Great workshop: Unleash Your Inner Storyteller at DVinfo.net

Karl Winkler · October 12th, 2015, 08:53 AM

For those interested, this workshop is top notch, and will be in most major US and Canadian cities throughout the fall. The "Basic and Advanced Audio Acquisition" Master Class section is quite good, and for full disclosure, Lectrosonics is a sponsor.

Storytelling Unleashed

Mike Watson · October 19th, 2015, 12:16 PM

Has anybody ever been to this seminar? The guy obviously does a lot of them, and it's only $250, but is it any good?

Gary Huff · October 19th, 2015, 12:40 PM

I assume it will be a lot of basic instruction coupled with expensive gear recommendations.

Josh Bass · October 19th, 2015, 03:06 PM

HA!

I have never done one of these types of things. I had a friend/colleague go to one and from what I understood it was exactly what you said.

They taught stuff about how different lenses/angle affect the "psychology" of a shot, etc. And then there were monopods and other things offered for sale.

I weep for the things people spend money on. Some things really need a class environment to be effective, many other things can be learned from books and youtube videos.

Karl Winkler · October 19th, 2015, 04:20 PM

There's very little pushing gear with this one, guys. We wouldn't have gotten involved if it were like that.

Here's the outline, just FYI

Finding the Story
Discovering Composition
Sales Techniques
Finding New Business
Editing your Story
Mastering the Interview
Audio Acquisition
Filming with Different Styles
Finding Music and Manipulating Emotion
Advanced Business Philosophy

Of course they talk about gear in some contexts where appropriate.

There are not a lot of reviews out there yet, but check the FB page for a few comments. https://www.facebook.com/StorytellingUnleashed

Mike Watson · October 20th, 2015, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh Bass

HA!

I have never done one of these types of things. I had a friend/colleague go to one and from what I understood it was exactly what you said.

They taught stuff about how different lenses/angle affect the "psychology" of a shot, etc. And then there were monopods and other things offered for sale.

I weep for the things people spend money on. Some things really need a class environment to be effective, many other things can be learned from books and youtube videos.

I left Network life 6 years ago, and while I occasionally run into somebody in the field, and I go to NAB every year, I just feel like my professional development has gone to shit. I used to have a real competitive streak where I'd see somebody use a technique on a story and I'd work to use something similar, or find something better to outdo them. Now my work is almost 100% corporate and I'm one of the guys I used to make fun of. ;-)

At the same time, I don't want to pay $250 to sit in a room full of wedding videographers and learn how to use a slider.

I dunno.

John Kofonow · October 20th, 2015, 06:02 PM

Interesting comments.

I will be attending the sessions in Raleigh NC Wednesday and Thursday this week. As someone still in film school, the $212 I paid (discount received) is worth it if I learn a few very practical things I can use.

Last month I also attended Alex Buono's Visual Storytelling 2. I walked away with many ideas that I didn't learn in school.

John

Mike Watson · October 21st, 2015, 09:07 AM

John, would love to hear your $0.02 when you get through the sessions. Thanks!

John Kofonow · October 25th, 2015, 11:53 AM

First, I write this as one just starting out in my video career. However, I have already retired from one other career so I’m not a young newbie.

I attended the night and day session of “Unleashing your Inner Storyteller” by Adam Forgione in North Carolina this past week. I found it very informative and practical. The night session was mainly devoted to the business side of running a video production company. Topics included how to find clients and, more importantly, how to determine what they really want so that the end product matches their needs and budget.

The day session continued with much discussion of client – videographer relations. Several of the Adam’s videos were shown (done for non-profits) along with talk about how and why the videos were constructed as they were. There was a hands on session in which an interview with an attendee was setup and filmed along with the why behind it all.

No products were peddled. Adam currently uses one camera system but spoke of switching to another brand for technical reasons. He spoke of the drones and stabilizers he uses and gave the pros and cons of each system. It was fair and balanced. There were DVDs or other online courses even mentioned during the day and a half session.

There was a small group in attendance with a mix of a few newbies like me but most were established professionals. I specifically asked one attendee with over 35 years of photography/video corporate experience and he stated he learn a few new things taking the course. Others with less experience said the same.

