+Impact Studio Filmmaking Studio on Wheels, Pop Up Docs, Places Its Vision in the Hands of Detroit Youth!
By Katie Moore (BA ’25) and Loren Townes Jr.
+Impact Studio-supported venture Pop Up Docs (PUD) is making waves in southeast Michigan following several successful listening sessions and prototyping workshops. Founded by Jarrad Henderson, a 4x Emmy award-winning visual journalist and current Knight Wallace Fellow ’23 at the University of Michigan, Pop Up Docs is a filmmaking and video editing studio on wheels that provides skills-building workshops for people from underrepresented populations to give them academic and economic opportunities. Described as MasterClass meets bookmobile, the venture aims towards democratizing filmmaking in production and post-production and is moving full steam ahead in its early stages of development!
With such an innovative and impactful notion, PUD recently tested its value proposition via a collaborative prototyping session with Capturing Belief, a grassroots Detroit nonprofit focusing on strengthening communication skills to improve the wellness of students, their families, and their communities. This partnership brought in ten students ranging from 8th grade to first year in college from around Detroit, as well as well-known figures in the visual journalism field, such as renowned videographer Stephen Mcghee and Detroit Free Press photojournalist SB Maney. Together, this group spent two days shooting different stories from around southwest Detroit, with participants learning skills from key components of story structure to Adobe Premiere. Henderson notes, “Capturing Belief is a shining star in terms of self-expression through poetry and communications, and they were a natural partner for us to work with.
The session brought incredible engagement and enthusiasm, further cementing that PUD is a product and service that young people crave. “One thing I got was the validation that students really want to do this,” Henderson noted. “Not one cell phone was there during the workshop. They weren’t distracted; they were tuned all the way in.”
For Applebaum Impact Design Fellow Alex Perez-Garcia, the success of this prototyping workshop was due to the months of preparatory work. “In the last year, we’ve been very strategic with how we’re growing the venture,” she adds. “Even before the prototyping pilot, we had a listening/visioning session with established journalists and brought them together to ask key questions of what the future of visual journalism should look like. Then, we went to the young people through a series of surveys and observational data to answer those questions of how we can fundamentally shift to a more diverse and equitable future that represents the communities it’s meant to serve. At every step, we’re making sure PUD is successful.”
Henderson credits the Studio for its contributions to the early success of PUD and its extensive forethought — “the Studio has been incredibly helpful in three ways: providing structure, resources, and support. Mentorship from people like Cat, Loren, and Moses, who have expertise in these areas, has been super helpful to justify and inform your perspective.” He continues with excitement, “…the fact that students can take the time and be supported academically and financially in venture-building has been tremendous. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve texted Loren or Cat every time something cool happens, or we get one step closer, and they’ve been right there to cheer us on, and show their support!”
These structures, resources, and support have helped PUD make tremendous strides. “Could this work have existed and come out eventually through my own determination?” asks Henderson. “Sure, but being able to partner with Business+Impact, having people like APG (Alex Perez-Garcia) on my side, combined with these resources, has helped expedite the development process of this idea. I’m grateful for that.”
“It’s been really amazing to see Pop Up Docs go from just an idea,” says Perez-Garcia. “I can still remember the first time I heard the pitch when we were doing speed dating networking on the first day and how it’s gone from a concept to something that’s literally tangible; Jarrad has even printed a 3D model of the bus concept. It’s really gone leaps and bounds, and I’m extremely honored to be along for the ride.”
So where does this ride (or bus) go next after such a successful initial workshop? The first stop is people. “People are integral,” notes Perez-Garcia. “It’s so important to build a network and a team so the venture can continue to grow. Those long-term partnerships are part of the next steps of the Pop Up Docs evolution.”
“I’d love to find a board that has expertise in technology, education in journalism, and media,” expands Henderson. “I’d also love to find a co-founder; nothing worth building can be done with one person. Very practically, I’d love to find money to continue this. I’m at the point of trying to find out what to do in my career, and even though I could go back into traditional journalism, I am an entrepreneur convert. I’d love to pursue PUD full-time for a year, but that takes resources.”
It’s this expansion of people power that will keep Pop Up Docs on the road for many years to come, and with such a recent splash, this nonprofit will continue to revolutionize documentary filmmaking for years to come.
