Take Two Media Initiative 

The Take Two Media Initiative's ("TTMI") mission is to transform education with the power of video and media literacy, because the people who control the narrative, control the future. 

We live in a media age, yet students aren’t being taught how to create and consume media in the classroom. We’re ready to shift this blindspot in education by integrating filmmaking and media comprehension into the classroom. We provide teaching artists (professional filmmakers and media educators), who deliver in-school residencies to deepen a student’s understanding of core curriculum subjects - from science to social studies through filmmaking and media literacy.

We are also expanding the definition of “literacy” itself so that it stretches beyond the realm of reading and writing (two dimensions) to reach the multi-sensory experience of today’s learners by adding audio and video. We coin this term as “the third dimension of literacy.”

This thought leadership is the product of our decade-long success in delivering filmmaking education to schools across New York City through our for-profit, Take Two Film Academy (TTFA). Even though our nonprofit is new, the model is proven. From a survey of over 1,000 participants, we found that over 90% of teacher and students reported a noticeable increase in interest in the subject area (engagement), a clear understanding of filmmaking as a tool (skills-training), and developed an excellent appreciation for storytelling (agency).  

Our nonprofit focuses our work on the “missing middle.” These are public schools where media literacy and filmmaking programs aren’t subsidized by the city (under-resourced districts) or PTAs (resource-rich districts). We know the demand is there, but the budgets are not.

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We’re eager to kick off our pilot program with 10 schools in District 6 of Washington Heights, for a total cost of $180K. All we need is the right funding partner to get started.

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Make A Difference

Bring Filmmaking and Media Literacy to more schools this school year! 

Our goal this year is to reach 1500 students in public elementary, middle and high schools across NYC that struggle with low attendance rates, student empowerment, and that have little to no resources for instructors and materials outside "the basics." 

With that in mind, our real-world film and media-literacy programs are designed to seamlessly integrate with any and all core content areas. We draw upon scientifically, researched hands-on, Project-Based Learning (PBL) techniques to strive to model for teachers, meet students where they are and motivate school communities to experience the joy of learning via filmmaking and multimedia creation.

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