Video Ninjitsu: Rapid Media for the Movement

Format: Workshop (in-person or virtual)
Length: 2–4 hours (can be customized)

This high-impact, hands-on workshop is all about speed, strategy, and storytelling. Participants learn how to create vertical, rapid-turnaround videos specifically designed for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Reels, and YouTube Shorts. These are videos made for the moment—agile, compelling, and optimized for mobile sharing.

Drawing from over 20 years of experience in underground and radical media, Franklin López shares:

• How to shoot and edit for immediacy using basic tools

• Best practices for storytelling in 30–90 seconds

• Platform-specific techniques (e.g. TikTok vs. YouTube Shorts)

• How to respond to moments of crisis or opportunity with impactful media

• Tools of the trade: using mobile phones, DSLRs, drones, and editing software like Adobe Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, and CapCut

• Examples from real-world movements where fast media made a difference
  

Perfect for media collectives, activist groups, and community organizers looking to sharpen their digital tools in the fight against injustice.

To book a workshop or talk, or to get in touch with us, please click here.

Smash the Gatekeepers: Radical Filmmaking in Times of Crisis

Format: Talk or Lecture (can include Q&A)
Length: 45–60 minutes

This presentation reflects on the ethics and politics of radical filmmaking in an era of authoritarianism, climate collapse, and algorithmic control.

Drawing from decades of filmmaking experience with subMedia, Democracy Now!, Al Jazeera, and other independent media channels—as well as direct collaboration with resistance movements including the Wet’suwet’en fight against pipelines, the Mi’kmaq struggle against fracking, and anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian movements from around the world—Franklin López explores:

• The philosophy of "release and share" filmmaking

• Why movements need media now, not later

• How rapid-release videos have influenced real-world resistance

• The shift from collective media production to brand-driven models

• Challenges and opportunities for radical filmmakers in the age of digital surveillance

Ideal for university classrooms, activist gatherings, or anyone curious about how filmmaking can serve movements—not markets.

To book a workshop or talk, or to get in touch with us, please click here.