Last week, a group of seasoned journalists from South Korea learned from award-winning filmmakers at the university’s inaugural Global Digital Media Workshop.
Sponsored by the School of Media and Public Affairs’ Center for Innovative Media, the custom-designed workshop focused on digital storytelling, new media platforms and artistic and technical skills.
“Our program introduces them to the cutting edge of interactive content creation and creative use of new technologies,” said Nina Seavey, director of the Documentary Center and associate research professor of history and media and public affairs.
Ms. Seavey, together with Frank Sesno, director of the School of Media and Public Affairs, founded the Center for Innovative Media three years ago with a mission of serving as “a greenhouse for new initiatives in documentary filmmaking and public affairs programming.”
The center has gained international renown for its six-week program for emerging filmmakers from developing nations, offered in partnership with the Department of State. Ms. Seavey wanted to replicate the success of the program in a more condensed format for professionals from countries with more advanced infrastructures interested in the application of technology in the media industry.
Earlier in the year, the Korean Producers & Directors Association requested the honor of being the first country to participate in the new Global Digital Media Workshops after learning about the program from the U.S. Embassy.
Twenty-two professionals representing South Korean media outlets, such as the Korean Broadcasting System, the Seoul Broadcasting System, Educational Broadcasting System and the Far East Broadcasting Company, traveled to D.C. last week for the four-day workshop, held Oct. 17 to 20.
At the workshop, the South Koreans learned from top professionals in the area. Arun Chaudhary, the first official White House videographer and currently a fellow at the School of Media and Public Affairs, explained how he combined innovative story telling and new media while working for the Obama administration. Various documentarians and journalists, including former CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve and Academy Award-winning documentarians Thomas Lennon and Paul Wagner, also shared their experiences with the South Korean professionals.
“I wanted to learn new concepts from an outstanding media school to better reach my listeners,” said Dae-Eun Kim, a radio producer for the Far East Broadcasting Company. “With interactive media becoming more important, it is my job to learn how to make people more interested in our content. This workshop definitely has helped me achieve this goal.”
Ms. Seavey hopes to expand the workshops to other countries in Asia and the Middle East. “We want to make GW the epicenter for new and emerging media,” she said.