UPDATES AND REFLECTIONS FROM THE WIDE ANGLE CREW
This winter, our Design Apprentices took on Wide Angle as a client to create custom temporary tattoos for our annual Valentine’s Day mailing. We use this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to the supporters in our community. If you received a tattoo in the mail, snap a pic, post on social media and tag Wide Angle! We’d LOVE to see them out in the world : )
Learn about the creative process and design inspiration for each one below.
Read MoreIn mid-August, members of Wide Angle Productions had the opportunity to visit Video Production Consulting, Inc. (VPC, Inc.) in Reisterstown, Maryland. VPC is a production company that specializes in content creation, live event production, digital signage, and A/V systems integration. This was VPC’s second summer hosting WAP for a Job Shadow day, and our team had the pleasure of meeting many members of their incredible staff!
Read MoreThis summer, Wide Angle Productions Producer, Tahir, completed a summer externship with Exelon’s Creative Media department. This was a 40 hour/week paid position that runs from June through August as part of Exelon’s summer intern program. Tahir, a Senior at Morgan State, has been with Wide Angle Youth Media since 2013. This post includes reflections from Tahir and Mark Colegrove, Video Producer at Exelon who worked with Tahir this summer.
Read MoreThis year Wide Angle launched its first Student Planning Committee aimed to share more ownership of the annual screening and exhibition with students - after all this event is about sharing their voice! The group met bi-weekly for four weeks over the summer. They used human-centered design, a creative process dedicated to understanding people’s needs and designing interventions that better serve people’s needs. This included interviewing different event stakeholders (parents/caregivers, students, teachers, etc.), finding themes in the research, identifying opportunity areas, brainstorming ideas, and testing them with prototypes. Student Planning Committee member Bryce spoke with us about his experience.
Read MoreListen. Amplify. Repeat. is our 2019 exhibition and screening event. The night will feature an exhibition of photographs and design projects, premier new films and include commentary from youth presenters as well as esteemed community leaders. We are thrilled to have youth media makers involved in every stage of the event. In this post you will hear from our youth designer, Aiara, about her process creating the visual assets for this year’s event.
Read MoreDestiny Brown - she/her pronouns - is a young filmmaker and actress born and raised in Baltimore, MD. She began at Wide Angle as the lead actress for a CSX train safety video, and over the years has transitioned into an Assistant Producer and Youth Ambassador. She is also part of the Youth Advisory Council and wants to be on the Board one day. Destiny has created a national award-winning film, traveled to South Africa to film internationally, and has spoken on numerous panels including Light City and Grantmakers for Education. She will be entering her first year at New York University (NYU) this fall, studying acting and theater, while also working as a Video Generalist at the Stern School of Business at NYU.
Read More#IamMoreBmore is a social movement for the youth, by the youth that launched in June 2019. Through media, this campaign aims to change the narrative of youth - specifically in Baltimore - to highlight positive stories that often go unheard. This blog includes a Q&A with two of the leaders of this movement, Chamia and Lacee. They were both Urban Alliance interns placed with Wide Angle Youth Media for spring - summer, 2019.
Read More“BlackStar is a gathering of filmmakers, supporters, and enthusiasts who attend screenings and participate in panels, workshops, and conversations to expand the vision and understanding of the global experience of communities of color. Acknowledging the diversity and complexity of identity within several diasporas creates space for dialogue and opens the opportunity for a greater perspective of what it means to be Black, Brown, and Indigenous.”
This was the second year in a row that a Wide Angle Youth Media film was featured in BlackStar Film Festival. Thanks to support from BlackStar, Communications Assistant, Hannah Shaw, and Youth Producer, Israel McNeill, travelled to Philadelphia to attend the festival. Below, Israel reflects on his experience.
Read MoreMediaWorks Journalism Team worked with the Capital News Service at University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism, to write five blog posts and create a photojournalism package about climate change, environmental racism, and health. This summer collaboration was a continuation of partnership that started in the 2018-2019 academic year.
Read MoreSakinah Bowman - she/her pronouns - is a Multimedia Apprentice for Wide Angle Productions (WAP). Originally from Philadelphia, Saki moved to Baltimore to study Screenwriting and Animation at Morgan State University. She is a 22-year-old filmmaker, poet, curator of frequency, and a woman of many talents.
Read MoreThis spring, Wide Angle’s Design Team collaborated with the LGBTQ+ group GLSEN (pronounced "glisten") and the Baltimore City LGBTQ Commission on a project about how transgender and gender nonconforming students are treated in schools based on their identity. Every day, these students are ostracized for who they are, and not just by their peers, but by their teachers and administrators as well.
Read MoreThe timeline displays our history and the effects of school segregation on black youth in America. It all started from an idea that my team had and brought to life. I hope that the reader can view this timeline and take a lot from it because it is important to know your history and learn from it in order to be aware of the present and improve it.
Read MoreIf there is anything taken away from this project, I want it to be that it isn’t just about AC, or heat, or books. It’s about the quality of the education that’s being given to the people that will determine the future of our world. Our kids can’t wait, because change rests on them; and without change, this world wouldn’t be where it is today.
Read MoreGoing through middle school I hardly knew what a composite score was, nor that something like this even existed until it was too late. Being involved in this project gave me the opportunity to make sure that all students from Baltimore City Public schools are informed on what a composite score is, the importance of it, and how it can affect their high school choice. Being given the opportunity to be involved in the composite score project that me and my fellow peers worked on has been a memorable moment in my life here at WAYM.
Read MoreWide Angle Designers decided to come together and create a black history month project. We all chose 12 African Americans that influence us here in Baltimore. The calendar starts from February 2019-January 2020. This calendar also gives you a small explanation on who the people are.
Seeing our youth producers become better artists and speakers -- in real time -- is one of the many pleasures of instructing. It is times like these that remind me of the importance of instructors’ long-term commitment and the Wide Angle pathway aimed at keeping students involved. Victories like these instill confidence in our young people and motivate them to continue in their creative paths.
Read MoreOn our way back from the visit, we all talked about being inspired to do more projects for fun, gain experience, and build up our knowledge for our careers/passions. Although we work with professionals at Wide Angle and learn something everyday, I’m glad we were able to visit VPC and talk with the professionals there.
Read MoreBeing apart of video team has helped me feel more prepared for a job and a career because I have now experienced what it feels like when someone gives direction, working with other people and having responsibilities. I’ll be going into Game Design as a career, but I'm grateful to have the opportunity to work and be a part of the film production team because it has given me skills that can help me in my career.
The first week of MediaWorks at Wide Angle was an exciting one as we were introduced to the world of working with clients. After a quick orientation, we were assigned to different cohorts based on a form of media we’d work with for the next five weeks: graphic design, photography, and video. Once we got to know each other with a really fun team icebreaker, we were pretty excited to start.
Read MoreGoing to Detroit was different than any other trip I have taken because it made me think about how small my perspective on the world might actually be, and that no matter how familiar a place may seem, it can still be strikingly different. As much as I try to learn about the world there will be some things I will just have to experience for myself.
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