Documentary Film Specialist – “Making an Exoneree” (Spring 2027)

Position Summary

Making an Exoneree is seeking an experienced Documentary Film Specialist for Spring 2027 to lead the documentary filmmaking, production, and teaching components of Making an Exoneree (MAE), a multi-university course in which undergraduate students reinvestigate wrongful conviction cases and produce short documentaries advocating for justice.

Making an Exoneree focuses on complex wrongful conviction cases that require reinvestigation, storytelling, and public advocacy. Over the course of a semester, student teams review extensive case files, travel to crime scenes, visit incarcerated program participants, and interview witnesses, experts, family members, and others connected to a case. Each team ultimately produces a public documentary, website, and social media campaign advocating for exoneration (or, where appropriate, parole, clemency, resentencing, or another avenue for release). Founded at Georgetown University in 2018, Making an Exoneree has since expanded to six undergraduate universities (Georgetown, Princeton, NYU, UC Santa Cruz, Rice, and Amherst) and Georgetown Law. To date, 14 individuals whose cases were worked on by MAE students are now free. Read more about the program here: makinganexoneree.org. 

The documentaries are at the heart of the MAE program. These eight-minute films are designed to humanize incarcerated individuals, communicate complex cases in an accessible and compelling way, and bring public attention to stories that might otherwise go unheard, serving as powerful tools for ongoing advocacy. The Documentary Film Specialist role is a unique opportunity for an experienced documentary filmmaker to bring their expertise to life-changing wrongful conviction work, while mentoring the next generation of storytellers and advocates. 

Students retain creative ownership of their films, while the Documentary Film Specialist serves as their primary professional filmmaking mentor, providing intensive creative, editorial, and technical guidance throughout the process. The Specialist will help teams identify the central story within complicated legal cases and guide them through filming, interviewing, editing, animation, sound, and final production. They will work closely with teams to develop their narratives, review footage and successive cuts, troubleshoot production and post-production challenges, and, when needed, provide hands-on technical assistance to help students execute their creative vision and produce polished, compelling final documentaries.

This is a highly hands-on role for someone who combines excellent documentary storytelling instincts with strong technical production and post-production skills– and who is excited by the opportunity to teach, mentor, and use filmmaking as a meaningful tool for justice.
 

Key Responsibilities

Teaching & Curriculum Development

• Develop and adapt a semester-long documentary filmmaking curriculum for six participating universities, accounting for differences in academic calendars and production timelines.
• Lead documentary lectures, workshops, and hands-on exercises virtually and, when possible, in person.
• Teach students the full documentary production process, including:
  • Story development and narrative structure
  • Documentary ethics and responsible storytelling
  • Interview preparation and techniques
  • Camera operation and exposure
  • Lighting and audio
  • B-roll and visual storytelling
  • Editing fundamentals
  • Music and sound design
  • Graphics, animation, and other visual elements
  • Final delivery and export
• Be consistently available, virtually and in person when possible, for university class sessions on Fridays between approximately 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET from January through May. Individual university class times vary across time zones.

Mentorship & Support

• Mentor and maintain a pulse on approximately 25 student teams across six universities.
• Help students identify the central story and strongest narrative direction within complicated legal cases.
• Offer coaching on narrative tension, emotional beats, and audience impact.
• Review interview plans, story outlines, scripts, paper edits, rough cuts, and successive film drafts.
• Prepare students for field production, including camera setup, lighting, audio, interview composition, b-roll, and general production troubleshooting.
• Offer creative critique and individualized feedback during in-class exercises and weekly one-on-one office hour meetings with student groups.
• Identify early warning signs of projects falling behind and help redirect teams before deadlines are missed.

Post-Production & Editing

• Guide teams through the full post-production process, with particularly intensive support from March through May.
• Provide hands-on help with editing in Adobe Premiere Pro, including project file cleanup, timeline refinement, organization, and technical troubleshooting.
• Provide intermediate-to-advanced animation and motion graphics support, including lower thirds, maps, text overlays, and, when appropriate, 3D crime reconstruction.
• Assist with preparing picture-lock versions and reviewing sound design, music timing, and export preparation.
• Provide intensive individualized support in the weeks leading up to university showcases and final documentary deadlines.

