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 Pleasantville, NY - As part of its Campaign for 21st Century Education, the Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) has developed DIGITAL STORYTELLING, a new initiative that teaches students how to create short multimedia stories using still and moving images, narration, and sound files.
The four-week program is being piloted with 22 high school students from the Bronx this summer through the Chappaqua Summer Scholarship Program (CSSP).
The DIGITAL STORYTELLING program has been made possible by an anonymous donor, with in-kind support from Fujifilm. A msponsor since 2002, Fujifilm has donated both funds and equipment to a number of JBFC’s film and education programs.
The CSSP invites high school students from the Bronx to live with host families while attending summer school. Students participate in a broad range of academic, environmental, recreational, and cultural activities. The primary objective of the CSSP is to broaden the students’ horizons, widen their vision of the world, and provide opportunities they would otherwise not have.
DIGITAL STORYTELLING is a central component of the students’ summer school experience. Through the power and accessibility of technology, DIGITAL STORYTELLING allows students to discover, share, preserve, and celebrate the stories that lie within their hearts. The process begins by telling a story through images, adding sound, crafting narratives, and developing a draft of a script. Implementation through multimedia follows, with particular attention paid to the combination of visual and aural elements. The technological tools include the Internet, iPhoto, iMovie, and iTunes. The program culminates with a red-carpet premiere at the Jacob Burns Film Center.
The Jacob Burns Film Center is a not-for-profit cultural arts organization in Pleasantville, New York dedicated to: presenting the best of independent, documentary and world cinema; promoting visual literacy and making film a vibrant part of the community. The programs are inspired by the power of film to challenge, educated and inspire; to transport us to worlds beyond our own; and to create community through shared dialogue and cultural experience. Since the opening in 2001, over 1,000,000 people have seen over 3,000 films from more than 40 countries. From students learning critical viewing skills and discussing films with the filmmakers, to creating their own animated shorts, the Film Center uses the visual imagery of film as a catalyst for learning. Each year, over 15,000 students participate in the six programs that the Film Center teaches. To learn more about the Jacob Burns Film Center, visit www.burnsfilmcenter.org. To view a selection of work in various JBFC education programs visit www.youtube.com/user/burnsfilmcenter.
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