4 Film & Video courses in Dalkieth

This six-week course explores the unique aesthetic and tactile character of photochemical moving-image film. Employing a DIY, hands-on-approach, this course will celebrate the wonderful qualities of film and ask, ‘what are the aesthetic and political reasons artists’ continue to make work engaging these methodologies, in a climate of digital prevalence?’ Together, we will watch and discuss a number of groundbreaking films drawn from the historical canon of experimental cinema. Taking creative inspiration from this work, we will explore the beautiful tactile materiality of the analogue filmstrip through a series of practical activities and experiments. We will delve into artisanal, hands-on-techniques in order to shoot, hand-process and project the 8mm films we make. You will also cultivate an invaluable practical knowledge relating to the apparatus of the experimental practitioner; the camera and the projector. We will cover how to choose, operate and maintain this equipment, and we will look at creative and performative ways that the manipulation of the projection medium can enhance your work.   Week 1: Introduction to the course and the structure Screening of seminal experimental works followed by a discussion around analogue practises and processes. What is so special about analogue film? What is experimental film, and in what ways is it relevant today? Week 2: Cameraless Filmmaking Working directly onto 16mm filmstrip to create a collective, abstract film. Making in dialogue with a piece of music (translating sound into image) we will paint, etch and collage onto the celluloid, and engage creatively with the repurposing of archival material. Week 3: Introduction to Super 8 Cameras, history, techniques, methodology If you have your own Super8 camera in good working order, you are encouraged to bring it along to the session. Week 4 & 5 (same day): Shooting a cartridge of B&W Super 8 film | Hand processing Super 8 film Working in pairs, participants will collaborate on shooting a short film in the historic old town of Edinburgh. We will explore different styles and techniques, with support on-hand to offer guidance and help troubleshoot as necessary. Using a DIY approach, we will hand process our films in eco-friendly chemistry. This tactile method is a lot of fun, and offers the chance to really engage with the magic materiality of film! Often creating unexpected results and imperfect beauty, we will embrace the unique aesthetic features this technique affords. Week 6: Introduction to projection equipment and beyond… Preparing film for projection. Screening of our work (silent or with any soundtracks) Expanded cinema; how we might challenge viewers expectations through the presentation of our work. The concept of ‘live cinema’.   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.

Employing a mix of practical exercises and critical reflection, this introductory day course provides an overview of fundamental techniques for recording and editing voice, ambiences and sound effects for podcasts, video/film and art installations or just for fun. The course uses industry standard software and introduces a range of popular, high quality microphones and portable recording devices. The course has enough flexibility to be steered by the individual interests of the participants, but you will generally cover; the properties of sound, microphone selection and placement, gain structure, effective planning, noise limiting and reduction, sound editing, dynamics, sound processing and spatial effects. If desired, we can look at a variety of techniques for improving sound quality and recording audio from video conferencing, as we all find ourselves working and interacting in this manner every day. Computer experience is required. Morning * Microphone Selection – why and when to use * Applications, characteristics, limitations * Microphone type – Dynamic, Condenser, Lavalier, Shotgun, Boundary, Stereo, Binaural * Polar Patterns – Omni, Cardoid, Attenuated and others * Practical microphone placement and technique * Critical distance, proximity effect, shielding, simple acoustic treatments, filtering * Lavalier microphone – positioning, preventing distortion & rustles * Booming – positioning, preventing microphone bumps * Stereo Mics – phase issues Afternoon * Editing techniques (fades, looping) * Building a mix * Basic sound processing, noise reduction and dynamics (channel strips, EQ and compression) * Insert effects (modulation, filtering, distortion) * Send effects (delay, reverb) * Automation (of volume, panning etc) * Bussing (sending signals to multiple fx) * Mastering effects (limiting) * Exporting and file types   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.

