Saturday & Sunday February 18 & 19 2012 10.00 to 16.00 // Saturday & Sunday March 17 & 18 2012 10.00 to 16.00 // Saturday & Sunday April 21 & 22 2012 10.00 to 16.00

This is a practical hands-on weekend course aimed at people who want a fast way to acquire detailed and concise digital video production skills. It is particularly useful for aspiring documentary makers, journalists who want to expand their skill set and voluntary sector workers who want to shoot their own films.

The short, condensed and effective course will give all participants a solid foundation of practical knowledge and a working understanding of digital cameras, sound recording, interview techniques, filming on location and industry language.

You will also get the confidence to use a wide range of equipment and learn the “future proof” principles of film making that remain constant despite the changes in technology and formats.

We allow a maximum of three people per camera set up (camera, sound, interviewer), giving everyone extensive hands-on experience.

Completing this course will guarantee you a work placement opportunity with Spectacle.

What you will learn

- Preparing a shoot
- How to use a digital camera (focus, white balance, aperture, formats etc.)
- How to use microphones
- Framing, types of shots, camera movements, cutaways and other techniques and tips
- How to conduct and shoot an interview
- Shooting on location
- The principles of lighting, both natural and artificial
- Filming to edit

Price

£200.00 + VAT = £240
Concs.: £100.00 + VAT = £120

Special discounts

- Bookings for three to five people: 10% discount
- Bookings for six people or more: 20% discount

To find out more and booking

Saturday & Sunday January 21-22 2012 10.00 to 16.00

This is a practical hands-on weekend course aimed at people who want a fast way to acquire detailed and concise digital video production skills. It is particularly useful for aspiring documentary makers, journalists who want to expand their skill set and voluntary sector workers who want to shoot their own films.

The short, condensed and effective course will give all participants a solid foundation of practical knowledge and a working understanding of digital cameras, sound recording, interview techniques, filming on location and industry language.

You will also get the confidence to use a wide range of equipment and learn the “future proof” principles of film making that remain constant despite the changes in technology and formats.

We allow a maximum of three people per camera set up (camera, sound, interviewer), giving everyone extensive hands-on experience.

Completing this course will guarantee you a work placement opportunity with Spectacle.

What you will learn

- Preparing a shoot
- How to use a digital camera (focus, white balance, aperture, formats etc.)
- How to use microphones
- Framing, types of shots, camera movements, cutaways and other techniques and tips
- How to conduct and shoot an interview
- Shooting on location
- The principles of lighting, both natural and artificial
- Filming to edit
- Legal issues, permissions and copyrights

To find out more and booking

As part of the continuing Well London initiatives across London, over the next month we will be conducting what may be our final filming events and workshops in Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and Hounslow, starting tomorrow with a second visit to Notting Barns gardens. As always we are offering opportunities to get behind the camera and to learn how to shoot and interview.

If you can’t make it to these events or you are not so interested in filming, we are also offering edit placements where you can make a contribution to the Well London Media Project and get firsthand experience of the post-production process. All the information is in the flyer below. To find out more information about Spectacle’s role in Well London, visit the Spectacle blog.

Finally, Claire Sharples has sadly departed as project coordinator but leaves everything in the hands of myself and Mark Saunders. If you have any questions or want to get involved, please get in touch with the details below or download the Well London Media Project Sign Up Form and return it to us.

Greg Pittard, Project Coordinator

Spectacle, having established the Silwood Video Group, have been an active presence on the Silwood Estate since 2001, and in nearly 10 years of voluntary film-workshops and attendance at Residents’ Meetings, we have seen the landscape of this slice of South-East London change, and change as a result of regeneration.

Since 2005 at the Residents’ Forum Meetings, which are now held quarterly, the residents have asked to see the business plans for development and to have access to details of Section 106, which was declared a ‘non-public document’ by the London & Quadrant NIT Manager on the Silwood. The statement was later retracted, but the Section 106 document, to date, has not been made available to residents.

