High school student Joshua White tells a story about the impact of a father’s absence and about the power of friendship.

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We Are Heroes, confronts social issues such as bullying, teen violence, and the environment, in order to present positive solutions to improve the community.

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All five students, LJ, Tyson, L’Ez, LeRee’, and Melissa, have been encouraged by the work they have seen in submissions from all throughout Baltimore. Chiaia explained that the students have been learning photography skills themselves, helping them to best to judge the submissions and choose which ones to showcase at both upcoming events. In building their own photography skills, the students say they have learned in particular to pay attention to the details of their surroundings. Le’Ez said that in one assignment, each completed a photo walk for about an hour, “taking pictures of things that are positive and negative in our environment.”

Students LJ and Tyson, who have both been with the committee since October, spoke about their own photography to challenge stereotypes about youth in Baltimore. LJ said her self-portrait showed how much she and other students “want to study and succeed through education.” Tyson’s portrait caught him jumping mid-air in a demonstration of his passion for parkour, challenging notions that “kids aren’t talented.” Likewise, LeRee’ said that in the month he’s been working with his peers on the committee, he has seen submissions “trying to tell people that youth really care about education” and pieces that will “show the country and the world that youth in Baltimore are capable of success.”

When it comes time to share all of the committee and fellow youths’ work at the Youth Media Festival and Traveling Photography Exhibit, Melissa said she hopes the audience will understand that the participants do not fit the stereotypes and that they are capable of expressing themselves through inspirational video. LJ added, “I would really like to see people encouraged and hope that people who have hidden talents will be able to stand up and pursue them.” Chiaia, who works closely with the Committee while still allowing them to do the planning and organizing, says the students have all become “very competent photographers and curators” and are continually strengthening these skills, as well as those in design, public speaking, and event organizing in preparation for the festival.

All of the committee members know that these skills they’ve learned through Wide Angle will help them excel in the variety of interests each wants to pursue in the future, from accounting, law, engineering, and architecture to real estate, design, journalism, and establishing a church. With such determination and motivation, these Baltimore youth are continually proving LeRee’s point: they have quite a bit to offer Baltimore, the country, and the world.

Tickets are available for the 8th annual Wide Angle Youth Media Festival. Reserve your tickets online.

Kaitlin Higgins is currently a senior communications and media studies major/peace studies minor at Goucher College. She is serving as a short-term intern for Wide Angle as part of an opportunity in an alternative media course. Kaitlin hopes to pursue further education and eventually a career in multimedia journalism and is particularly interested in writing and documentary photography.

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Kyle Halle-Erby, Masters Student, Education and Secondary Teaching Credential at Stanford University, and Wide Angle Alum 2006.

Kyle Halle-Erby participated in our middle and highschool programs from 2002 to 2006. He graduated from the Friends School of Baltimore in 2006, Tufts University in 2011, and is now studying for his Masters in Education and Secondary Teaching Credential at Stanford University.  While in our programs, Kyle helped produce films in our Baltimore Speaks Out! program and Mentoring Video Project such as Schooling Baltimore Street, Le Professeur, and BeMore TV.

Kyle is now studying for his Masters in Education and Secondary Teaching Credential at Stanford University. Here, he reflects on his experience in our programs, and how he is researching how video projects can be integrated into curriculum:

Kyle (Right) in our Baltimore Speaks Out! Program, 2002.

“Wide Angle’s programs showed me I could be an expert. The production skills I learned were concrete, the videos we produced were authentic, and the screenings held our projects accountable. Wide Angle Youth Media gave me an opportunity to take responsibility for projects I found important and then let me own the results. I took myself more seriously in the program than I did elsewhere and learned how it feels to work hard on something you truly believe in.

Right now, I am preparing to be a high school English teacher and researching how video projects can be integrated into a Language Arts curriculum to teach writing. My interest in using video to teach other skills comes from my experience at Wide Angle. I know firsthand how media and traditional literacy can strengthen each other.

The respect Wide Angle shows its students is inspiring. Wide Angle assumes all students have important stories to tell, and the opportunities I had at Wide Angle Youth Media to express myself and share my opinions was only possible because the organization truly believed that what I had to say—and what my peers had to say—was valuable.”

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Tuesday, May 7th. 5:30 – 7:30

What makes the waterways around Baltimore so dirty? What can we do to stop pollutants from contaminating the water? The Ripple Effect is a film by Wide Angle Youth Media’s Baltimore Speaks Out! Program that examines the causes of water pollution in Baltimore and finds solutions to making the water cleaner for the environment and the community. The young filmmakers have learned the skills required to produce a film that explores the contamination of Baltimore’s waters and are excited to share their film with the community in order to bring a change in the viewers.

There will be a discussion following the screening. Free dinner will be provided by Carma’s Cafe.

Join us on Tuesday, May 7th. 5:30 – 7:30
Reisterstown Road Library – 6310 Reisterstown Road, Baltimore, MD 21215
For more information, email us at info@wideanglemedia.org

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Wednesday, May 1st. 5:00-7:00

The students in the Baltimore Speaks Out! program at Patterson Park Public Charter School have seen homelessness in their community and have taken action. After learning the tools of filmmaking in their workshops, the students have researched the subject, conducted interviews, and documented their results on camera. In their films, they find the causes and effects of homelessness and dispel the stereotypes associated with homeless people. Now they want to share their film with the people of Baltimore in order to bring attention to the issues that are common in their community.

