Image Makers

Women in Film & Video DCImage Makers

What:

The Image Makers Program was one of  WIFV’s community outreach initiative for metro area high school students. Created in 1997 to teach local youth about film and video production, while also helping deserving nonprofit organizations, the program ended in 2017 when most high school students had access to media production programs at their schools and schedules too busy for a 10-week program on Saturdays.  Image Makers participants learned how to research, write, produce, direct and edit a 30-second public service announcement (PSA) for broadcast distribution. These PSAs were made for up to three deserving nonprofit organizations each year.

Learn more about IMAGE MAKERS THANKS to work Of Double R Productions!

A recently-produced PSA produced by the Image Makers students is below. See the WIFV You Tube Channel for previously produced PSAs.

Scholarchips

 

 

Who:

Program Participants – High school students from the Washington, DC metropolitan area (includes Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland).

“I am currently a junior in high school. I am the type of person that probably will not know what I am interested in until I am 40, but sophmore year of high school I ran into something I really liked (at school that happens seldomly): video production. My teacher recommended that I join the WIFV Image Makers program. I had a great experience; every volunteer was cheerful and skilled, there was breakfast there in the morning, we were paid for metro fees, we even got community service hours!! This program really opened me up to the film industry and what it is like. I would say that WIFV helped me in many ways, I am very greatful for the skills I picked up, the experience I had, and the people I met.”

Non-profit Organizations – The organizations benefiting from the PSAs have included Barrios Unidos, the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund, the Dance Institute of Washington, DC Vote, Mentors, Inc., and many other nonprofits in the region. Public Service Announcements (PSAs) from past programs are available on the WIFV You Tube Channel.

Program Leadership – WIFV members chaired the program and solicit leadership from among the entire membership. Workshop Leaders and Project Coordinators head up the teams and served as the students’ coaches, instructors and mentors.  The Image Makers Program is operated through the tireless volunteer efforts of WIFV members. These professionals lend their time and expertise each Saturday morning for up to 10 weeks.  We love our media mentors!

“I am a proud parent of a participant with the WIFV Image Makers program. My Daughter gained valuable exposure to and experience in video production. Importantly, she discovered a new voice with which to speak to the world. The video she co-created won a Bronze Peer Award. Her participation in the Image Makers program contributed to her early action admission to college where she intends to study Communications and Theatre Arts! Women in Film and Video is worthy of support by the entire community!”  “

Why:

“I’m Maureen Ward, Founding President of Make Piece/Peace, Inc. — a local nonprofit formed to provide economic opportunity to low income women, teaching them personal financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and how to make and market handcrafted jewelry.  Over the last 10 years, we have  I’ve been blessed to work with these women, who despite challenging situations are willing to persevere and learn and try new things to benefit themselves and their families.  The women touched by Make Piece are very grateful for their encounter.  In fact, just last night a woman called out of the blue, just to check in.  She told me she’d had 5 strokes last year, that working with Make Piece was the most joyous time of her life, and that she was slowly organizing her beads so she could start stringing necklaces again.  She is one of many helped by our organization.

Believing in our mission as we do, we were very grateful and excited when Women in Film and Video selected our organization as a beneficiary of its Image Makers program for at-risk teens interested in film and video.

A group of teens, accompanied and mentored by WIFV members, brainstormed over several sessions about how to present Make Piece to its various publics through a public service announcement.   At periodic sessions, I watched the teens turn from silent, shy teens into creative, chatty and confident producers.  The WIFV members who shepherded the teens were well-prepared, adept at dealing with the young people, and thoroughly talented.

During a long day filming at our offices, the teens and members worked together in great harmony and accomplished far more than I could have dreamt.  Working with the resulting footage, the teens and their mentors produced a succinct, well-scripted, well-shot, and well-edited PSA that conveyed the strengths and impacts of the Make Piece program.

You can see for yourself how great it turned out here.

I am extremely impressed by WIFV and its wonderful Image Makers program and I commend them to you and your generosity.

After our good 10 years, Make Piece is shutting down, a victim of the recession, which significantly reduced our donations and grant funding, as well as the sales of our students and graduates’ products.  Unfortunately, we are an object lesson of what happens when a good nonprofit organization is unable to find sufficient financial support.

Please help WIFV survive and thrive in these difficult times.  It is obviously a strong ally of women working in the film and video industries.  But it is  equally strong in giving back to the community through its program to benefit at-risk teens.  And it is equally strong in providing critical assistance to other nonprofit organizations.  It’s a win-win-win program for the members, the teens, and nonprofit beneficiaries.”