Academic Technology Podcast - Episode 5

Kimberly: Hello and welcome to the fifth episode of the Academic Technology Podcast. I'm Kimberly Hayworth, the manager of Academic Computing's Consulting and Multimedia Services group.Today I'll be interviewing Kristi Wilson, a Lecturer in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, and also the Founder and Co-Director of the Stanford Film Lab. Thanks for coming in today, Kristi. For listeners who may not be familiar with it, can you tell us more about the Stanford Film Lab?

Kristi: Yes. The Stanford Film Lab is a new group that is comprised of PWR lecturers, some teaching fellows from IHUM, and students. And it's designed to give students of PWR 2 in particular—but students all over campus—a space in which to develop ideas for documentaries, study documentaries, see screenings, and especially to further develop any ideas that they started in their PWR 2 classes that pertain to documentary.

Kimberly: That's great. And just for those who may not be familiar with it, IHUM is…?

Kristi: Introduction to the Humanities Program. We're already trying to cosponsor events with other groups and organizations on campus.

Kimberly: So, what are the types of things students can do in the Film Lab?

Kristi: So some of the things we're going to be doing involve screenings, guest speakers, study of classic documentary film makers, and also student-driven projects. So we're hoping to get a student governance board together this quarter to help us present activities for students next quarter.

We recently hosted two fabulous events on campus. The first one was Monday, May 8th. And we brought, Nic Hill, a local film maker who has made a documentary called Piece by Piece, in which he traces 20 years of graffiti history in San Francisco. So we screened this documentary and Nic Hill was on hand to answer questions. The next night, May 9th, we were proud to host, together with IHUM, Timothy "Speed" Levitch who presented the film he starred in The Cruise which is a documentary basically about him and his experience as a bus tour guide in New York city. And on May 24th we will be screening Iranian poet Forough Farrokhzad’s 25-minute documentary film, The House is Black, from 1963. That film will be presented by the Film Lab and Cheryl Greene who will offer discussion and take questions after the screening. You can find out more about this film on our website, filmlab.stanford.edu, where you can also read director's thoughts on directing documentary film.

Kimberly: Wow, that's a very impressive set of events that you have coming up, and I think it's wonderful that you're getting the student involvement as well—that makes a huge difference.

Kristi: Yeah, definitely. I've found that in teaching the Rhetoric of Documentary Film for my PWR 2 course, I had a lot of students who were already taking classes in film, participating in the United Nations Association Film Festival, and just extremely interested in documentary. So we aim to be a place that participates in an already on-going conversation about documentary on campus, and students can really join at any level. I found in teaching the PWR 2 documentary course that in a 10-week quarter, students can only go so far with their really great ideas. So we hope to have this space that they can join right after PWR 2 and extend some of their projects.

Kimberly: I think that's a great opportunity because, you're right, a quarter system is just not that long and once you get started with an idea, it's very easy to lose that momentum.

Kristi: It is, and it's very frustrating to have to leave it behind. So eventually, we're hoping to have a really good group of students that can encourage each other, work together, collaborate on ideas, offer each other feedback, and most importantly, we hope to be a stepping stone for students who want to get further help with production issues and who want to take classes, and maybe even major in Film Studies. So we would definitely point students in the direction of those courses on campus.

Kimberly: And even bringing those industry experts in also provides a great resource. In addition, the Multimedia Studio on the second floor of Meyer is a great area if you have questions about getting started with film or digital video, or for the more advanced students who may be using Final Cut, the Multimedia Consultants are very, very knowledgeable in those areas as well.

Kristi: Completely agree. And also the Film Lab—we're definitely going to encourage students who are interested in film to look into majoring in film as undergraduates, look into the graduate programs that we have here on campus in documentary. We have probably one of the best documentary film libraries in the country so we're going to encourage students to explore programs and courses that are already offered. In addition, on our website, which is at filmlab.stanford.edu, you'll find links to such things as the United Nations Association Film Festival that's offered here on campus every year. So we definitely want to encourage students to take advantage of opportunities that already exist on campus.

Kimberly: And it's an interesting perspective that you bring to it, it's not just the film, it's the rationale, the rhetoric behind the process.

Kristi: Our emphasis in the Film Lab is on visual rhetoric—understanding documentary film as argument. And so we explore all of these different perspectives on this topic. And it also connects us firmly to the Program in Writing and Rhetoric. We're located in the Stanford Writing Center, which is in the lower level of Margaret Jacks Hall, where we will meet and have screenings, and so this is just another way in which we are connected to the ongoing project of writing and writing with visuals and understanding visual rhetoric, and the PWR on campus.

Kimberly: And you're a brand-new organization, aren't you?

Kristi: Yes, we just started…we began to get together—interested parties—last quarter. This quarter, we put up our website, once again: filmlab.stanford.edu, and we began to host events this quarter. We had one event last quarter, so slowly we're building, in terms of events we're hosting and sponsoring. And next quarter our emphasis is going to be on student involvement.

Kimberly: Well, it's an amazing resource that you're making available. So if people are interested in getting more involved, they would just go to your website?

Kristi: Yes: filmlab.stanford.edu. And, you have all the necessary information there. You have our mission statement, contact information, events coming up, and other types of links.

Kimberly: Well, that's so much for being with us today, Kristi.

Kristi: Thank you.

Kimberly: Well, that's it for Academic Technology Podcast, Episode 5. Thanks for listening. Episode 6 will include an interview Peter Chen, Academic Technology manager, about the Academic Technology Specialist Program. Links to information discussed in this podcast and other show notes are available online at acomp.stanford.edu/cams. Just click the Academic Technology Podcast link. You'll also find a link to our blog if you'd like to provide feedback or suggest topics for future podcasts.