Vice Film School teaches you how to kickstart your career in documentary filmmaking

Vice, in partnership with Panasonic Lumix, is offering budding filmmakers the opportunity to enrol and learn from its new filmmaker initiative, Vice Film School. With a focus on documentary filmmaking, Vice Film School is a new UK-wide multimedia platform from Vice, seeking to not only discover the next generation of factual filmmakers but provide support too, particularly through its talent programme WonderVisions Workshop.

Launching Vice Film School as a stand-alone digital platform, the site uses Vice’s expertise and decade-long experience in documentary filmmaking to provide “ongoing advice, behind-the-scenes insight and how-to tips and tricks for every stage of the filmmaking process — all geared towards guiding and nurturing documentary filmmakers,” Vice explain.

For creative director Adam Bracegirdle, Vice Film School is an opportunity to encourage the next generation of filmmakers with the aid of Panasonic Lumix’s camera technology. “Vice is one of the last bastions of authentic storytelling in the digital medium, and in the eyes of young people, we’re leading the evolution of the documentary format,” he explains. “Working with a collection of Vice’s best filmmakers and talent, Vice Film School reinforces our dedication to vital storytelling and supporting the creators who will push boundaries and break new ground in documentary filmmaking.”

Vice Film School covers a wide range of details such as “How do you shoot a documentary in the midst of a chaotic street riot?” to practical advice from Vice staff including entry-level researchers to executive producers. More technical advice is provided by Panasonic Lumix in the site’s Kit Room, “a dedicated space designed to teach the nuts and bolts of shooting a documentary using a Lumix GH5 camera and portfolio of lenses.” By partnering with Vice, Panasonic Lumix aims to “propel the Lumix brand to the centre of our core audience as the most credible kit choice for pro documentary production use,” explains Gaele Lalahy, Panasonic’s head of brand communications.

Where readers can really get involved however is by applying to the film school’s talent programme, WonderVisions Workshop. A UK-based scheme calling for documentary short pitch submissions from any aspiring filmmakers, one winner will gain the opportunity to create their first film with a budget of £15,000, as well as the rare opportunity to receive mentorship from established filmmakers, producers and editors. Four additional entrants will be commended with a full Lumix G camera package to kickstart their individual filmmaking careers, as well as a one-day workshop at Vice teaching them how to use the package to their advantage.

This new partnership between Vice and Panasonic Lumix displays the pair’s dedication to allowing new talent be the focal point of future documentary storytelling. For further information on how you can get involved and to apply to the WonderVisions Workshop head here.