Using a digital arts program developed by San Francisco's Bay Area Video Coalition, local poet/artist/teacher Blake More will offer a free, six week course teaching participants to create original DVDs. Classes will take place in the Arena Technology Center and will be open to all members of the South Coast Community 14 and over.

Providing an overview of the many tools and methods of digital storytelling, Blake will guide students in the making their own digital stories ("movies") utilizing a rich stock of still, audio, video and animation media. Many Digital Story examples will be provided, as the class is designed to stimulate creative flow and overcome the "I don't know where to start" syndrome that too often keeps people from their innate gifts as storytellers. A recipient of a Digital Directions Adult Scholarship, Blake is currently earning a Video Editing Certificate at the Bay Area Video Coalition Training Facility in San Francisco.

Made possible by a grant from the Coast Community Clinics Fund with assistance from the Point Arena School District and the Consumer Protection Foundation, the Digital Storytelling class is designed to encourage family members to participate in the class together, in the hopes that, by the end of the class, they will have a finished DVD that they can share with relatives and friends. In addition, youth participants can receive ROP training and independent study credits with prior approval from their high school counselor, and all youth will be encouraged to share their finished works at the "Youth Create Media: A Day of Video, Sound and Spoken word" that will be held at the Arena Theater in the late Spring/early Summer of 2005.

The first class will be held on Wednesday, January 19th from 2pm to 4pm and continue for six consecutive Wednesdays through February 23rd. In addition, students have the opportunity to receive an hour of private instruction with Blake each week. Independent lab time during the Arena Tech Center's normal hours of operation (2:30pm to 6:30pm, M-F) will also be encouraged.

The Arena Tech Center is located downstairs at the Huntley House, 255 Main Street in downtown Point Arena (next door to the Record). Enrollment is free and open to all community members 14 and over. No previous computer skills are necessary. Visit the Arena Technology Center between the hours of 2:30 to 6:30 or contact Blake More at 884-9189 for more information.