jeff@freespiritmedia.org

fsmjeff

http://hoopshigh.org/index.html, http://www.youtube.com/user/TeensinChicago

Many of our participants come to us through school partnerships. They enroll in our classes or apply for our after school programs. Youth throughout the city are eligible to apply for after school and special projects. Many of our after school programs are affiliated with After School Matters, which has an on-line application process. Individual youth can also find us via web and phone.

Jeff McCarter, Executive Director

Katie Ackert, Development and Operations Director

Elizabeth Czekner, Curriculum Director/Lead Instructor at NLCP

Tracee Brock, Program Coordinator

Shaun Cave, HoopHIGH Coordinator

High School age, 95+% African American, 5-% Latino, most are low-income, some are below poverty level

Video Production: camera, editing, sound production Multi-camera live sports broadcasting Multi-camera live talk show Genres: PSA, short documentary, narrative, news package, experimental

Media literacy and critique, news literacy and critique, script writing, story research, and more…

High attendance and performance in HS, continuation to college, exposure to and experience with professional media industry, high volume and quality of media production.

An impressive number of FSM student films have won awards at local and national film festivals. In September, student films were honored at the Peace on Earth and Looking for Democracy film festivals. These were both great honors, as the festivals accepted work from filmmakers of all ages. At the Columbia College Raw Voices Festival, Free Spirit Media won awards for Achievement in Alternative and New Media, Achievement in Original Music, and the Strongest Voice Award. FSM’s lead instructor, Elizabeth Czekner, also won the Raw Voices Teaching Artist of the Year Award. In March of 2009, a group of FSM students from GCYC placed 2nd in the McCormick Freedom Museum’s National Student Expression Contest, “Seen and Heard.” Over 20 entries were submitted in the film category, and our students were the youngest winners. The students’ short documentary was about the right to privacy in high schools. Their work was part of a one month exhibit at the Freedom Museum and was showcased on the museum’s website. In June of 2009, five Free Spirit Media films were selected for the Cine Youth Film Festival, and the film “Will I Be Next?” received special recognition by receiving the Social Change Film Award. Also in June of 2009, FSM students from GCYC won the Friends of Ryerson Woods Locally Grown Contest with their film about rooftop gardens. Finally, “Will I Be Next?” was honored with the Youth Voice Award at the 2009 Media That Matters Film Festival in New York City in June. The film, which was produced by a team of seniors in FSM’s advanced documentary production class at NLCP, explores the horrible problem of gun violence facing teens and communities in Chicago. Winning at Media That Matters is a major achievement because MTM is “more than a festival.” The twelve winning films (out of nearly 1,000 entries) will tour the globe, traveling to over 130 countries and reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers in the festival’s strategy of Screen, Act, Impact.

North Lawndale College Prep

Gary Comer Youth Center

Umoja Student Development Corporation

Columbia College

Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism

After School Matters

Video Production at North Lawndale College Prep (NLCP) FSM staff teach video production courses for elective credit at NLCP where students develop the ability to creatively use writing, video production, and editing to create work that effectively communicates with an audience and expresses a message. Students work individually, in small groups, and as a whole class to produce a range of documentaries, dramas, public service announcements, and experimental videos that are featured on the HoopsHIGH show, as well as entered into festivals and showcased throughout the year. HoopsHIGH Sports Broadcasting HoopsHIGH introduces students to sports broadcasting as a genre of video production. Participants travel to a variety of CPS high schools to produce various sporting events, including basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, and track and field. Participants operate cameras, announce the play-by-play, conduct sideline interviews, direct shots, and set-up and strike the equipment for each shoot. Perspectives of Teens in Chicago (PTC)- Youth Media Journalism at the Gary Comer Youth Center PTC is an intensive journalism program that gives high school students the opportunity to create and produce their own talk show/news magazine called Perspectives of Teens in Chicago (PTC). Students identify critical and relevant issues they address during their talk show and through short, PSA and documentary-style film packages. Students will develop a variety of skills, including producing, directing, on-camera talent, control room and camera operations, and editing.

In-school classes for elective credit integrated into the school curriculum (as part of an intentional, long-term strategy for partnership).

After school programming for students on the West and South Sides.