TV & Media Production Study Abroad Programs in Japan

I was able to attend both the 2024 and 2025 January programs with CIS Abroad. The staff and faculty are excellent and are very kind and accommodating. Outside of classes, there was ample time for me to explore parts of Japan and Tokyo. The work load was very light for the courses I took (Japanese Language Beginner and Intermediate). The excursions were also very informative, my favorite being the calligraphy class. The winter in Japan is fairly mild (compared to New Jersey, United States of America) and the weather was sunny for my entire trip in 2025.

It's an excellent opportunity to make a short film in Less than a month. We learn to work with a team successfully that we had never met. We ended up making a good movie despite the problems that we encountered, and it became fun and straightforward. Overall it was great. I sincerely recommended it.

Actuality Abroad responded to this reviewApril 28, 2020

We are glad that you had such a good experience and would recommend it to others. Of course problems always arise when making films abroad (and making films in general - a big portion of film production is solving problems) and we're glad we equipped your crew with the skills they needed to succeed!

My experience with Actuality Media was not what I expected - but what I hoped for. As a relative novice to documentary filmmaking, it was hard, stressful and frustrating work, but making a film with three other incredibly talented and intelligent women was so rewarding and an incredible learning experience. Also shout out to our incredible production supervisors who I would not have gotten through editing week without!

Actuality Abroad responded to this reviewApril 28, 2020

We are very glad you had such a good experience traveling with us! Our Production Supervisors certainly are incredible, and so is the film that your crew made!

Amazing experience working in Da Nang, Vietnam. I started with little experience or knowledge of film production and came away feeling confident to pursue this as a career, thanks to Actuality Media's comprehensive and rigorous training programme. And what better place to learn than in a totally unfamiliar environment with a bunch of new people. Had a great time getting to know the various characters and personalities of the community surrounding our change maker placement, and even opted to stay after the programme ended and volunteer with this organization. Thanks AM!

Actuality Abroad responded to this reviewApril 28, 2020

You are most welcome! We're so glad you had such a good experience. Keep going on great adventures!

My 4 weeks in Belize making a film really helped give me an indicator of where my career and future projects are going. It was incredible to create an entire film, start to finish, and be proud of the end product. Besides that, I made some lifetime friendships. 9/10 too much Belikin.

Actuality Abroad responded to this reviewApril 28, 2020

We are very glad you had an incredible experience in Belize with us on a Documentary Outreach. Have you found a source for Belikin back home yet?

This trip was invaluable to me. Someone coming from a non-film school background, I didn’t have a lot in the way of technical film production education. However, after this trip I feel much more well educated, and gained experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my career.

It was an amazing experience and will definitely be something I remember for my whole life. The friendships and connections I made on the trip are ones I hope to keep for the rest of my life. Everyone seemed genuine and real.

This was my first time leaving the country, and I had an amazing time! My instructors (Karsu and Steph) were the best and I couldn’t be happier that this was my first time directing a documentary. I loved having the opportunity to also work with a producer/editor and cinematographer, as this taught me a lot about the importance of collaboration.

はじめまして、よろしくお願いします！Nice to meet you! Have you wanted to experience a culture where the traditional blends with the modern in a unique environment with a vibrant culture and beautiful language? Well good news, this program is for you! 2 weeks in Tokyo was a dream come true for me. Having the opportunity to not only study the Japanese Language, but interact with Japanese students and local Japanese people was truly a once in a lifetime experience. The campus I studied at was Seisen University, which is a beautiful European styled building and a historical landmark on the grounds of an old samurai family. I learned so much, and have continued my studies on my own after the program. We learned grammar but also wrote Haikus with the vocabulary we learned. My Japanese language sensei was wonderful, and excellent at teaching. I am still close friends with several of the Seisen students who helped teach the class, and was thrilled to be able to see them when I returned on another trip. Now I didn't spend all my time in class, there was plenty of free time to explore the city of Tokyo and surrounding prefectures on my own. I went to the entertainment center of Tokyo—Odaiba, and saw the giant Unicorn Gundam at Diver City. I spent an evening at an outdoor onsen, which was super relaxing. I even left Tokyo and went south to the historic ancient capital of Kamakura, known for it's shrines and temples. CISabroad also includes numerous excursions during the program as well. I got to participate in a traditional tea ceremony, wear kimonos around Takeshita Street in Harajuku and go on a Scavenger hunt in Asakusa around Sensoji Temple. If you're nervous about studying abroad alone, this program is not only a perfect way to dip your toes in studying internationally (it's a nice short two week time period) but you also have the excellent on site team ready and willing to provide any assistance they can.

