Documentary Course Puts Students’ Lives Through a Lens

Fall 2018 introduced a rebuilt course to Shenandoah University.

Assistant Professor of Media & Communication Glenn Osten Anderson M.F.A., M.St., restarted Film 371: Documentary Filmmaking. As a professional documentarian and journalist, he said he is excited to help students’ craft their filmmaking skills.

We had ‘Santa Girl’ last year, which was this amazing introduction to narrative production.” Referring to the feature film Shenandoah co-produced with Capital Arts Entertainment. “There are differences in how you approach a documentary versus approaching a narrative film. I’m taking some of our student filmmakers and journalists, our most passionate and advanced-level students, and giving them the opportunity to hone their skills in the realm of nonfiction production.”

Glenn Osten Anderson M.F.A., M.St. | Assistant Professor of Media & Communication

Anderson, who created the award-winning “To Remember” short documentary for BBC World News, is currently directing a documentary with the support of his students. Tentatively titled “The Public House.” The film focuses on the story of a New York City neighborhood rallying to save a local Irish pub from closing.

They’re going to be helping me to script and edit. Because this school is passionate about it, we are going to be putting these students to work on a real film.”

Glenn Osten Anderson M.F.A., M.St. | Assistant Professor of Media & Communication

Media & Communication major Orlando Levins ‘19 is one of the students in Anderson’s class this semester. This is his fourth class with Anderson.

Glenn’s great. He’s where a lot of my passion comes from. It really helps me as one of his students, as well as one of his mentees, to be able to work with him.”

Orlando Levins ‘19 | Media & Communication major

Director of Marketing Services & Senior Editor Cathy Loranger ’15 D. Prof., is also auditing this class to better her communications skills.

I’m a storyteller. I spend most of my time on the editorial side, and I really wanted to get the chance to learn more about documentary filmmaking. For me, it is more for the technical experience than the storytelling experience. I want to apply this learning to my own projects. At Shenandoah University, my work is all about purposeful storytelling. It’s either storytelling about our students, our programs or our reputation. I think an understanding of documentary storytelling adds another layer to the storytelling that I do.”

Cathy Loranger ’15 D. Prof. | Director of Marketing Services & Senior Editor

I can’t wait to see what they come back with. There are so many great stories about people that go untold. There was such a pulse on campus with the filming of ‘Santa Girl.’ I want to see people get just as excited about nonfiction content. It’s something I truly love, and if I can just give a little piece of what I love about nonfiction content to my students, I’ll be a very happy guy.”

Glenn Osten Anderson M.F.A., M.St. | Assistant Professor of Media & Communication

Written by Rachel D. Sherman ’18