Basic Course on Smartphone Documentary (17-25 March 2025) - Evening & Online

  Evening Online Course: Basic Course on Smartphone Documentary from 17-25 March 2025

Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, under its Centre For Open Learning (CFOL) Programme in association with The Open Space Society (TOSS), Jaipur, announces online evening course – Basic Course on Smartphone Documentary.

Following are the details in this regard;

1. Name of the Evening Course: Basic Course on Smartphone Documentary (Online).
2. Duration & Dates: 17-25 March 2025
3. Timings: 7 pm to 9 pm (Indian Standard Time – IST), 02 hours per day
4. Max. no. of participants: 40 (course may not be conducted if there are less than 32 participants)
5. Age:18 years & above as on 01^st March 2025
6. Educational Qualification: HSC (12^th pass). In exceptional cases, 10^th pass may be considered
7. Online Platform: Google Classroom & Google Meet platform
8. Medium of Instructions: English & Hindi
9. Per Participant Course fee:

1. For Indian Nationals: Rs 5,600/-
2. For Foreigners including NRI, OCI etc. and also those who are presently staying outside India: Rs 16,800/-

Course fee of selected participants will be non-refundable, non-transferrable, non-adjustable, etc. under any circumstances. Course fee of all the non – selected participants will be returned within 21 days of the course commencement.

10. Mode of payment: Online through SBI Collect (along with application form).
11. Due date & time to submit application: 25 February 2025, 6 pm IST. Application submitted after due date & time will not be considered.
12. Selection Criteria: On First – Come – First – Served Basis. List of selected participants will be published on our website and selection emails will also be sent to all the selected participants.
13. Online platform: FTII will be using “Google Classroom” and participants are requested to get familiarized with the same. Steps to join online class including login id & password will be shared with each selected participant in the selection email.
14. Computer literacy: It is the participant’s responsibility to be technologically capable to take an online course. Participants must be computer literate.
15. Note: No previous Videography experience required
16. MANDATORY REQUIREMENT:

Since the course is online, participants must have following facilities;

 (i) A good quality Smartphone which can record HD videos.

(ii) A Desktop / Laptop having minimum 4 GB RAM, 1.6 GHz or better processor (Intel i3 or i5 or better).  (Windows / MAC)

(iii) Operating system: a) Windows 7 or 8 or 10. b) MAC OS Sierra or later

(iv) Audio – Video software: Latest versions of VLC player, Windows Media Player or Quick Time Player.

(v) Compatible good quality headphones/ earphones with mic

(vi) Compatible HD webcam

(vii) Internet pack of minimum 3 GB per day exclusively for this course. It is recommended to have fixed wired Internet connection with minimum speed of 10 Mbps or more.

(viii) Web browser: Latest version of Google Chrome (Preferred), Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari.

Use of Mobile Phone (in place of Laptop or Desktop Computer) to attend the classes is strictly prohibited. Such participants will not be allowed to join the classes.

17. Course Director: Shilpi Batra Adwani and Keya Vaswani

Shilpi Batra Adwani has an MA in Convergent Journalism from AJK MCRC Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi with ten years of international experience in both Documentary Filmmaking and Mass Media Project Management. She is an independent filmmaker, educator and creative business entrepreneur with a special interest in social issues and projects involving the preservation of cultural heritage. Shilpi is the cofounder of The Open Space Society Jaipur, a private educational and cultural institution dedicated to arts and media studies. Currently, She is working on her documentary film 'Sheenkhalai- The Blue Skin' a film about her Hindu-Pashtun ancestors.

Keya Vaswani is a National Award-winning documentary and fashion filmmaker. A designer turned into a self-taught filmmaker, she cofounded Storyloom Films and is been featured on Forbes and Tedx. She made 35+ short films and a feature film called ‘Weaves of Maheshwar ‘ which won The National Film Award in 2016. Her other films have won many awards and have been in many press releases

18. How to apply:

1. Click open the link - https://www.onlinesbi.sbi/sbicollect/icollecthome.htm OR visit www.onlinesbi.com and further click on “SB Collect” which is at the top left, vertically 06^th from left to right.

2. In the Search box, search/Find FTII Fees Account and click submit.

3. In the payment category select “B5 Basic Course on Smartphone Documentary E”.

4. Fill-up the application form with requisite details and proceed for payment.

5. Make necessary payment of Rs 5,600/- OR Rs 16,800/- as the case may be.

6. Once payment is done, please note "SBcollect Reference Number" (mentioned in payment confirmation receipt). This may be required for future reference. 

7. If possible, digitally store the receipt of payment. This can be carried out in one of the following ways;

(i) by taking printout of receipt of payment, scan & save it

(ii) by taking screenshot of payment (if using mobile) or printscreen (if using computer)

(iii) by simply taking a photograph from mobile

(iv) check your bank account to confirm whether money (course fee) has been deducted or not

(v) After a day or two, once again check to see whether money (course fee) has been refunded.

(vi) In case of refund, it is a transaction failure and if so, once again apply for the course afresh.

8. No document/ certificate related to educational qualification, age etc. is to be attached.Participants’ self – declaration in the application form is sufficient.

9. Terms & conditions: By agreeing to the terms & conditions in the application form, participants are confirming that they have read & understood the website advt. They are eligible to apply and fulfil all the requirements as stated in the advt. Further, participants agree that decision of FTII Director regarding admission to the course and its conduction will be final.

Further to add in this, it is expected of the participants that during the class they must mute their mics but keep their cameras on unless otherwise instructed. Keeping camera off throughout the class or not heeding to instructions to switch on the camera will be seen as an act of indiscipline and will lead to expulsion from the Course and forfeiture of the Course fee. Decision of FTII Director regarding conducting the course in all respects will be final.

19. Communication with participants: All communications with the participants will be carried out through email only. List of shortlisted participants may be published on FTII website and selection email will be sent to the selected participants on their registered email id.
20. Certificates: All participants would be given participation e-certificates on successful completion of the course. Minimum 90% attendance is mandatory.
21. Queries: For any queries please contact

Mr. MilindKumar Joshi, Assistant Outreach Officer on info@ftii.ac.in OR on 020 – 25580085

Course Details

Overview: This course teaches the fundamentals of documentary filmmaking and how to make a video story with any Smartphone. The course will help participants find their story arc and understand their Smartphone cameras better, help them shoot videos applying the simple rules of filmmaking.

Course Details: The course will introduce participants with different techniques of documentary filmmaking and how they can be applied in shooting with Smartphone Practical sessions The faculty members will use examples to explain different kinds of shots and movements The participants will shoot and edit their individual documentary film project using a Smartphone during the course.

What Will You Learn? (Learning Outcomes):

• Fundamentals of documentary filmmaking Film and edit video on the Smartphone
• Make better quality videos applying the fundamentals of filmmaking
• How to turn your phone into a video camera
• Make documentaries/short videos for social media and
• Learn to document memories with mindful compilation of videos and photos

Who Should Take This Course?: This course is for anyone and everyone- from High school students to college students. Employees to job creators, teachers, professionals, homemakers, bloggers, marketers and film enthusiasts. The course will help participant find another effective medium to document and tell their stories better.

Note- Smartphone documentary workshop doesn’t discourage use of professional cameras. The course helps participants understand the discipline of using right equipment at right time.