Media Literacy Workshop: Understanding How to Use Video
A hands-on, full-day workshop
This full-day, hands-on workshop goes over the fundamentals of visual media, giving participants the knowledge and confidence to better understand, evaluate, and create videos.
No professional equipment or previous experience is required. Whether you're a marketing directors working with videographers, a business owner, educator, marketer, aspiring content creator, or simply someone who wants to become more media-savvy, this workshop will give you a stronger foundation for navigating today's visual media world.
The morning focuses on the technical side of media. You'll learn the language of sensors, cameras, resolution, frame rates, aspect ratios, exposure, lighting, audio, file formats, and editing software. We'll break down the technology behind the images and videos we see every day and explain how these technical decisions affect the final product.
In the afternoon, we'll shift from the technical to the creative. Explore the fundamentals of composition, lighting, storytelling, pacing, sequencing, and visual communication. Discover how creative choices influence what an audience sees, feels, and remembers and why technically perfect media isn't always the most effective media.
Throughout the day, you'll participate in demonstrations, practical exercises, and creative challenges designed to put what you learn into practice. You'll also explore how images and videos can influence perception, communicate ideas, and sometimes distort the truth.
By the end of the day, you'll walk away with more than a vocabulary of technical terms. You'll have a better understanding of how visual media works, how to make it, how to evaluate it, and how to use it with purpose. Because great media isn't just about knowing how to operate a camera. It's about knowing what to do with it and why.
Additionally, you’ll understand when it’s necessary to hire a professional or when you can handle the media yourself.
Who this is for
Small business owners who know they should be posting video but aren’t sure where to start
Coaches, practitioners, artists, and nonprofits who want their content to sound like them
Marketers and social media managers who want a stronger grasp of the production side
Anyone who has made content before and wants it to be clearer, more consistent, and easier to make
You don’t need any experience or special equipment. A smartphone is plenty, though fancy gear is great too.
What we’ll cover
How media works on people
We start by looking at video the way a viewer does. Why some things hold your attention and others don’t. How trust gets built or lost in the first few seconds. How to recognize when content is selling to you, and why that matters when you’re the one making it.
Finding your story
Most people undersell what’s interesting about their work. We’ll work through how to find the stories already sitting in your business: the people, the process, the reasons you do what you do. You’ll leave with a short list of real story ideas you can use right away.
Understanding the technical elements of media
Settings, light, sound, framing, and getting enough footage to edit with. These are the basics professional crews rely on every day, and none of them require expensive gear. We’ll cover what makes the biggest difference and what you can safely ignore.
Editing
Editing is where a video becomes clear or falls apart. We’ll cover structure, pacing and cutting what doesn’t belong. Charley will walk through real edits and talk about the choices behind them.
Social Media Platforms
Each platform rewards different things. We’ll look at how they actually work, how to get several pieces of content out of one shoot, and how to plan a posting rhythm you can keep up with.
Doing it honestly
Music licensing, permission to film people, AI-generated content, and disclosure. These questions come up more every year, and getting them wrong can cost you trust or money. We’ll cover the practical basics so you can make good decisions.
The hands-on part
The afternoon is for doing. You’ll plan, shoot, and edit a short video with Charley.
What you’ll leave with
A clear sense of how video affects the people watching it
A list of story ideas drawn from your own work
Practical shooting and editing habits you can use the next day
A simple plan for posting and promoting your content
A finished short video
Workshop notes and checklists to take home
A hands-on, full-day workshop
This full-day, hands-on workshop goes over the fundamentals of visual media, giving participants the knowledge and confidence to better understand, evaluate, and create videos.
No professional equipment or previous experience is required. Whether you're a marketing directors working with videographers, a business owner, educator, marketer, aspiring content creator, or simply someone who wants to become more media-savvy, this workshop will give you a stronger foundation for navigating today's visual media world.
The morning focuses on the technical side of media. You'll learn the language of sensors, cameras, resolution, frame rates, aspect ratios, exposure, lighting, audio, file formats, and editing software. We'll break down the technology behind the images and videos we see every day and explain how these technical decisions affect the final product.
In the afternoon, we'll shift from the technical to the creative. Explore the fundamentals of composition, lighting, storytelling, pacing, sequencing, and visual communication. Discover how creative choices influence what an audience sees, feels, and remembers and why technically perfect media isn't always the most effective media.
Throughout the day, you'll participate in demonstrations, practical exercises, and creative challenges designed to put what you learn into practice. You'll also explore how images and videos can influence perception, communicate ideas, and sometimes distort the truth.
By the end of the day, you'll walk away with more than a vocabulary of technical terms. You'll have a better understanding of how visual media works, how to make it, how to evaluate it, and how to use it with purpose. Because great media isn't just about knowing how to operate a camera. It's about knowing what to do with it and why.
Additionally, you’ll understand when it’s necessary to hire a professional or when you can handle the media yourself.
Who this is for
Small business owners who know they should be posting video but aren’t sure where to start
Coaches, practitioners, artists, and nonprofits who want their content to sound like them
Marketers and social media managers who want a stronger grasp of the production side
Anyone who has made content before and wants it to be clearer, more consistent, and easier to make
You don’t need any experience or special equipment. A smartphone is plenty, though fancy gear is great too.
What we’ll cover
How media works on people
We start by looking at video the way a viewer does. Why some things hold your attention and others don’t. How trust gets built or lost in the first few seconds. How to recognize when content is selling to you, and why that matters when you’re the one making it.
Finding your story
Most people undersell what’s interesting about their work. We’ll work through how to find the stories already sitting in your business: the people, the process, the reasons you do what you do. You’ll leave with a short list of real story ideas you can use right away.
Understanding the technical elements of media
Settings, light, sound, framing, and getting enough footage to edit with. These are the basics professional crews rely on every day, and none of them require expensive gear. We’ll cover what makes the biggest difference and what you can safely ignore.
Editing
Editing is where a video becomes clear or falls apart. We’ll cover structure, pacing and cutting what doesn’t belong. Charley will walk through real edits and talk about the choices behind them.
Social Media Platforms
Each platform rewards different things. We’ll look at how they actually work, how to get several pieces of content out of one shoot, and how to plan a posting rhythm you can keep up with.
Doing it honestly
Music licensing, permission to film people, AI-generated content, and disclosure. These questions come up more every year, and getting them wrong can cost you trust or money. We’ll cover the practical basics so you can make good decisions.
The hands-on part
The afternoon is for doing. You’ll plan, shoot, and edit a short video with Charley.
What you’ll leave with
A clear sense of how video affects the people watching it
A list of story ideas drawn from your own work
Practical shooting and editing habits you can use the next day
A simple plan for posting and promoting your content
A finished short video
Workshop notes and checklists to take home