I enjoyed my time in Thailand. Robin did not spend as much time as I hoped with my group. I feel like we where just thrown into filming without really knowing anything or how to work the camera. Im glad we had someone on our team who was a film major.

Actuality Abroad responded to this reviewApril 02, 2019

We're very glad that you had a good experience on your project in Thailand. Ideally we have more staff in-country to help guide and mentor crews for the project but with the unfortunate family emergency of one of the professors (who was planned to lead the camera workshop en route to Thailand) we did find ourselves short-handed. Other work was shifted off Robin to free him as much as possible for firsthand work in Thailand but we understand if you feel you didn't get enough hands on time with him working with your group. <br/>On any project it is up to any instructor of ours to assess which crews need the most direct help - but we are also always pushing crews to take on work and challenges themselves, to make the film more their own. Additionally it is common to have an occasional crew member with no film experience so they may not always be at the same level as others - but that is part of what the project experience is for. We, too, are glad you had a person on your crew that is a film major - the one position where we require experience to travel is for those wanting to be the cinematographer.<br/>We look forward to seeing your finished film!

It was definitely ok. Chiang Mai is really loud, especially at night, and as someone who has never visited Asia before, it was a bit unexpected, but it had a good amount of history to behold when you go looking for it. I'd definitely recommend getting out of the city and into the countryside while you're in country.

Actuality Abroad responded to this reviewApril 02, 2019

We are very glad you found things to enjoy on the program in Chiang Mai.<br/>Like most big cities it does indeed have a lot of round-the-clock noise that can be startling to new visitors. We love to get out of the city when we can, but many of the changemakers we work with for films have offices in those same busy cities so that is where we find ourselves basing to film.

The outreach programme offers you the opportunity to learn first hand the challenges and joys of developing documentary. It is a deep immersion to the culture and the film making process, working closely with your team to uncover a local story which affects the people f the town. You have the opportunity to understand and see how the people really live and the challenges that affect them, which as a tourist you wouldn't have access to.

As an overall summary: I'm glad that I went. The Lake is absolutely stunning, and the people in the communities around it are just wonderful. I did learn a lot, and I'm grateful for the friendships & connections made ... but I definitely think improvements can & should occur for future Outreach programs.

To anyone considering study abroad programs, I cannot recommend it enough. It truly opened my eyes to the possibilities that surround me, how I can help others, and how much I can learn. It is definitely challenging to encounter another culture and language, but asking questions and truly emerging yourself is all you need to do. I am a better students, and most importantly a better filmmaker after this experience. I cannot wait to learn more and travel to new places. I'm inspired to seek knowledge elsewhere.

From visiting the ancient temples, to making friends with local Khmer people, and interviewing and telling powerful stories, the whole experience was unforgettable. The program is organized and structured; they set the foundation for your documentary film by finding the change-maker and location, but lets you and the crew take creative control from there. In Cambodia, the colors were beautiful, and the people were kind. May/June was a perfect time to visit because it was the rainy season and it isn't as packed with tourists. Each day we explored and learned something new. My perspectives on the world and on storytelling are forever changed thanks to this experience. Actuality Media gave me a chance to do what I love while exploring a new part of the world. Not only did I grow as a producer, but I grew as a person. The instructors are supportive, knowledgeable, and easygoing. It was a blast getting to spend a whole month in a new city, because you really got to know the ins and outs of the area, the way of life, the language, and the people. I highly recommend that every student travels abroad, you learn more by being out of your comfort zone and from people with different lifestyles than you could ever learn in a classroom. All the while, you'll get daily lessons on production and learn new storytelling skills. I've been graduated and working in my field, and I still feel like I took away new knowledge. Thank you Actuality Media for the experience of a lifetime!

