorm productions. Brian gets to the heart of why storytelling matters and why it is so important today-- powerful storytelling can change hearts and minds. In his words, if we can tell stories that show what binds us together and not what is tearing us apart, we can have an impact on the world around us. Prepare to walk away from this workshop with a robust set of tools for making work that matters, great insight into the mechanics of storytelling, a framework of ethical considerations to live and work by and some all-around valuable lessons on how to be a good human." — Indaia Whitcombe | Folklorist & Visual Storyteller

”Despite having twenty five years of storytelling experience, the information and insight I received from Brian with MediaStorm was invaluable. He was willing to share all his trade tips and secrets, with full transparency, to enable me to be the best storyteller I can be. From content creation to the importance of marketing your projects, what I learned from MediaStorm will help me take my business to places I didn't know how to reach.” — Doug Legore, 2000 NPPA Photographer of the Year and owner/operator of Doug Legore Media, LLC

“A workshop worth traveling 4,899 miles! Attending the One Day Master Class was an experience well worth traveling from Maui to Brooklyn. I set out to learn as much possible, refine my skills and gain insight to help me create better multimedia projects. Since my education at UNC-Chapel Hill, I have continued to learn and be inspired by MediaStorm projects produced throughout the years. I finally had the opportunity to learn from Brian Storm and his storytelling techniques. There was so much to take in during this crash course, including how to think about the editing process, engaging with your subject and what to look for in the field. Not all information was technical, however; there was also discussion on various topics brought up by the group, including why “creating stories you want to make” is so powerful and the importance of working with a team. I came back motivated and eager to apply what I learned. More importantly, I left with a sense of community. I enjoyed meeting all the talented people connected by the passion to create great stories. I was taken away by Brian’s sincere willingness to share his expertise to help each of us become better storytellers. This was a great occasion for networking, teambuilding and gaining an outlet for guidance and support. I feel better equipped to work on my current project knowing what I know now." — Selket Kaufman, Visual Communications Specialist, Pacific Whale Foundation

The time I spent in the MediaStorm Master Class flew by. I was nervous to sit behind my computer for an 8-hour zoom session, but Brian and the rest of the class made the environment welcoming and engaging. My favorite part of the class was the frame-by-frame breakdown of Driftless. Getting an inside look at the storytelling gave me pages full of notes to guide me in my next projects.” — Maya Bell, Photojournalism and Documentary Filmmaking Student at the Missouri School of Journalism

”The MediaStorm master class was one hell of a day. In one day, Brian shared MediaStorm’s stories, success, and innovation. It was exactly what I needed to turbocharge my creativity and reassess my freelance business venture. Brian’s master class has something for everybody who cares about quality storytelling: visual deconstruction, business pro tips, and new technology, to name a few. As a visual journalist and storyteller, I have worked with and studied under many MediaStorm disciples in the past decade. It was such a treat to learn from Brian himself and see how deeply the MediaStorm storytelling ethos has permeated the documentary storytelling industry; 25 years in and the message is more relevant than ever: Make the stories you want to be hired to make. I appreciated Brian’s candor and willingness to crack his business wide open and show all the nitty-gritty details of creating and sustaining a successful storytelling company. It was a wonderful opportunity to pause from my day-to-day, learn a lot, and be inspired. I feel recharged and ready to get back to work.” — Sarah Nathan

"I became a storyteller to change the world. It wasn’t until I got older, more mature, that I realized I’d become a storyteller to help people connect. I believe it’s in that connection that we truly change our world. That’s why I’m so impressed with the work MediaStorm does. On technical skills alone, the MediaStorm team can easily produce a beautiful film. What makes them so special—and I never got this until I took their workshop—is that they bring human connection into the process. They emphasize the power of emotion in a way you don’t often hear. They bring a level of grace and dignity to the work that results in the most elegant stories about humans. They have inspired me to no longer settle for mediocrity, but to elevate my storytelling in a way that honors the people I feature.” — Michelle Zelsman / Director, Marketing and Communications at National Breast Cancer Coalition

"Inspiring, insightful and informative. As a sucker for thoughtful and motivated visual storytelling, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Brian breaking down a film scene by scene. His instructions are very detail-oriented and effective, which will benefit both early-career journalists and seasoned professionals looking to add more storytelling techniques to their arsenal.” — Yutao Chen - Multimedia editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

"I was excited to learn how the new MediaStorm platform provides a cinematic, comprehensive, and substantive web package for NGOs, activists and foundations. It was refreshing to hear how Brian has rethought and rebuilt this distribution platform for storytellers and how he is reimagining the future of publication, installation, and sales. I left the class, buoyed by the fact that with MediaStorm forging the way, there will be more and better opportunities for visual storytellers to get their work out into the world and for that work to have much broader consequence.” — Karin Stellwagen - Visual Journalism and Documentary Film Faculty, Brooks Institute (ret.), Documentary Film Producer and Editor, Daughters of Femicide

”Brian Storm's one day master class was exactly what I needed at this point in my career. I am currently transitioning from a staff position at a newspaper to the world of an independent visual journalism. About six years ago, when my interest in video began, I had made good use of his online training videos and they greatly informed my best work since then. Having many questions regarding starting my new business I immediately looked to MediaStorm's training and made the investment. I'm so glad I did. The workshop was jam packed with pearls of hard earned wisdom that clearly took years to develop. I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn from Brian's experience and put it into my own business right now. I came out of it feeling more firm about the good things in my business plan and having clear ideas on how to improve areas of my business plan that were lacking. Brian Storm is a rare resource that welcomes others to draw from him. We are lucky to have him available to us.” — Autumn Payne, Independent Visual Journalist

”Just want to tell you how much I enjoyed the workshop yesterday. For me it was off-the-charts great. I love the way you deconstruct the storytelling process. And the information about your business model was awesome. To do the kind of inspiring work you're doing and actually make money at it is nothing short of amazing.” — Barbara Kornreich / Independent Film Producer and Editor

"As a print photojournalist, I went into MediaStorm's workshop with a skeptical eye. Two days later both my notebook and my brain were filled with the new ideas and opportunities being offered by the medium of web-based visual journalism. Two months later, I am still processing what I learned. This stuff isn't the future. It is now. I am convinced there has never been a better time to be a visual journalist. And there may be no person better suited to show you the way into this new medium than Brian Storm.” — David Hobby / Staff Photojournalist at the Baltimore Sun, Founder of Strobist.com