The expression a picture is worth a thousand words' has particular resonance for Dr Alison Kahn, the driving force behind the Oxford Academy of Documentary Film.

Dr Kahn (pictured) set up OADF in 2006 to offer hands-on training in digital filmmaking to other academics like herself.

"Documentaries and films are ideal to portray research findings because people haven't got time these days to read a 40-page report and often a few minutes of film can sum up the main points," she explained.

As an anthropologist, Alison sees the value of being able to present her findings in a visual format that can be used in lectures and loaded onto computer servers for other academics to discuss.

But her experiences with media companies making documentaries from of her fieldwork made her realise there was a need to give more control to the experts.

"I witnessed how expert knowledge is incredibly diluted by the time it reaches the TV screen," she said.

Frustrated by her lack of filmmaking knowledge, Alison went back to college to do an MA in visual anthropology and learned the basic elements of documentary making.

"I got a chance to direct and produce films for Discovery Channel, so I took some time out to learn those skills," she added.

After ten years of filmmaking, she wanted to share that knowledge with other academics who want to take advantage of the opportunities digital technology offers.

She teamed up with filmmaker, photographer and fellow anthropologist Dr Michael Yorke, planetary scientist and editor Dr Maarten Roos and three other colleagues to launch OADF.

"The premise behind OADF is that if we demystify filmmaking and the production of visual media, we can have some say in how it is made. It is about empowering academics," she added.

The digital era has made it easier and cheaper than ever before to make films and there are far more channels where they can be displayed, such as the internet.

Alison explained: "There has also been a rise in the use of editing software that can easily be uploaded onto your laptop computer. We encourage people to go on field trips with a camera and a laptop so they can start editing before they even come back.

OADF has had around 300 students on its courses including students, anthropologists, architects, town planners, medics and charity workers.

"Aid workers use cameras to record interviews with people and film what is happening on the ground," Alison explained.

One of OADF's students, as part of her master's degree project, used film to portray the architectural structure of a building.

"She chose this medium because of its sensory benefits and filmed interviews with people walking past the building plot to find out how they feel about that space,"

said Alison.

OADF has also worked with the Said Business School on a research project.

"They had budgeted in filmmaking but had no clear idea of what they wanted to achieve.

"Initially they just asked us to film a workshop. So we educated them into how to use their film budget and to get the best out of the time and resources they had.

"Now they have six short films that are going up on the university server in the summer, so they are accessible to other academics and researchers."

One of the main things the course can teach is confidence, according to Alison.

"On day one of the course most delegates are nervous about even touching a camera and by day two they are out and about interviewing the public."

The course also covers subjects such as ethics, social responsibility and the distribution and appropriation of people's images.

Alison explained: "It is a fully-rounded course. It is technical but with a lot of attention on pre-production and post-production skills.

"We emphasise that before you actually pick up a camera you need to be clear about your intentions.

"Other documentary film companies will just say Here is the camera, this is how it works, go and do this exercise'.

"We have much more discussion around: Why are you using this camera as a tool for research? How is it going to change the relationship you have between yourself and your informant?

"We discuss the more grey areas of film making and the social responsibilities. We tutors have all worked in TV, so we are all quite aware of the beast that is TV.

OADF also makes students aware of other distribution channels for films including outlets such as MySpace, YouTube, academic forums and lesser-known film festivals.

OADF has just joined forces with Oxford and Cherwell Valley College to offer a number of filmmaking and editing courses and also runs workshops at University College London.

Alison sees this collaboration as a perfect mix of old-school academic Oxford with the new-media, cutting edge credentials of Oxford and Cherwell Valley College and is convinced it will allow them to reach out to a wider audience.

"In Oxford we have so many students, academics and other people who want to learn how to tell the world about their research, or individual stories.

"You know that saying about everyone having a book in them? Well, I believe everyone has a documentary in them."

For more information about filmmaking and editing courses run by OADF, visit www.oadf.co.uk

Top marks for Brookes TV

A student-run TV programme at Oxford Brookes University is basking in the limelight after winning a prestigious industry award.

Brookes TV was named Best Broadcaster 2008 by the National Student Television Association and was also highly commended in the news programming and music programming categories.

The station is run by students on three BSc courses in Media Technology, Multi-media production and Sound technology and is based at the university's School of Technology on Wheatley campus.

The main output is a half-hour programme, a mix of news and features, broadcast on the university's website and Oxfordshire free-to-view TV channel Six TV.

Guests so far have included Jon Snow and Tory MP Chris Grayling and the team are hoping to land David Cameron later this year.

Brookes TV has been running for just 18 months and is headed by Dr James Gray, senior lecturer in media technology.

James spent 15 years in television as a wildlife producer, director and cameraman, working with top industry names such as David Attenborough.

Before launching the courses, Brookes invested a quarter of a million pounds to create a fully professional studio, he pointed out.

"The equipment we are using is exactly the same as you'll find at ITV at Abingdon or anywhere around the country," James said.

"I insist on genuine broadcast standards in both technical and editorial terms because it is about proper journalism, stories, filming, editing and effects.

"Six of the students on our course when we started have gone on to land top jobs in television as a result of it," he added.

Another success story is Lucy Jones who has gone on to become a presenter with radio station Fox FM.

Brookes TV can be viewed on the university's website at http://btv.brookes.ac.uk or on Six TV, visit www.sixtv.co.uk