This 6 week course will support you to make the most of the range of applications Adobe Premiere Pro offers in the production of video. Sample footage will be provided for you throughout the course, but you can also bring along your own video files to work on. The course is quite technical so some computer experience is required. We use Macs on the course – the Premiere interface is the same across operating systems but some shortcuts and menu items are different. Week 1- The basics This week we’ll start with some of the basics, introducing you to editing and Premiere Pro through: * A short history of editing; from analogue to digital * Getting to know the layout of Premiere Pro * Working with ‘bins’ (folders) and creating edit Sequences * Making selects from the rushes and sound files by creating in and out points * Introducing clips to the timeline and making a simple edit with music * Understanding rendering for smooth, full quality playback Week 2- Editing narrative sequences This week we’ll get further stuck into editing by building narrative, focus on offline editing‚ better organisation of your projects and breaking down footage through: * Re-linking lost or moved footage * Video ingest – importing and organising clips * Organising and breaking down rushes using annotated markers and sub-clips * Basics of the effects and motion settings * Using our skills to create a simple narrative sequence * Editing a dialogue sequence * Considering the best ways of exporting your film for online * Learn Adobe Media Encoder for more efficient exporting Week 3- Video settings, effects & titles This week we will focus in on what makes up video from a technical standpoint. We will then look at how we can work with and alter these parameters for different uses in our films through: * Transcoding – converting the footage into an editable file and understanding codecs and meta data * Adjusting scale and positioning and using motion keyframes to create movement over time * Adding titles and animating them * Applying transitions and various stock video effects * Layering tracks and using opacity and different layer blending effects * Creating masks and using motion tracking * Working with green-screen footage, creating mattes, mask filters and working with multiple layers Week 4- Audio & sound This week we’ll consider the importance of sound design and music for narrative and atmosphere in film and experimental video through: * Learning how to enhance your film with sound and music * Introducing audio and music to the timeline, cutting and leveling * Laying down music and cutting the footage to fit * Building sound design around an existing edit with sync-sound and SFX * Common practice and different approaches for syncing external microphone audio and video * Mastering the audio and making sure that it is all levelled * Learning how to create subtitles for our films and different methods to export/embed them Week 5- Colour This week we’ll start looking at colour in our videos and what role that plays. We will look at the process of colour grading and changing the mood in our films through: * Using Lumetri Colour, the colour-correcting function within Premiere Pro CC * Matching the colour of different cameras to create a similar look * Creating different “colour grades” to create different atmospheres * Stylising our footage * Understand the colour limitations of video files and the importance of exposure when filming * Working with tracked masks to isolate certain areas within your image to colour correct Week 6- Putting it all together In our final week we will get the opportunity to experiment with all the skills we’ve learned to create an opening sequence for a tv series. This is also a great opportunity to revisit any topics from previous weeks.   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.

Adobe After Effects CC is the industry leader in video compositing software, offering an exciting and versatile array of applications for the creation of professional moving image work. On this course you will learn a range of visual effects and animation techniques, working between Photoshop and After Effects to create videos which explore text based motion graphics, character animation, green-screen compositing, 3D landscapes, motion tracking and lots more in-between. Alongside technical exercises the tutor will screen and discuss relevant artists, designers and filmmakers, providing both the technical skills and inspiration to create your own professional motion graphics work, filmic special effects or experimental artists video. Computer experience is required. Week 1 This week we will create a short video that combines text, still image and video layers. Through this exercise you will learn how to: * Navigate the workspace on After Effects * Set up a project and select a video format * Introduce video to the timeline and split layers * Change the position and scale of layers * Introduce basic text * Use selections in Photoshop to create a still image composition * Import this composition into After Effects to create a composite video. Week 2 This week we will look at basic animation techniques. Through a series of exercises, you will learn how to: * Use Photoshop to great multi-layered elements for animation * Import these Photoshop elements into After Effects * Work with key-frames and interpolation * Add motion blur * Duplicate and pre-compose animated elements * Create a parallax effect to give the illusion of depth * Apply blending modes * Work with the puppet tool to create moving joints for an animated character Week 3 This week we will look at converting 2D photographs into a 3D virtual space to provide depth and movement. Through a series of exercises, you will learn how to: * Convert a 2D image into a 3D space * Set up a multi-layered diorama in Photoshop * Import this into After Effects and position the layers within 3D space * Create an animated camera move through 3D space * Apply depth of field Week 4 This week we will look at working with green-screen compositing to place a live action figure within an animated backdrop. Through a series of exercises, you will learn how to: * Work with the Keylight filter * Adjust colour balance and tone * Composite the figure against an animated background * Introduce shadows and highlights * Use the green-screen figure to create a silhouette Week 5 This week we will look at applying masks to footage to create cutouts, as well as exploring different applications for effects. Through a series of exercises, you will learn how to: * Work with masks * Use the Roto-mask tool * Apply time re-mapping * Work with ‘Particle Playground’ and similar effects Week 6 This week we will look at working with the paint panel to create animated drawings, as well as using motion tracking to attach a text element to a moving point within a video clip. Finally, we will cover how to output your final project, adding sound effects and applying a basic edit. Through a series of exercises, you will learn how to: * Create text based motion graphics (kinetic typography) * Apply motion tracking to live action footage * Render your project * Add sound to your video   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.