This event will also feature work from: Creative Alliance Open Minds, PPPCS Marble Maze, and CampFire Eagles

Join us on Wednesday, May 1st. 5:00-7:00
Creative Alliance - 3134 Eastern Ave  Baltimore, MD 21224
For more information, email us at info@wideanglemedia.org

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Monday, April 29th. 5:30-7:30.

At our Baltimore Speaks Out! program, students believe that anyone can be a hero. In their latest film, We are Heroes, our youth producers share their own visions for an ideal neighborhood, school, community, and city. Over the course of ten weeks, our students have collaborated and explored different elements of art and video production to produce this film. They have confronted social issues such as bullying, teen violence, and the environment, in order to present positive solutions to improve their communities.

Check out the We Are Heroes premiere on Monday, April 29th. 5:30-7:30.
Brehms Lane Elementary - 3536 Brehms Lane Baltimore, MD 21213
For more info, email us at info@wideanglemedia.org

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When you use Rate Your Ride, you help make Baltimore’s bus system better!

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Hello, my name is Ykitta Martin and I am a high school intern at Wide Angle Youth Media. I am also in the Mentoring Video Project. In our last MVP class we watched a film called “Dinner” by Spy Hop Productions, a youth media program in Utah. I enjoyed this short film. It went into a lot of detail about how and why most people do or do not eat dinner with their families. The reason that I enjoyed it is because it is really uncommon to think about dinner in a huge way, as the video did. The video explained that when we do not take time to sit down and eat together with our families, we lose a lot of family time and conversation. It also showed how fast food is replacing most people’s family time. Knowing that this film was created by people my age speaks volumes to me because where I’m from, people do not usually deal with the small problems to see the bigger picture. Seeing this film made me think more about the small problems that actually cause major problems in our society and how they can be expressed to others. This film also made me want to spend even more time with my family, even though I already spend a lot of time with them, because dinner time is the best time for laughter and conversations.

Our Production Coordinator, David Sloan, met up with other youth media educations, including Spy Hop Productions, at a conference held in St. Paul, MN by the National Alliance for Art, Media, and Culture (NAMAC). In our Mentoring Video Project classes, we share short films with our students to discuss film concepts, and discuss issues youth producers from around the world are talking about.

Right now, students in our Mentoring Video Project are working on a short film about breaking the cycle of violence in Baltimore City. In the film, Wide Angle student producers will listen to young people who have personally experience violence or have been caught in this cycle. The finished product will be used as a tool to further advocate violence-prevention programs. You can help support our youth producers by donating now!

Ykitta Martin is 17 years old and attends Digital Harbor High School. She is a high school intern with Wide Angle Youth Media and the Urban Alliance. Next year, she plans to attend Towson University for film production. In her spare time she makes music and does plenty of video editing, and loves every aspect of it. Her life goal is to become a professional video editor and director or maybe someday even become a signed music artist.

The post Reflecting Reality: “Dinner” by Spy Hop Productions appeared first on Wide Angle Youth Media.

Gracie Harrington. Political Science Major and Wide Angle Alum, 2013.

Gracie Harrington participated in our Youth Media Festival Committee from 2009 to 2011. She graduated from Bryn Mawr School for Girls in 2011, and was a performer at our annual youth media festival before joining the committee in 2009!

This year’s Youth Media Festival Committee members are busy planning and jurying for our 8th Annual Youth Media Festival this spring and summer. Gracie is now studying political science at Wake Forest University. Here, she reflects on her experience being accepted into the festival, joining the committee, and how the experience now applies to her academic journey:

Gracie Harrington, 2009

“Without a doubt, participating in Wide Angle’s programs not only bettered me as a performer but bettered me as a person. Although I am studying Political Science at Wake Forest University, music is what brought me to Wide Angle Youth Media. I saw an advertisement for their annual Youth Media Festival and submitted my work. I was shocked when I was accepted into the event!

Without a doubt, performing my song “Joy of My Life” at the Wide Angle Youth Media Festival has been the best performance I have ever given, probably due to the energy in the audience. At Wide Angle, there is a love for expression and individuality which binds all participants together. Wide Angle will always hold a dear place in my heart, and I cannot wait to see who else will be touched by Wide Angle’s work.”

The 8th Annual Wide Angle Youth Media Festival gives voice to over 200 Baltimore City youth from over 40 schools and 10 after school programs by providing a forum that showcases their creativity and perspectives at diverse venues throughout Baltimore City. Works in this year’s festival are comprised of individual and group projects featuring photography and film. These works all challenge negative stereotypes of young people in Baltimore.

The festival’s opening night will take place on May 15, 2013 at the Creative Alliance from 5:00-8:00 PM. Wide Angle Youth Media will also be offering free art activities to groups and the public from 3-5 PM. Reserve your tickets now.

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