PROGRAM OF THE LOGAN CENTER

Digital Storytelling Initiative

The Digital Storytelling Initiative (DSI), a joint project of the Jonathan Logan Media Center and Logan Center Community Arts, partners with organizations on campus, in the South Side, and throughout Chicago, extending the Media Center’s reach and impact to fill community needs in access and training in digital production.

Through workshops, summer camps, workforce development programs, feature presentations and more, DSI sponsors media arts training, showcases digital media work by emerging and established practitioners, and equips communities with the tools, resources, and experience to tell their stories across borders and barriers.

DSI includes the Production Institute and the Community Media Education Programs. Additional film-, cinema-, and media-related workshops and events are offered by our DSI partners.

With an endowment from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Media Center serves as a sponsor of media arts training, a presenter of new artistic work, and a creative hub for University- and community-based practitioners through its Digital Storytelling Initiative.

Learn How to Apply to the 2024 Production Institute Below!

Credit: Edited by Derek Grace of Grace Media Group

Production Institute

Presented in partnership with the Community Film Workshop of Chicago, the Production Institute makes high-quality digital production training accessible to emerging media makers from South Side communities. This program addresses the lack of affordable, intensive courses available to South Side filmmakers and media artists. Through a hands-on film production course taught by experienced instructors, the Production Institute offers participants the opportunity to advance digital production skills and build a professional portfolio.

  • The Production Institute is an annual hands-on course taking place from June - September. Applications for the 2024 Production Institute open in March.

    The Production Institute is not a career development program. This course covers a broad range of filmmaking concepts and it is not intended for filmmakers looking for workforce development in a specific area, although excellent students may be considered for future freelance opportunities and may have found the confidence to pursue film as a career following their participation in our program.

    A basic equipment package will be used during the summer program, made accessible through the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Media Center. Participants that complete the program will have extended access to equipment and resources up to a year after the conclusion of the Production Institute.

  • March 12, 7-8pm: In-Person Information Session: Register here.

    March 14, 7-8pm: Virtual Information Session: Register here.

    March 19, 26, April 2, 9 | 7-9pm: Film Aesthetics Courses (Mandatory for applicants): Register here.

    April 28: Application Deadline

    May 6-8: Finalist Interviews

    May 18: Mandatory Orientation Lunch (Required for all accepted filmmakers)

    June 5–Sep 7: Production Institute Courses*

    Sep 22: Public Film Showcase

    *Classes are held at the Logan Center on Wednesdays from 6:30-9pm and Saturdays from 10am-2pm, with select dates when no classes are held.

  • • 19+ years old

    • South Side or South Suburbs resident

    • Not currently enrolled in a school or college program

    • Able to attend all Film Aesthetics classes (Mandatory for program enrollment)

    • Emerging filmmaker

    • Feasible project proposal upon applying

    • Demonstrated skills in camera operation

    • Pass a proficiency test

    • $100 deposit for program participation

  • What are the Film Aesthetics courses? Do I have to attend?

    The film aesthetics courses will examine the visual art of film and establish shared language through screenings, lectures, and discussions. These are mandatory for Production Institute applicants.

    When does the program meet?

    Tuesdays, 7-9 PM, March 19, 26 & April 2, 9, 2024

    Only applicants who have attended the four consecutive Film Aesthetics classes are eligible to apply. Register for all Film Aesthetics courses here.

  • The Application for the 2024 Production Institute opens mid-March, with a deadline of April 28. Apply here.

    All applicants must have a media sample to demonstrate past production experience.

  • The mission of the Community Film Workshop of Chicago (CFWC) is to provide access to media production that supports the development of independent media artists in underserved and underrepresented communities. CFWC’s programs in film, video, digital media, and design are designed to increase access and equity in media, and to give people of color, youth, and women the tools to create media and to transform their communities.

    Margaret Caples

    Executive Director, Community Film Workshop of Chicago

    Amandilo Cuzan

    Production Instructor

    Natalie Battles

    Teaching Assistant

Digital Storytelling Initiative: Community Film Showcase (2021)

The Vision: Digital Storytelling
Edited by Derek Grace of Grace Media Group, Past Instructor

Digital Storytelling Initiative: Community Film Showcase (2023)

DSI Community Media Partnerships

From adult workforce development to youth media education, all Digital Storytelling Initiative programs are made possible through a wide network of community partners. Facilitating and growing these reciprocal partnerships is core to the mission of the Logan Center. Jonathan Logan Media Center partners include:

  • Think It! Make It! Screen It!

  • StoryArts

  • Nerdy Media

  • Community Film Workshop Chicago

  • Collected Voices Ethnographic Film Festival

  • Mezcla Media Collective

  • South Side Projections

  • Invisible Institute

  • The Oscar Brown Jr. Archive Project

  • Kartemquin Films

About the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Media Center
The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Media Center (JLMC) supports curricular and co-curricular artistic digital media production at the University of Chicago. Users engage in production across a range of arts disciplines in pursuit of coursework, individual projects, youth media education, community-based digital storytelling, faculty research, and organized student activities. The JLMC directly supports classes offered by the departments of Cinema and Media Studies, Music, Theater and Performance Studies, Visual Arts, Creative Writing, and Art History.

The Jonathan Logan Media Center provides the necessary infrastructure that allows these efforts to thrive—facilitating programming, filmmaking, podcasting, and other forms of art and digital storytelling that engage diverse audiences. The staff of the JLMC work directly with users through workshops, formal partnerships, and individual mentorship to integrate arts and media technologies into their creative pursuits. In addition, the JLMC provides the specialized space and equipment necessary for a wide range of media production practices.

DSI Community Media Education Programs

These programs are oriented toward youth and adult learners interested in exploring film, cinema, and digital media.

  • A five-day film intensive held at the Logan Center, Think It! Make It! Screen It! (TIMISI) is a free program for youth ages 12 to 17 who have some experience with digital filmmaking. The course strengthens students’ knowledge of the basics of videography, lighting, sound recording and editing, with a focus on more advanced techniques to develop their own personal filmmaking style. The course also emphasizes filmmaking as a cooperative medium through collaborative coursework.

  • StoryArts is a four-week arts and digital storytelling summer program for South Side middle school students. In partnership with the Logan Media Center and the Digital Storytelling Initiative, students work closely with teaching artists to learn about different elements of digital storytelling such as filmmaking, music production, spoken word poetry, and podcasting. Through hands-on activities and field trips, students explore their personal and community narratives through different artistic media, culminating in a final multimedia presentation.

  • The #MadeAtLogan docuseries is a media entrepreneurship apprentice program aimed at providing opportunities for emerging media makers to enhance their production skills. This docuseries was first piloted in 2018 in partnership with Nerdy Media. Six emerging media artists have participated by creating short films documenting Logan Center Community Arts programming. In 2019, with the launch of the Production Institute, the #MadeAtLogan DocuSeries expanded to include professional documentation opportunities for Institute graduates and alumni from other DSI media education programs.

#MadeAtLogan: Performing Arts Snapshot

#MadeAtLogan: Children's Programming Snapshot

#MadeAtLogan: Visual Arts Snapshot

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