Tower Homes, the commercial wing of London & Quadrant, won the planning permission rights to the land in the Silwood area, on which they intended to build luxury apartments. By law, this makes them accountable to Section 106 Agreement of the Town and Country Planning Act (1990), which states that if development is agreed upon, for example, Lewisham Council awarding planning permission to Tower Homes, then the new landowners must provide resources that are of benefit to the community that will be affected by the development. In the case of the Silwood, London & Quadrant was entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the re-provision of community facilities, play areas/ parks, and youth centres on the Estate, which were demolished as a result of the regeneration process. The Lewington Centre was then built as a replacement for the former community centre and the Cyber Centre under Section 106.

Residents are currently being asked to pay relatively steep rates in order to use their new Centre, but the bone of contention lies in the fact that, according to the ‘Regeneration Project Initiation Document’, freely available from Lewisham Council, London & Quadrant allocated a fund of £2 million in order to meet their Section 106 obligations. On top of this, despite the claim of London & Quadrant representatives at Residents’ Meetings on the Silwood that these rates are essential to their business plan and the long-term running of the Lewington Centre, their business plan for 2009 shows that they have made a profit in the region of £120, 000. So why do they seem so unwilling to invest in fully rebuilding the local infrastructure?

Click Silwood Video Group for more blogs
Or visit PlanA our general blog on urbanism, planning and architecture.
See our Silwood Video Group project pages for more information and videos.

Spectacle homepage
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Places are limited, to avoid disappointment please email training@spectacle.co.uk or call 02072236677 as soon as possible to book your place. To keep regularly updated with all our activities please join our Facebook group.

Latest News.

There are still some places left on our current training courses.

In addition, Spectacle welcomes requests from any venues which would like to host training sessions for which we will offer a no-fee arrangement involving 2 or 3 free workshop places to nominated people. Hosts could then effectively train staff and simultaneously develop their outreach and media capacity.

27th and 28th September  2008
Workshop on Workshops (WoW)

18th and 19th October   2008  [Revised dates from original posting]
Live Action Multi-Camera Shoot.

These will be held at the Stockwell Community Resource Centre. London SW4 6RA. [see Map]

For further details and information on  How To Book please visit our website

Any queries contact: training@spectacle.co.uk

Dates: 11^th and 12^th October 2008.

Times: 10-4pm.

Location: South London (tba).

Cost: £75.00 per person per day.

To register an interest please email training@spectacle.co.uk

To find out more about Spectacle please visit our website

Dates: 27^th and 28^th September 2008

Times: 10-4pm

Location: South London (tba)

Cost: £75.00 per person per day

To register an interest please email training@spectacle.co.uk

To find out more about Spectacle please visit our website

· Are you part of a youth /community group that would like to set up your own video workshops?

· Are you working in IT or Media Resources Departments and looking to develop your skills in more creative and experimental ways, but unable to find the opportunity in the workplace?

· Are you a musician or performing artist who would like to record and document your work on high-quality DVDs?

Then our new training courses could be what you need to build up your confidence and get you started.

Who Are We?

Spectacle is an award winning TV production company with over 25 years experience of running workshops, both nationally and internationally. Spectacle specialises in investigative journalism with a focus on social documentary and community media. [see Archive link.].

We are committed to opening up access to media tools and platforms and developing a participatory, democratised and integrated model of good practice. We are always happy to hear from the motivated and passionate.

What Can We Offer?

Our training involves a wide range of people and organisations, helping them to gain hands-on production skills and experience. [see Archive.].Our practice is workshop-based with an emphasis on participatory democracy, urbanism and social justice. The courses we offer cover all aspects of pre-production, production and post-production and are for groups and individuals who wish to develop skills with the latest generation of low, low-medium budget and most commonly used cameras.

In addition, Spectacle welcomes requests from any venues which would like to host training sessions for which we will offer a no-fee arrangement involving 2 or 3 free workshop places to nominated people. Hosts could then effectively train staff and simultaneously develop their outreach and media capacity.

New Courses:

Workshop on Workshops (WoW). 27^th and 28^th September 2008.

Live Action Multi-Camera Shoot. 11^th and 12^th October 2008

Contact: training@spectacle.co.uk or  contact Spectacle through our website

To find out more about Spectacle visit our website