{"id":4967,"date":"2023-04-19T17:48:16","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T21:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/?p=4967"},"modified":"2023-04-19T17:48:16","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T21:48:16","slug":"documentary-filmmakers-praise-power-of-storytelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/2023\/04\/documentary-filmmakers-praise-power-of-storytelling\/","title":{"rendered":"Documentary Filmmakers Praise Power of Storytelling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emmy Award-winning<\/a> documentary filmmakers Dominic Smith and Andrew Robinson addressed nine Hunter journalism students on Tuesday afternoon, stressing the importance of passion and strong storytelling in an intimate career advice discussion.<\/p>\n

\u201cPassion — that\u2019s so integral to journalism,\u201d Robinson told the group as students enjoyed a pizza lunch in HN433. He noted that the best pieces are an interdisciplinary exploration of in-depth research and diverse perspectives. \u201cJournalism is almost like a vehicle of storytelling\u201d for a reporter\u2019s unique interests, he said.<\/p>\n

Robinson and Smith explained the inner workings of their filmmaking partnership, Smith Robinson Multimedia<\/a>, and went over several science-focused projects they had produced. One, a documentary<\/a> on climate change\u2019s damage to kelp forests, was screened at the Roosevelt House later Tuesday night. They also gave their advice to future professionals in journalism and filmmaking, and stressed the importance of dedication in storytelling.<\/p>\n

\"Two
Filmmakers Dominic Smith and Andrew Robinson speak to Hunter journalism students Tuesday afternoon<\/figcaption> Photo by Professor Sissel McCarthy<\/span><\/figure>\n

Smith told students that they should always be working on a reporting project, regardless of whether a publication has picked up the story. \u201cFor me, this goes through my everyday life, I never want to stop doing this stuff. Don\u2019t take a breather, don\u2019t relax, just work as hard as you f*cking can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Racquel Miller, a senior, asked what it was like operating a full production company with only two people.<\/p>\n

Smith, who focuses more on the technical, \u201cnerdy\u201d aspects of their work, said that having two people with overlapping and individual skills makes the magic happen. When he edits one of their films, \u201cIt\u2019s magical for me to see something take shape, I\u2019m kind of addicted to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson, who focuses on script writing, said that while it may be more efficient for a large company with dozens of employees to make the documentaries they produce, \u201cBeing really small and agile is part of the reason why we\u2019re able to do these stories.\u201d He added, \u201cTwo guys with backpacks [of gear] can fit in the backseat of the car of the person we\u2019re talking to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"People
Hunter Journalism students enjoyed pizza as they listened to documentary filmmakers Dominic Smith and Andrew Robinson discuss their work Tuesday afternoon<\/figcaption> Photo by Professor Sissel McCarthy<\/span><\/figure>\n

After more questions and a debate on the future of AI in journalism, the 90-minute event wound down, and The Athenian caught up with the duo.<\/p>\n

Smith said young journalists are the future of the industry: \u201cWe need more stories. We need more storytellers.\u201d Robinson agreed, reminding students, \u201cDon\u2019t work for free. Your time is an investment that you\u2019ve made in a story and you deserve to be paid for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event was organized by the Hunter College Campus Consortium Partner of the Pulitzer Center<\/a> on Crisis Reporting, an organization that funds reporters looking to shed light on global issues. Journalism Program Director Professor Sissel McCarthy told The Athenian, \u201cI think speaking to journalists who are working in the field, who can mentor and inspire students to become journalists when they leave school, is so valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"11
Hunter Journalism students gather with Smith and Robinson (center) and Mikaela Schmitt of the Pulitzer Center (third from left, second row), for a photo<\/figcaption> Photo by Professor Sissel McCarthy<\/span><\/figure>\n

Junior Laila Gad told The Athenian, \u201cI thought it was really cool that they were a team of two creating these beautiful documentaries, and it was interesting to hear how they found their sources and ideas. I was grateful to attend because I got to network and learn more about how science can intersect with journalism!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmakers Dominic Smith and Andrew Robinson addressed nine Hunter journalism students on Tuesday afternoon, stressing the importance of passion and strong storytelling in an intimate career advice discussion. \u201cPassion — that\u2019s so integral to journalism,\u201d Robinson told the group as students enjoyed a pizza lunch in HN433. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":4968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,324],"tags":[279,153,84],"class_list":["post-4967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-student-life","tag-huntercollege-hunterstudents","tag-hunter-events","tag-journalism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4967"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4975,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4967\/revisions\/4975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}