The Native American Institute at Michigan State University, the MSU American Indian Studies Program, and the College of Arts and Letters at Michigan State University will provide a Summer Film Workshop for 25 American Indian high school students in Michigan. During the workshop, students from Michigan Indian tribes and urban American Indian programs and schools will learn filmmaking basics, including basic scriptwriting, camera work and sound and film editing.
The American Indian Youth Summer Film workshop will include seven days in residence on campus. During the institute, students will receive instruction while staying in a dorm at MSU. Under the guidance of MSU faculty, students will view films, participate in classroom discussion, and receive instruction in scriptwriting, story development and camera techniques. Students will film and edit their own video/film projects to present to family and community members at the end of the workshop. Student films will also be posted online on the Native American Institute website.
The workshop will be organized and run by Gordon Henry, Professor, Department of English, Ellen Cushman, Professor, Writing Rhetoric and American Culture and Bump Halbritter, Professor, Writing, Rhetoric and American Culture and supported by the American Indian Institute and CAITLAH. Students from the MSU North American Indian Student Organization and students from Writing, Rhetoric and American Culture will serve as campus mentors/interns for workshop students. The mentor/interns will be responsible for monitoring workshop students while they stay in residence halls at MSU. MSU mentor/interns will also be responsible for getting students to classes, workshops and activities associated with the workshop program. Interns will also provide technical support and assistance for faculty and workshop students during the Summer Film Workshop.