Students enrolled in Ms. Bastoni’s Photo/Video II class traveled to Walpole, New Hampshire, today to tour the film production studio of Emmy Award-winner Ken Burns.
Burns and Florentine Films revived the documentary film tradition in the United States in 1990s. He is responsible for such award-winning documentaries as “The Civil War,” “Baseball,” “Jazz,” “The War,” “National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” “Prohibition,” “The Central Park Five,” and “The Roosevelts.” Burns was also the executive producer behind “The West” and “Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies” which can still be seen on PBS.
At Florentine Films, students learned more about the process of editing, film making, production, and writing. They spoke with writer Dayton Duncan and watched a sneak peak of Burns’ soon-to-be-released documentary, “Vietnam.”
The filed trip showed students the possibilities that are open to them if they choose to pursue photo and video as a career choice. Visiting Florentine Films also demonstrated to them the power of the medium. As one student was overheard saying: “I usually don’t care much for history but it reeled me in and I want to watch the movie now.”