Overall, It was a great learning experience for me and, I believe, many others in attended.

Disclaimer: I received nothing from Adam or his crew for writing this and I’m doing so WITHOUT their knowledge or consent.

October 12th, 2015, 08:53 AM	#1
Karl Winkler Lectrosonics Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Rio Rancho, NM Posts: 21	Great workshop: Unleash Your Inner Storyteller For those interested, this workshop is top notch, and will be in most major US and Canadian cities throughout the fall. The "Basic and Advanced Audio Acquisition" Master Class section is quite good, and for full disclosure, Lectrosonics is a sponsor. Storytelling Unleashed

October 19th, 2015, 12:16 PM	#2
Mike Watson Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 1,082	Re: Great workshop: Unleash Your Inner Storyteller Has anybody ever been to this seminar? The guy obviously does a lot of them, and it's only $250, but is it any good?

October 19th, 2015, 12:40 PM	#3
Gary Huff Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 2,006	Re: Great workshop: Unleash Your Inner Storyteller I assume it will be a lot of basic instruction coupled with expensive gear recommendations.

October 19th, 2015, 03:06 PM	#4
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Re: Great workshop: Unleash Your Inner Storyteller HA! I have never done one of these types of things. I had a friend/colleague go to one and from what I understood it was exactly what you said. They taught stuff about how different lenses/angle affect the "psychology" of a shot, etc. And then there were monopods and other things offered for sale. I weep for the things people spend money on. Some things really need a class environment to be effective, many other things can be learned from books and youtube videos. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

October 19th, 2015, 04:20 PM	#5
Karl Winkler Lectrosonics Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Rio Rancho, NM Posts: 21	Re: Great workshop: Unleash Your Inner Storyteller There's very little pushing gear with this one, guys. We wouldn't have gotten involved if it were like that. Here's the outline, just FYI Finding the Story Discovering Composition Sales Techniques Finding New Business Editing your Story Mastering the Interview Audio Acquisition Filming with Different Styles Finding Music and Manipulating Emotion Advanced Business Philosophy Of course they talk about gear in some contexts where appropriate. There are not a lot of reviews out there yet, but check the FB page for a few comments. https://www.facebook.com/StorytellingUnleashed

October 20th, 2015, 06:02 PM	#7
John Kofonow Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 38	Re: Great workshop: Unleash Your Inner Storyteller Interesting comments. I will be attending the sessions in Raleigh NC Wednesday and Thursday this week. As someone still in film school, the $212 I paid (discount received) is worth it if I learn a few very practical things I can use. Last month I also attended Alex Buono's Visual Storytelling 2. I walked away with many ideas that I didn't learn in school. John

October 21st, 2015, 09:07 AM	#8
Mike Watson Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 1,082	Re: Great workshop: Unleash Your Inner Storyteller John, would love to hear your $0.02 when you get through the sessions. Thanks!

October 25th, 2015, 11:53 AM	#9
John Kofonow Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 38	Re: Great workshop: Unleash Your Inner Storyteller First, I write this as one just starting out in my video career. However, I have already retired from one other career so I’m not a young newbie. I attended the night and day session of “Unleashing your Inner Storyteller” by Adam Forgione in North Carolina this past week. I found it very informative and practical. The night session was mainly devoted to the business side of running a video production company. Topics included how to find clients and, more importantly, how to determine what they really want so that the end product matches their needs and budget. The day session continued with much discussion of client – videographer relations. Several of the Adam’s videos were shown (done for non-profits) along with talk about how and why the videos were constructed as they were. There was a hands on session in which an interview with an attendee was setup and filmed along with the why behind it all. No products were peddled. Adam currently uses one camera system but spoke of switching to another brand for technical reasons. He spoke of the drones and stabilizers he uses and gave the pros and cons of each system. It was fair and balanced. There were DVDs or other online courses even mentioned during the day and a half session. There was a small group in attendance with a mix of a few newbies like me but most were established professionals. I specifically asked one attendee with over 35 years of photography/video corporate experience and he stated he learn a few new things taking the course. Others with less experience said the same. Overall, It was a great learning experience for me and, I believe, many others in attended. Disclaimer: I received nothing from Adam or his crew for writing this and I’m doing so WITHOUT their knowledge or consent.