Duke Media Foundation

My name is Bill Duke. You may know me as an actor and director. I welcome you to the Duke Media Foundation.

The purpose of the Duke Media Foundation is to prepare our youth for the future by exposing them to specific new media tools and financial literacy tools that will enable them to compete, survive and thrive. Our economy is experiencing a paradigm shift far beyond film and TV to media. Film and TV are still a part of the landscape but we have moved into virtual worlds, games, cell phone apps, mobile TV, animation and webisodes.

It is not enough to just teach our youth how to use a camera. Our goal is to show them how technology is used in an ever expanding economy that has gone from domestic, to a global economy. DMF teaches these youth of the realities they will face in surviving this industry driven by emerging technology.

At present our kids cannot compete. They are intimidated by what they do not understand. They go to school to study disciplines that will be obsolete by the time they graduate from college. They attend school 5 hours a day 5 days a week while their teenaged competitors abroad study 8 hours a day 7 days a week. Our goal is to make our youth competitive with other youth who have had greater access to the tools and increase their abilities to succeed in life, thus leveling the playing field in the most expansive industry.


PROGRAM SUMMARY


The Duke Media Foundation offers the following program:

YOUTH MEDIA CAMP


The Youth Media Camp is the inaugural project of the Duke Media Foundation. The camp is a training and educational program that teaches youth the trade and craft of media production which includes film and video production, screenwriting, producing, directing and editing. The camp empowers them to develop the art of storytelling by using media tools.

The design of the Youth Media Camp gives each student a hands-on opportunity to learn every aspect of producing a story via film/video. It also builds squarely off of the extensive industry experience and prestige of the executives involved in its development.

In a twelve-month period, the Duke Media Foundation will provide three 12-week sessions. The summer session is held twice per week. On Saturday from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm and Wednesday from 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm. The spring and fall session are held on Saturday from 10:00am – 3:00pm. Each 12-week session will train 12 students, taught by three instructors, (creating a teaching ratio of one teacher per four students.) Each class will feature one or two guest speakers and industry professionals including:


Producers

. Directors
. Writers
. Actors
. Business Managers
. Accountants
. Media Experts
. Gaming Programmers
. Virtual World Creators
. Studio Executives
. Industry Attorneys
. Financial Experts
. Editors
. Mobile TV Experts

The youth will be working with state-of-the art equipment and technology and will put their training to use by creating films, apps, virtual worlds, documentaries and mobile television content. The youth will attend field trips to studios, media corporations, major corporate headquarters such as Apple and Microsoft, gaming and virtual world facilities.

The youth are introduced to Exchange programs between US students and foreign students.

All students are required to teach back to the teacher all lessons learned in each class. During the 12 week session the youth are broken down into three groups of 4. Their final assignment is to produce a video, commercial, documentary, etc to present to the class and to present at their graduation ceremony where parents, friends and industry professional screen and applaud their work. Their finished product is then featured on our website. It also serves as their demo reel when seeking employment.

Upon completion of the program all youth are invited back to mentor the youth in the following session. The sense of pride that is seen and felt by those whose lives have been changed is an indication that the program has fulfilled its intended purpose. From completion the youth go forward with seeking future employment in the field of Media with a full understanding of how to manage their Finances. As a part of our program the youth shadow industry professionals as interns and gain experience as well as create alliances that will assist them in securing employment.