Map Your Story: Research, Reporting and Interviewing

Making a great film, podcast, or report starts with having a solid story. How do you turn a topic that sparked your interest into a story that others want to absorb? Learn tried and true techniques used by journalists, like interviewing, research, and story reporting and apply these skills to your creative project.

The instructor for this day-long workshop is Iris Mansour, who has written and produced viral stories for Bustle, The Guardian, and Mashable, among others. She will teach fundamental storyfinding and storytelling methods with a foothold in journalism. You will acquire reporting techniques to research and shape a story, and you’ll then prepare for the execution of a project. In addition, there will be time to discuss challenges that you’re encountering and receive guidance and feedback on how to overcome those obstacles.

With her company, Every Epic, Iris consults on her storyfinding and storytelling techniques with top brands like Comcast, HBO, Spotify, Samsung, and more. She's excited to return to the Made in NY Media Center and lend her talents to continue helping the creative community here dig deeper and tell better stories, whatever medium they are working in – at the non-profit price our community can afford.

This course comes highly recommended from students who have taken previous iterations of it:

Director and producer Jamison Hermann said: It's easy to find information online about how to operate a camera or use video editing software. It's a lot harder to learn how to find the most interesting angle on a subject, how to get the best performance out of non-actors, and what exactly makes a story worth telling. That's what I learned in Iris's class, and it has greatly helped me become a better video storyteller.

Video journalist Alexandra Roca said: I felt like Iris' one day workshop packed in as much as a semester at journalism school. Her storyfinding, storytelling and interviewing techniques were incredibly helpful and unique in their simplicity and impact. I've been a video journalist for 7 years and even still, this class has improved my process and outcomes. Thank you!

What You Will Learn

• How to plan your reporting and carry out research

• Advice on obtaining and executing interviews

• Practical exercises with opportunity for feedback

• How to develop and shape your narrative