VIDEO STORYTELLING WORKSHOP 2023
Paris and Bourbon County, Kentucky
OCTOBER 24 - 28, 2023
Immerse yourself. The experience is waiting for you.
If you are looking to jump-start your visual journalism career, or if you need to rejuvenate your passion for storytelling, spend a week with us in the Bluegrass State for a week of immersive learning, inspiration, and community interaction at the 48th annual Mountain Workshops in Paris, Kentucky.
Registration opens
Portfolio required
Now
Registration
Tuition
$950
Registration deadline
October 10
1 seat left
VIDEO STORYTELLING WORKSHOP 2023
Are your video productions stuck in a rut? After all your hard work and days of production, do your stories seem flat, lifeless and lack meaning? If you are comfortable with the technology but are looking for the workshop that will help you uncover, capture and edit a compelling narrative arc, then look no further.

With a coach-to-student ratio average of 1:4, the Mountain Workshops Video Storytelling Workshop can teach you how to bring the story back into storytelling. You will establish a close relationship with your subject, get up early and stay out late, stretch yourself creatively beyond your previous limits and ultimately have a career and life-changing experience.

Mountain is all about building relationships and using meaningful moments to tell a story. If you want to reach a new level in your documentary work, your coaches – some of the best visual professionals in the nation – will give you a motivating push in the right direction.

To complement your days and nights of shooting, editing and collaborative production, each evening there are inspiring presentations by the coaches from all forms of visual journalism. Any downtime you may find will be spent soaking up the knowledge of your passionate coaches and maybe catching a little sleep.
Liz Baylen, The New York Times
"There’s this energy you experience here that you don’t get while working professionally or in school. There’s something different about the Mountain. It’s a total non-stop sprint to the end and you think you’re not going to make it, but you do."
MAYBE THE VIDEO WORKSHOP IS NOT FOR YOU?
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER OPTIONS!
WHAT WE DO
Each October, a group of visual journalists set up shop in a different community in Kentucky to document life and culture in a unique way. Raw and live, it’s all about the people and their stories, not the institutions. It’s called the Mountain Workshops, and dozens of students and professionals from around the country swoop in for a week every year to garner new skills and fresh inspiration.

It’s a crash course in visual journalism.

Participants can choose from one of three options for the week. Photojournalism, Video Storytelling and Picture Editing. Three workshops held in one location, in one week, with a constant flow of new ideas and one-on-one guidance by the top professionals in their fields, all add up to an intense five days of high-octane education in visual communication and storytelling.
1
What you create
  • A two-to-three-minute short-form video documentary that will be published in the Mountain Workshops website and displayed in the traveling gallery
  • Moments of learning that rapidly propel your skills forward.
  • A network of friends, colleagues and connections that will remain a part of your life throughout your career.
2
Who should attend
  • Pre-professional or early professional visual storytellers looking to increase their knowledge in the art of storytelling.
  • Any visual journalist or commercial videographer in need of inspiration or a week away to experience visual immersion to rejuvenate their passion.
  • College students interested in documenting communities and the people who live in them.
A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT THE 2022 MOUNTAIN
HOUSING
You are required to provide your own lodging and dinning arrangements during the Workshops.

In Paris, the only hotel is a Best Western and it is selling out quickly. There are several hotels 15 miles away at the intersection of I-64 and US Highway 27 and 16 miles away at I-75 and Paris Pike. The county is dotted with many Air BNB options as well as magnificent horse farm bed-and-breakfasts. Some of the local farms are blocking the dates hoping to get as many of you to stay within the county.

Once you have been accepted AND paid to attend the workshop of your choosing, you will be invited by your registration email to join a PRIVATE Facebook group for all the 2023 participants. It is in this social space that many of our workshop attendees coordinate hotel and transportation arrangements. We will post any private housing options as they become available from the community in this space.
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT

This year the Mountain headquarters is just a handful of furlongs away from Keeneland Racetrack and the Fall Meet will be in its final week at the same time as the Mountain. Hotels can fill up quickly in the area, especially on the weekends.

