Category: Past Workshops 2019

In this five day workshop, NPR Story Lab senior producer Michael May and award-winning Montana Public Radio reporter Nora Saks taught participants how to produce a compelling audio story — from conducting interviews and gathering natural sound to story structure and script writing. Students also pitched podcast ideas at the start of the week and left with project blueprints to take those ideas from concept to launch.

All participants’ final audio pieces aired on public radio stations across Montana.

Interested in workshops like this? See what’s coming up next at the Lab.

This workshop exceeded my expectations!

Michael and Nora were excellent instructors and helped us produce an audio piece in five days! I highly recommend this workshop to anyone who is interested in learning about audio storytelling.

Erica Zurek
Photographer

By the end of the workshop, I understood the entire flow for putting an audio story together.

It was so incredible to hear all of the stories we created on the last day when so many of us had walked in wondering, “Can we even do this?”

Scott Shigeoka
Producer & Writer

Michael and Nora’s guidance throughout the week was wildly helpful.

Their combined skills helped me make an impossible task to complete in just five days, way more possible.

Amanda Ceaser
Events & Marketing Coordinator | Missoula Food Bank

I can’t believe how much I learned in five days!

Nora and Michael are two of the best producers in podcasting. I left feeling confident in my abilities and with a professional, quality story ready to air.

Damon Moss
Freelance Audio Reporter & Producer

Compelling, concise writing is an art. In this three-day workshop, University of Montana associate professor of journalism Jule Banville taught the fundamentals of solid writing through hands-on exercises and one-on-one edits.

From business and nonprofit communications to writing for the web and social media, participants learned the importance of sentence structure, grammar and writing flow across multiple platforms.

Interested in workshops like this one? Check out our upcoming workshops.

Writing Doesn’t Have to be Boring

Banville used the children’s book Where the Wild Things Are to demonstrate proper syntax, good writing, and simple storytelling.

More From Our 2019 Writing Well Workshop

The Writing Well workshop gave me the boost I needed to fine tune my writing.

Jule Banville presented what could have been sleepy content on commas and editing in a fascinating and enthusiastic manner. I highly recommend the class for anyone who wants to communicate more effectively.

Victoria Emmons
Poet, Writer, Editor

In just a few short days, my writing was transformed.

I’m finally able to put down on paper the story I have in my head; clearly and with correct punctuation! I am no longer putting off the parts of my job that include writing; I’m owning them.

Cassidy Green
Marketing Coordinator | Montana Food Bank Network

Jule’s workshop provided a needed and valuable writing refresher for me.

Her engaging instruction benefitted both new and experienced writers alike.

Bryan Haines
Communications Consultant |
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana

This three-day workshop taught photographers, filmmakers and writers how to add audio tools to their storytelling toolbox.

Participants received hands-on training with digital audio recorders, practiced capturing quality sound in the field, learned how to edit what they gathered and left with a fully produced audio story. Instructor Lacy Roberts, of Transmitter Media, also discussed writing for the ear and the idiosyncrasies of unfurling a narrative in audio—whether it’s a longform narrative or a minute-long news piece.

Interested in more workshops like this? Check out our upcoming workshops.

Lacy walked us step-by-step through the stages of making an audio story and using the technology.

I appreciated that she set up the interviews and got us out in the field doing it right away.

Lori Messenger
English Teacher | Seeley-Swan High School

Excellent hands-on instruction packed into three days.

I loved that Lacy’s workshop appealed to and applied equally to a high schooler and long-time journalism professor.

Matt Frank
Feature Writer | Mountain West News

By the end of the class I felt alive with knowledge and even better creativity.

Learning by doing with a leader in the field, like Lacy, was fantastic.

Genevieve Jessop Marsh
Community Outreach Director | Garden City Harvest

In this three-day workshop, PBS American Experience producer/editor and former FRONTLINE editor Eric Gulliver presented methods for constructing a story in short documentary film. From scene development to post-production workflow, Eric guided students through best practices for story editing.

The first day of this workshop focused on developing a theoretical understanding of editing for short film. On day two, participants built a toolkit of advanced storytelling and editing techniques. Day three focused on improving technical skills in Adobe Premiere Pro through hands-on training. Students left this workshop with a framework for post-production that takes into account the changing nature of deliverables across media platforms.

Interested in workshops like this? Check out our upcoming workshops.

Eric’s workshop on documentary post-production was an incredible experience and learning opportunity.

As a documentary filmmaker, I’m constantly working to learn more about the art and technique. This workshop inspired me as I push forward in completing several films.

Preston Randolph
Cactus Productions

I highly recommend future workshops by the Montana Media Lab.

Everything I learned in Eric’s three-day workshop drastically improved my effectiveness as an editor.

Tristen Acton
Cactus Productions

Smartphones have made creating content for the web easy. But knowing the best apps to use for quality content creation, or the best social media platforms to grow your audience— that’s trickier.

Multimedia journalist Val Hoeppner guided participants through the ins and outs of various apps and social media platforms and recommended best practices for audience engagement and growth.

Apps covered: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Canva, Enlight Videoleap Video Editor, VideoShop, Chart Maker Pro and Filmr.

If this workshop interests you, please check out our upcoming workshops.

Relevant, current, applicable and interesting.

Val is a great presenter.

Sarah Bell
Administrative Assistant | Missoula County Commissioner’s Office

Val personalized the workshop to fit the needs of all the attendees.

I learned a lot and am motivated to take those lessons into the workplace and my personal journalism accounts.

Skylar Rispens
Reporter | Great Falls Tribune

Professional, well-presented, and informative.

Brad Tyer
Editor | Montana Free Press

We all want to know more about who we are and where we came from (why else would DNA kits like 23andMe and sites like Ancestry.com be so popular?). But how do we tell compelling digital stories about our families through archival video, photos and audio?

In this workshop, multimedia journalist and Montana Media Lab director Anne Bailey taught students how to record audio interviews with loved ones, digitize archival family photos and footage, and edit short, documentary-style videos in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Interested in workshops like this? Check out our upcoming workshops.

Learning to shoot high quality video on your smartphone is a game changer in the world of mobile storytelling.

Multimedia producer Val Hoeppner taught participants how to tell compelling video stories in 60-90 seconds for social media. Through hands-on exercises, students learned techniques for interviewing, capturing b-roll, sequencing and editing for impact.

If this workshop interests you, be sure to check out our upcoming workshops.

I’ve already made a few videos and I can easily see how they will augment my job!

I loved that this workshop was one day, practical and useful… [Val] is great—knowledgeable, precise, and easy to relate to.

Sidney Hahn
Librarian | Sentinel High School

Super thorough and informative in a very applicable way.

I liked the interactive and applied nature of the class. Well organized.

sarah bortis
English Language Institute

It was fun and inspiring.

It gave me the confidence to do more with live video. I’ve always played it safe with stills!

Michele Nokleby
Librarian | Hawthorne Elementary School

I got my money’s worth in the first hour.

Val Hoeppner’s insight and helpful tools were invaluable.

Courtney Cowgill
Adjunct Journalism Professor| University of Montana