Last Platypus Workshop For 2010

AUSTIN, TEXAS, OCTOBER 9-17

Austinʼs famed Precision Camera will host this workshop. In order to make this workshop more affordable, we will NOT be supplying equipment. You will have to bring your own HDSLR capable of shooting HD video, as well as your own MacPowerBook with Final Cut Pro Studio 2 installed. If you are Mac-less, we have contacted an Apple rental company from whom you can rent the computer for the week.

This year we have gone HDSLR with the cutting-edge Canon 7D. You will learn about using this amazing camera and workflow, along with tips and tricks to make it an incredible tool for you in editorial, corporate and filmmaking settings. We will teach you field sound recording, cinematic storytelling, the use of lenses, tripods, multimedia applications, and Apple's latest Final Cut Pro editing software. All in an action-packed, exciting, entertaining, and informative 9 days.

These workshops are acknowledged as the gold standard of Digital Video training. We teach high-definition digital shooting, editing, and multimedia with an emphasis on storytelling. It is unique in the industry. We have taught over 300 photojournalists since our inception in 1999. Our graduates have gone on to do television documentaries, Web videos, especially for newspapers, and even films. One of our graduates was a nominee for an Oscar in 2006 and the 2010 winner of the Sundance Film Festival Documentary Award was out Platypus Graduate Tim Heathington.

There are three ways to attend these workshops: As a Shooter you are the storyteller you may work alone, or with a Producer (see below), to create the class exercises and a final 3–5 minute documentary or news story.

As a Producer you do what the name implies in broadcast. Producers are an integral part of the process and the course. They attend all classes; team up with shooters to "produce" the various segments of the course work. Producers work in collaboration with Shooters as they research stories, make arrangements, conduct interviews, go out on field exercises and co-produce the final project–as a team.

The Producer and the Shooter both return to the edit bay and cut the projects together. This in no way diminishes the role of the Shooter, who is the principal storyteller. The Producer allows the Shooter more time to concentrate on picture, sound and story elements, resulting in a better learning experience for everyone and better told stories.

As a student with current student ID, you can attend the workshop as a Student producer at a special student rate. Of $250 Registration Information.

Shooter $1,499.00
Producer $649.00
Student $249.00

Note: Producers and Students do not shoot and edit, they are assigned to Shooters to work as a team.

The full amount is due upon registration. We have a first come, first served policy.

TO REGISTER FOR THE AUSTIN WORKSHOP, CONTACT PARK STREET at: pstreet@precision-camera.com

FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT EQUIPMENT YOU WILL NEED CONTACT Dirck Halstead at: dhalstead@mac.com.

We recommend applying for the workshop as soon as possible, these spots will go quickly.

To apply for a spot as a teaching assistant for these workshops (you must be proficient in Final Cut Pro), contact Dirck Halstead: dhalstead@mac.com

To read what former graduates have to say about the workshop go the Platypus page on http://digitaljournalist.org/platypus-testimonials.html