It is important that you giddyup and reserve your room as soon as possible (we suggest as early as July) to guarantee you have housing close to our headquarters. We do not offer refunds due to lack of nearby available housing.
TRAVEL
The nearest airports are Lexington (LEX), a 25-mile drive or Cincinnati (CVG), an 80-mile drive. We have noticed drastically different rates depending on where you are coming from, so be sure to shop around for the best deals.

You will need to have a vehicle for the workshop and there are car rental places at the airports.

If you are in the Picture Editing workshop you may be able to share a car rental with others in that workshop to commute from nearby hotels, restaurants, and ground transportation from the airport to the headquarters and back. The participants in Picture Editing do not travel for their assignments but will need to provide their own transportation for all other activities.

Keep in mind that the Photojournalism and Video workshops will require working individually at various locations each day and it is mandatory to have your own transportation during the week.
DINING OPTIONS
The Mountain headquarters is conveniently located in the heart of downtown Paris. The area has plenty of cafés and dinners, so your culinary needs will be easily satisfied. Just keep in mind that places tend to close earlier in smaller towns.
HEADQUARTERS LOCATION
Paris Middle and High School
304 W 7th St, Paris, KY 40361
GOOGLE MAP LINK

We will be using the football/track stadium parking located behind the school, off of Park Ave. Please do not use the 7th St. parking lot directly in front of the school. This is an active school. There will be only one door that we will have access to for the safety of the students. On the opening day, we will have staff members posted to make sure you find the correct way to enter the building for the week.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
All times are Eastern Daylight. This schedule is tentative and is intended to give you an idea of what you may be doing each day.

TUESDAY | OCT. 24

7:45 - 8:45 AM
7:45 - 8:45 AM
Workshop Registration
8:00 AM
8:00 AM
Vendor's Open
Visit our national, regional and local sponsors. Equipment from Canon, Sony, Tamron and Midwest photo will be available to check out for the week.
9:00 AM
9:00 AM
Video Workshop Introductions
Tim Broekema, MWS Production Director | 3rd FLOOR VIDEO ROOM
Production overview and individual coach assignments.
9:45 AM
9:45 AM
Meet Your Coaches
Small group session.
10:15 AM
10:15 AM
What is Story Arc?
Video storytelling and the art of audio.
11:00 AM
11:00 AM
Lunch
Visit one of the local downtown restaurants or spend more time with the vendors.
12:30 PM
12:30 PM
Welcome and Community Comments
James Kenney, MWS Director | AUDITORIUM
Join the photo and picture editing workshop participants for our grand opening of the 2023 Mountain Workshops. Photo and video participants will draw their subjects name out of the hat.
1:30 PM
1:30 PM
First Read
Your individual coaches | 3rd FLOOR VIDEO ROOM
Meet with your small team's coach to discuss how to search for story and pre-interview discussion
Your coach will need to log what story you drew.
2:00 PM
2:00 PM
Cut the Deal
Make the call, meet your subject. The ball is rolling!
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
Dinner
On your own.
7:30 PM
7:30 PM
Evening Lecture Series #1
TBD | AUDITORIUM
8:30 PM
8:30 PM
Evening Lecture Series #2
TBD | AUDITORIUM
9:30 PM
9:30 PM
Meet With Coaches
3rd FLOOR VIDEO ROOM
Interviewing, techniques and content.
11:00 PM
11:00 PM
Workshops Building Closes

WEDNESDAY | OCT. 25

Sunrise!
Sunrise!
Fieldwork
Shooting schedules are built by interaction with you, your subject and your coach's guidance.
9:00 AM
9:00 AM
Workshops Building Opens
Vendors tables are open.
12:00 PM
12:00 PM
Lunch
On your own.
12:45 PM
12:45 PM
Methods for Story Organization
3rd FLOOR VIDEO ROOM
Transcribing, storyboarding, radio cut, story pitch.
2:00 PM
2:00 PM
Fieldwork
In the field with subject.
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
Dinner
On your own.
7:30 PM
7:30 PM
Evening Lecture Series #3
TBD | AUDITORIUM
8:30 PM
8:30 PM
Evening Lecture Series #4
TBD | AUDITORIUM
9:30 PM
9:30 PM
The 30 Second Pitch
3rd FLOOR VIDEO ROOM
What is the story, why should I care, explore conflict, tension and challenge.
11:00 PM
11:00 PM
Methods for Folder Structure
3rd FLOOR VIDEO ROOM
Premiere or FCP documents are created and organizational structure to assets developed.
12:00 AM
12:00 AM
Workshops Building Closes

