Learn Video Online

Posted on November 12, 2020 by Training

PROJECT RESEARCH, PROMOTION, DOCUMENTATION, DISSEMINATION, OUTREACH

Are you a researcher or activist wanting to learn about filmmaking?
Do you need video to document your project or as an outreach tool?
Do you want to use video-making to engage your stakeholders online?
Does your organisation want to offer online video training to your network?

Spectacle is an award-winning independent media company that specialises in documentary, community-led investigative journalism, and participatory media.

We have been leaders in Participatory Video (PV) practice and community engagement for more than thirty years, and offer training and workshops in every aspect of digital filmmaking.

We are offering affordable, accessible, and enjoyable film, media, and video training. No prior knowledge needed! Learn what you really need to know to make quality videos.

Previous Clients
Spectacle’s clients include The Council of Europe, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Frantz Fanon Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Arts Council of England, and the Howard League.

Spectacle has delivered successful training workshops for numerous educational organisations, NGOs, and private companies including Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Anthropology Department, Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Edinburgh University, Birkbeck College, UCL, LSE, as well as dozens of social researchers, journalists, scholars, and video marketers who have found our methods engaging and inspiring.

Over the last 9 months we have run online training courses and workshops for a wide range of clients, including the UK’s Social Research Association, University of Zurich, and the Lichtenhagen Rostock Archive.

Working with researchers at LSE we have developed a groundbreaking remote Participatory Video (PV) online method to produce a collaborative documentary with a group of migrant women in Medellin, Colombia.

MEET OUR TEAM
VIEW OUR ONLINE COURSES AND BESPOKE TRAINING

Remote Participatory Video in Medellin, Colombia

Posted on November 11, 2020 by Training

Spectacle has been at the forefront of Participatory Video (PV) practice and community engagement for more than thirty years. We continue to innovate and during the last 9 months we have developed a model for delivering Participatory Video workshops remotely.

Reinventada, a participatory video project for LSE

The Project

Spectacle is currently a partner in a research project developing a groundbreaking remote PV method. The research project Reinventada is funded by the London School of Economics (LSE) Knowledge Exchange and Impact Fund (KEI). It investigates the condition of displaced and migrant women, especially mothers and heads of household, living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods of Medellin (Colombia).

The Garcia sisters, Celmira and Elicenia

The research was initially planned to produce a participatory documentary on women’s ‘right to the city’ in Medellin. However, as soon as the pandemic crisis exploded, being well aware that women are amongst the most affected groups of people during emergencies and disasters, we were able to create a remote participatory project that investigates the impact of COVID-19 on participants’ everyday lives in poorer areas of the city.

The Beginning

Started in May 2020, the project was originally planned to be conducted face-to-face, but was forced online due to the pandemic. It is led by dr. Sonja Marzi, the Principal Investigator from the Department of Methodology at LSE, as well as supported on the ground by two Colombian partners: Maria Fernanda Carrillo, a sociologist and filmmaker, and Lina Maria Zuluaga, anthropologist.

Dr. Sonja Marzi, Principal Investigator of the project

The aim of this research project is to create a documentary filmed and edited by the women themselves to depict their daily lives during the pandemic.

Online Participatory Video

We began initially by training the participants on how to best use web platforms and available technology. We set up weekly ‘Zoom’ meetings that served as an online space for workshops on filming techniques and how to use their smartphones to capture high quality video. Zoom meetings became the workshop space where all production and editorial decisions were discussed and made in consensus. The production meetings are chaired by participants on a rotating basis. We discussed film content, planned shoots, reviewed and critiqued the footage together, and collaborated on editing the final documentary.

The groundbreaking project has successfully adapted Spectacle’s Participatory Video methods and techniques to an online environment. The short documentary Reinventadas was released at the end of 2020 and premiered in film festivals in 2021.

Watch the Final Film

Visit our vimeo channel to see examples of Spectacle’s past PV work.

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Bespoke Group Video Training for Anthropologists at Edinburgh University

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Training

Sorry for the long silence: Spectacle’s video training team has been extremely busy over the past few months!
Alongside our usual sessions in London, we recently ran an extremely successful video production course for anthropologists and social researchers at the University of Edinburgh – and then another session shortly afterwards for media students at Birkbeck, University of London.

The good news is, we are now taking bookings again for the new academic year!

