This blog is part of our series, A Conversation WITH. As a media organization, we highlight members of our team - past and present - that have done awesome work with Wide Angle, while also pursuing their own creative goals.

Darian Jones - he/him pronouns - is a Baltimore-born and raised filmmaker, currently pursuing his B.A. at the University of Baltimore in Digital Communication, with a focus in Media Design and Production. His passion for teaching youth is fueled by his desire to make a difference in their lives. As a graduate of the state official Arts2Work apprenticeship for Multimedia Production, he’s now a Journeyworker interested in documenting unique and authentic perspectives. Filmmaking allows him to combine his love of storytelling and history. “I compare filmmaking to being a chef, I’m dealing with raw ingredients that I have to season, cook, and plate for audiences to digest.”

This spring we are fundraising for our Baltimore Speaks Out (BSO) middle school program. What better way to get to learn about the program than through the eyes of one of our BSO instructors!

Current read: Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon

Song on repeat: “Built by Pictures” by Oddisee

Favorite spot in Baltimore: Druid Hill Park

Tell us a little bit about your background. How did you find out about Wide Angle? What made you join? What different roles have you had here?

I’m from Baltimore, the oldest of five, and I’ve always been creative whether it was music or creative writing. I’ve been doing video and filmmaking for four years. I saw that CCBC was starting a Digital Media Program - I switched my major that day and haven’t looked back. I didn’t really have a plan but I knew this is the way I wanted to tell stories. I was introduced to Wide Angle by Jim Mahjoubian, one of my many mentors. He told me that Wide Angle was hiring and that I should apply.

Fun fact: I applied for my position three different times before I even got an interview!  I was told each time I applied I improved on some aspect of my application.

At Wide Angle, the majority of my time is spent on our programming side. I'm a co-instructor for our middle school program, Baltimore Speaks Out (BSO), and this fall I began teaching for our high school program, Video Lab.  When I’m not teaching I get to continue to keep my production skills sharp by working with Wide Angle Productions. This fall I graduated from the Arts2work apprenticeship where, for an entire year, I was able to focus on improving my skill set. 

Tell us about a project that challenged you in new ways.

One project that challenged me was when we wanted to revamp BSO’s curriculum, because we’ve done minor changes here and there. We wanted to make it a more enjoyable experience for students to learn and for instructors to teach. This was challenging because we knew this is a curriculum we would have to stick to because we couldn’t keep doing this overhaul every year. The idea we came up with was a media sampler, this would allow students to explore three different mediums: design, photography, and video.

What was your first experience teaching media like? How has your teaching style changed over time?

Teaching media the first time was like a deer in headlights because I was so used to being in a support role. Being the one doing most of the talking, teaching, and the lesson planning was a different world. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I was ready, I think I was hired based on my potential as the teacher I could become versus the teacher I was at the time. Thanks to Tia, Beth, Keiona, David, Sue and many others, now I believe I’m the teacher Wide Angle envisioned me to be.

My teaching style is more balanced now, I have a better understanding of when to implement group work, individual work, and have class discussions. The place where I’ve grown the most is in example work. When I first started teaching I used to reference a lot of other people’s work but since quarantine started I’ve made a conscious effort to show more examples of my work. It’s made a difference in my teaching and interaction with students, they’re able to see that I’ve actually applied what I’m teaching them and with that comes a different level of buy-in. Also, it’s important for students to see the entire arc of my filmmaking career. I didn’t start off making the best stuff out of the gate, it’s just like anything else in life the more you do it, the better you will get.

Why do you think it’s important for middle schoolers to learn media making skills?

I think it’s important for middle schoolers to learn media making skills because it allows students to build their organization, time management, critical thinking, and teamwork skills. These are valuable skills that could be used in the present and future whether they decide to pursue a career in media or not. I believe it can help develop a deeper understanding of the media they consume and a deeper appreciation because they know the process of making media.

What was one of the funniest moments you’ve experienced in the classroom?

One of the funniest moments was last semester at Lillie May. We were doing an icebreaker about if we could go back to any year what year would we go to? I answered, “2010, that was the year I graduated HS and had the summer of my life,” and a student blurted out “I was born in 2010!” That was pretty funny and humbling.

When are you the most creative, and why do you think that is?

I'm most creative when I’m walking around a city and just exploring because that’s when I experience true freedom, a lot of what I see in Baltimore inspires me whether it’s positive or negative.

“Art imitates life and, sometimes, life imitates art. It’s a weird combination of elements.” – Bruce Willis

What is your dream project?

My dream project is to create a mini documentary series on black historical landmarks in Baltimore. 

Check out a few student videos from Darian’s classes.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Hannah Shaw is the Communications Specialist at WAYM. She is a multidisciplinary designer and received her BS in Marketing from UMD and MA in Social Design from MICA.