THURSDAY | OCT. 26

Sunrise!
Sunrise!
Fieldwork
Shooting schedules are built by interaction with you, your subject and your coach's guidance.
9:00 AM
9:00 AM
Workshops Building Opens
Vendors tables are open.
12:00 PM
12:00 PM
Lunch
On your own.
1:00 PM
1:00 PM
Mandatory Check-in
Assets drop and coach visit for review and advising.
Afternoon
Afternoon
Fieldwork
In the field with subject.
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
Dinner
On your own.
7:30 PM
7:30 PM
Evening Lecture Series #5
TBD | AUDITORIUM
8:30 PM
8:30 PM
Evening Lecture Series #6
TBD | AUDITORIUM
9:30 PM
9:30 PM
Making the First Cut
3rd FLOOR VIDEO ROOM
Radio cut presentation with one-on-one coach participation and feedback.
12:00 AM
12:00 AM
Workshops Building Closes

FRIDAY | OCT. 27

Sunrise!
Sunrise!
Fieldwork
Last chance for content gathering with subject.
9:00 AM
9:00 AM
Workshops Building Opens
Vendors tables are open.
12:00 PM
12:00 PM
Lunch
On your own.
12:30 PM
12:30 PM
Production Time
At the lab beginning your story production.
2:00 PM
2:00 PM
Words
Present a 20 character or less headline and 150 character maximum nut-graf.
5:00 PM
5:00 PM
Poster Images
Submit a poster frame for title and web presentation.
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
Dinner
On your own.
7:30 PM
7:30 PM
Evening Lecture Series #7
TBD | AUDITORIUM
8:30 PM
8:30 PM
Evening Lecture Series #8
TBD | AUDITORIUM
9:15 PM
9:15 PM
Evening Lecture Series #9
TBD  |  AUDITORIUM
10:00 PM
10:00 PM
First Edit
3rd FLOOR VIDEO ROOM
Rough cut ready for one-on-one with coach and peer review, critique, discussion.
1:00 AM
1:00 AM
Workshops Building Closes

SATURDAY | OCT. 28

8:00 AM
8:00 AM
Workshops Building Opens
Vendors tables are open.
8:00 AM
8:00 AM
The Final Touches
Audio sweetening and color grading.
12:00 PM
12:00 PM
Ceremonial Closing of Content Gathering
Some fun with your new friends, group photo.
12:45 PM
12:45 PM
Lunch
On your own.
3:30 PM
3:30 PM
Deadline
Final project due, quality control check.
4:00 PM
4:00 PM
What's Next
Wrap up and what's next for your career. A discussion with your coaches.
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
Evening Lecture Series #10
TBD | AUDITORIUM
6:45 PM
6:45 PM
Evening Lecture Series #11
TBD | AUDITORIUM
7:30 PM
7:30 PM
Evening Lecture Series #12
TBD  |  AUDITORIUM
8:30 PM
8:30 PM
Pizza Party
AUDITORIUM LOBBY
Sponsored by Canon and Sony
9:00 PM
9:00 PM
Presentation Viewing
AUDITORIUM
Sit back and enjoy - dare we say revel, in your success as you present your work and get a chance to see all the photo stories, videos and page design produced this week.
11:30 PM
11:30 PM
Closing Comments
AUDITORIUM
Canon, Sony and Tamron door prize winners announced. Closing overview video you do not want to miss!
12:00 AM
12:00 AM
Workshops Concludes
Ready to Apply?

The application process is open and will continue until all seats for each workshop sells out or by September 15, whichever comes first. Acceptance into each workshop will be based on various factors, including your portfolio, resumé and additional information you may supply.


Interested participants must fill out the online application to start the process to be considered for the Mountain Workshops. Once accepted, you will be notified by your registration email (be sure to monitor your SPAM folder) and instructed on how to pay to reserve your spot. This workshop can sell out. Your seat is not confirmed until you pay. Registration and acceptance alone does not guarantee a seat.