I overall enjoyed my time in CIS Abroad's January in Japan program. As the title states, it was indeed my first time in Japan! The advisors were really cool people, and thanks to both the excursions we had, and their advice to us students about various aspects of the country (how the public transportation system works, many different places of interests to visit, etc.), I'm more knowledgeable about the country, so the next time I visit the country on my own, I'll have no trouble getting around!

Overall, the program was a valuable learning and life experience. Concerningly, however, Actuality Media did not arrange for Moroccan filming permits, resulting in the police shutting down our shoot and our changemaker having to pay a bribe.

Actuality Abroad responded to this reviewNovember 27, 2017

Hello Fern,<br/><br/>We're sorry that we weren't successful at explaining in Morocco that there are no specific permits for the kind of filming we were doing, and that in many developing countries the police routinely extort money from foreigners by telling them they must pay a bribe or get into trouble. In almost every case this is despite there being no laws or rules being broken. In the case of your crew - the Cafe and the neighbors turned out to have a running dispute we were unaware of in advance, and this is why the police came - the neighbors called to try to get the cafe in trouble. In the end, the Cafe owners did go to the police station but they paid no bribe as they were told at the station that nothing illegal had occurred.<br/><br/>We're glad to have you in the Actuality Media Collective. Good fortune to you on your future adventures!

It's impossible not to learn a ton from the process of making a documentary start to finish in a few weeks in a foreign country. You learn a lot about the storytelling process, you learn a lot about the organization that you're working with, you learn about the culture, and you learn about your place as a foreigner and filmmaker. The program was mostly hands-off, basically you partnering with other students and going at the filmmaking process on your own. It was challenging in so many ways but really rewarding and a lot of fun. As far as criticism goes, perhaps you would get higher quality instruction or a more motivated peers in a more academic program. Only do this program if you are looking for a mix of fun, touristy experiences, and film experiences. As far as balancing those two things, this program is pretty good. You will have fun, hang out, and make a film at the same time.

Actuality Abroad responded to this reviewNovember 27, 2017

We're glad that you had such a good time and learned so much with us in Nicaragua.<br/><br/>It's absolutely true that our approach on Documentary Outreaches is to guide crews to be able to research, plan, shoot and edit their own film without our leading every step of the way. Our goal is to give the crew the most in-the-field experience rather than a classroom experience, and this may be why it didn't seem as academic as you expected.<br/><br/>We do our best to balance work with time to explore in-country as well, and we're glad you think we got that right.<br/><br/>We're glad to have you in the Actuality Media Collective. Good fortune to you on your future endeavors!

This program provides an incredible opportunity to go abroad, learn a lot about documentary filmmaking, and meet incredible people. You get to be a part of a film crew and create a film about a non profit organization. From research to planning to shooting to editing, the amount of experience I gained will be crucial to my future.

Actuality Abroad responded to this reviewNovember 27, 2017

We're so happy that you had such a good experience with us on the Documentary Outreach to Peru. It's great to have you in the Actuality Media Collective.<br/>Good fortune to you on your future endeavors and keep us updated on your adventures!

I loved my experience with Actuality Media on the documentary outreach to Nicaragua. I learned a lot and had a fun time, not just with the students in my program and the supervisors, but the local we met as well.

Actuality Abroad responded to this reviewNovember 27, 2017

The films from Nicaragua are great and we're very happy you had such a good time on our Documentary Outreach in Estelí.<br/>It's great to have you in our Actuality Media Collective - we'll keep you up to date on opportunities, and please update us on your adventures.<br/>Good fortune to you on your future endeavors!