Course Descriptions

Salt’s Radio+Podcasting track focuses on skills, tools and techniques for telling a compelling story with sound.

Student cohorts engage in fieldwork, assignments, class discussion, instructor feedback, and peer critique, to learn how to:

• Identify, pre-report, and evaluate a possible story;
• Carry out successful interviews;
• Use interview tape and other elements to build and shape a story; and,
• Write and edit, and produce polished work in ProTools, the industry standard for audio editing.

Students also gain critical experience pitching work and marketing themselves as radio producers.

Over the course of the semester, students will produce a variety of short audio assignments as well as an in-depth final project.

Graduates of the Radio+Podcasting track leave with a portfolio of work ready to start or build upon their audio careers. Armed with a deeper understanding of how to tell stories with sound, our alumni have gone on to hold positions at leading global news outlets and podcast companies. 

In the Short Film track, students use a combination of documentary film, journalism, ethics, anthropology, art, and design fundamentals to tell a compelling visual and audio stories.

Student cohorts engage in fieldwork, tailored assignments, class discussion, instructor feedback, and peer critique to:

• Identify, pre-report, and evaluate a possible story;
• Carry out successful film shoots;
• Use video to build and shape a story;
• Write and edit; 
• Produce polished work in Premiere Pro, an industry standard for editing film; 
• Pitch their concepts; and,
• Market themselves as filmmakers.

Over the course of the semester, students shoot and produce two projects: the first short film, and the second a final in-depth piece. 

Graduates from Short Film have a portfolio of short film work suitable for submission to international film festivals and new level of understanding around the importance of ethical storytelling through short film. 

Writing workshop meets anthropology course meets editorial team.

The ability to tell a compelling story is the most powerful tool in documentary studies. It's how we reach out and get others to dig in.

This workshop gets to the heart of great storytelling elements while exploring complex historical, ethical, and technical contexts. Students come together to grapple with a range of works and debates, study different storytelling techniques, and produce regular written assignments. As the course progresses, this is a critical space for individuals in the program to reflect on their professional practice and learn how to work with other makers on collaborative projects. 

Maine and northern New England is our classroom.

Diving into the surrounding environments, students carry out focused, professional fieldwork as a key part of the Salt experience.

In consultation with the instructors of the Radio+Podcasting or Short Film tracks, students develop story ideas early in the semester based on artistic interests and the viability of pursuing the topic while at Salt. Students are expected to plan extensively, keep detailed notebooks documenting their research and records of their reporting trips, and uphold the highest standards of ethical behavior with their subjects. Students present field research and stories-in-progress on a weekly basis, discussing goals and challenges with fellow students and faculty along the way.

Graduates come away understanding best practices for manage the digital assets and archives create as they move into their careers.