Approximate Semester Timeline

• December: Onboarding, curriculum development, and case review.
• January (Pre-Production): Classes begin; Introduce documentary storytelling, narrative structure, and camera fundamentals. Begin helping teams understand their cases as stories and identify potential documentary directions and storylines.
• February (Production Skills & Story Development): Lead more hands-on instruction in camera operation, lighting, audio, interviewing, b-roll, and editing fundamentals. Continue working closely with teams on story development and preparation for fieldwork. 
• March (Fieldwork & Transition to Editing): Prepare teams for their travel and help troubleshoot while students conduct interviews and fieldwork. Begin more intensive editing instruction and individualized post-production support as teams return from travel. Start reviewing film drafts on a regular basis.
• April (Intensive Post-Production): Provide significant hands-on editing and story support. Meet frequently with individual teams, review successive cuts, troubleshoot Premiere Pro projects, assist with music, graphics, and animation, and help teams move toward picture lock. This is one of the most demanding periods of the position, with long hours required.
• May (Final Production & Showcases): Continue intensive film review and individualized support as teams finalize documentaries. Assist with final edits, sound, graphics, animation, exports, and showcase preparation. Availability must increase substantially as final deadlines approach.
• Late May (Final Support): Following the showcase period, prepare documentaries for publication. Make any necessary final edits, finalize thumbnails and descriptions, upload completed films to YouTube, and develop complementary promotional materials to support viewership and engagement.
   

Ideal Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in film, documentary production, media, or a related field.
• Significant documentary or video production experience, with a strong portfolio of completed work.
• Deep understanding of the full documentary filmmaking process, from pre-production through post-production.
• Producing, scripting, research or development experience is a plus.
• Strong teaching and mentorship instincts, with the ability to coach beginners while encouraging bold and thoughtful storytelling choices.
• Proficiency in Adobe Premiere Pro, with comfort using After Effects, Blender, and Photoshop
  • Adobe Illustrator bonus
  • Davinci Resolve bonus
• Strong DSLR camera knowledge; Canon experience preferred.
• Thorough understanding of camera exposure, microphones and audio recording, lighting, and other field production fundamentals.
• Strong technical troubleshooting skills, particularly in production and post-production environments.
• Strong organization and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple university schedules, student teams, competing priorities, and tight production timelines.
• Willingness to travel to participating universities as needed.
• Experience teaching, mentoring, or working with beginner filmmakers or students is strongly preferred.
• Experience with project-based learning, social justice storytelling, wrongful conviction work, or criminal justice advocacy is valued but not required.
• Strategic social media marketing and content creation experience is a plus.
   

Key Competencies & Values:

• Deep commitment to Making an Exoneree’s mission, students, program participants, and the use of documentary storytelling to advance wrongful conviction advocacy and social justice.
• A person-centered approach to storytelling, grounded in empathy, sensitivity, and respect for all whose experiences are represented in MAE documentaries.
• Strong teaching and mentorship instincts, including the ability to listen, coach, encourage, and provide constructive feedback.
• A collaborative and approachable working style, with the ability to build relationships with students, faculty, staff, and other members of the MAE community.
• Reliability, responsiveness, and a willingness to provide hands-on support.
• Flexibility, adaptability, and strong problem-solving instincts.
   

Term: December 1, 2026–May 31, 2027

Position Type: Contractor; hourly, with full-time expectations and substantial time commitment throughout the six-month term, with a significant increase in hours during April and May.

Compensation: $30/hour, commensurate with workload and final contract terms.

Location: Remote with occasional in-person work dependent on your location. Washington D.C., NYC, Texas, or California preferred.

How to Apply: Please complete this Airtable Form.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to makinganexoneree@gmail.com.