OXFORD, Miss. – Award-winning filmmaker Micah Ginn is set to direct the University of Mississippi’s ninth annual Filmmaking Workshop, an intensive four-day clinic designed to introduce amateurs to both film appreciation and the actual techniques of filmmaking.
Scheduled for July 6-9, the workshop is open to high school students, college students, teachers and adults interested in filmmaking. Participants view a variety of films that showcase the elements of filmmaking and get an introduction to all aspects of the filmmaking process as they produce their own short films. From sound design to lighting and from camera operation to story boards, participants gain valuable practical experience in the art of filmmaking.
Pre-registration is advised for the workshop. To register, contact Port Kaigler at 662-915-1408 or sdkaigle@olemiss.edu. The residential-dormitory fee is $425 and includes dormitory housing, costs, workshop and meals. The residential-hotel fee is $625 and includes a room at the Inn at Ole Miss, workshop and meals. For commuters, the fee is $325 and includes only the workshop.
Dress is casual and comfortable throughout the workshop, which is slated for the Ole Miss-Oxford Depot. Participants get a detailed schedule and map of the area at registration.
Ginn, a filmmaker-producer in the university’s Center for Documentary Projects, is a 1996 UM graduate. After completing his degree, he moved to Los Angeles and worked in various jobs in the film industry, including casting, development, script analysis and on-set production.
After five years in California, he moved home to Mississippi and has since produced several short films as well as the feature-length documentaries “The University Greys” and “Undefeated: The Chucky Mullins Story.” Ginn’s current projects include documentaries focusing on legendary UM coach Johnny Vaught, influential politician L.Q.C. Lamar and “Blind Jim” Ivy, the campus icon whose school spirit and zeal for life made him a fixture at Ole Miss for almost 50 years.
Ginn says he hopes to do a higher level of film production this year, so as to give the students a more advanced glimpse into the film industry.
“I hope that in addition to filmmaking know-how, students this year will take away a new energy about making movies,” Ginn said. “It’s not enough to have the knowledge; you’ve got to have the drive, and that is something we try to make clear to the students.”
Assisting Ginn in directing the workshop is Matthew Graves, an award-winning filmmaker whose short and feature length films have been shown all over the country. He has produced, written, shot, scored, edited and directed more than 20 short films and in 2003 produced and directed his first feature film “Riding the 9.” His 2006 film “Dummy” was selected as best short comedy at the 2006 Tupelo Film Festival. He works as a producer-director for the Center for Documentary Projects.
“I’m really excited to have the opportunity to pull the shroud back on filmmaking and show young and aspiring filmmakers that the only real limitations they have in making a movie is their own imagination,” Graves said. “It’ll be fast and furious, but I hope that the students will come away at the end of the week with a deeper appreciation for the craft, a product they can be proud of, and a hunger to create again.”
The workshop directors hope that students of all ages will take advantage of the opportunity to learn the art of filmmaking.
“This is going to be a thorough, albeit brisk, learning experience,” Ginn said. “It is our hope that the students will have an invigorating learning experience and have their passion for filmmaking grow stronger as a result of the course.”
For more information on the 2010 Ole Miss Filmmaking Workshop, visit http://www.outreach.olemiss.