We can run bespoke short courses for academics (students and staff) on location at universities and institutes anywhere in the country, where a group of between 4 and 20 people want to learn how to use video for fieldwork.

Over the years, we have trained hundreds of students and we continue to receive excellent feedback after every session.

Our hands on approach equips students with the ability and confidence to go out and shoot on their own after our training.

Our courses are flexible and can be easily tailored to your needs. We can arrange anything from a one day introduction to video production or editing techniques, to a full three or four days of training covering the entire filmmaking process from start to finish.

We can schedule the course across consecutive days or leave intervals between sessions.

We can also offer training in participatory video techniques.

More information on our bespoke courses can be found here: www.spectacle.co.uk/training/bespoke-group

We also run weekend courses for individuals at our premises in London, with the next one scheduled for 23-24 September.

Many academics have taken and enjoyed our courses, and you can see feedback here: http://www.spectacle.co.uk/training/testimonials/

Video: Four Day Filmmaking Course

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Training

Want to know what it’s like to be part of a ‘real life’ project during our Four Day Filmmaking Course?

Well, you’re in luck – a recent batch of Spectacle trainees shot some lovely footage on location at Thessaly Road Playspace in November, and production intern Lucia has kindly edited their shots together into this short video.

…Want to join us on a “well designed”, “very comprehensive”, “hands-on”, “accessible and practical” short course – with “great atmosphere and content” – like this?

We still have spaces available on our next Four Day Filmmaking Course running 6-9 March.

Or if you can’t make that, 2-5 May.

More about the course

Our Four Day Filmmaking Course takes participants through the entire digital video production and video editing process, from start to finish; that means we cover planning, filming on location, video editing using Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere, and delivery of a final edit online and on DVD, all in just four days.

The course is unique in that it is centred around a ‘real life’ project. This means that we create a real world production process by collaborating with a mock client – usually a local charity or community group. This gives participants an unparalleled opportunity to gain meaningful, ‘on the job’ experience.

The ‘real life’ project also means the Four Day Filmmaking Course is extremely hands-on; practical exercises on location are complemented by ‘view and critique’ and editing sessions in a workshop environment.

As our most complete training programme, the Four Day Filmmaking Course is aimed at those who want to be introduced to a full set of digital media skills in a short space of time. Our aim is for participants to leave feeling confident enough in all their new skills to carry on practicing on their own, without the need for additional training.

Each participant will have the opportunity to practice all aspects of filmmaking – camera, sound, directing, interviewing, lighting etc. There will be a maximum of 3 people to each camera set up. We use HD camcorders and DSLR cameras.

The Four Day Filmmaking Course reiterates, puts into practice and develops the skills and techniques gained in our Video Production Weekend Course and can be taken either in addition to or instead of this.

Professional filmmaker and teacher Mark Saunders leads all sessions himself.

Could you benefit from professional help with your video project?

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Training

Our training and consultancy services are extremely flexible.

We want to help you with your project in the most efficient and effective way possible, be that through comprehensive training for beginners, production and post production services to fill the gaps in your skills or save you time, or simply advice on the best way to go about things.

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Our expertise in video comes from decades of experience in the industry. We understand that every project is different and everybody has different aims, abilities, and priorities. But in almost every case, we believe professional, expert consultation can help you to achieve the highest quality results yourself and to learn in the process.

We’re always happy to speak about how we can help you, so to find out more email us to training@spectacle.co.uk.

Consultancy Case Study: Carlos Varela, MMRG

Carlos Varela recently booked a session. He said he chose Spectacle “due to the flexibility of the content and then fact that we could tailor the content exactly to our needs.”

His company, MMRG, were looking to “action a series of informational videos within the medical field”.

“We have some experience with video as a commissioning and participating client, undertaking two proof of concept projects with separate videographers in the not too distant past,” he said. “These projects have taken the form of planning (storyboards, scripts, on site work), shooting for a number of days and post production with iterative feedback and sign off stages.”

“What ideally we would like to achieve is to have the knowledge to action these videos ourselves, so we need to get a grounding on the basics.”

We asked for feedback after the training. Mr Varela said:

“I found the session we had with Mark very informative, full of insights and easy to digest.

“Mark has an innate ability to communicate his experience and insights in an easy to digest and manageable manner. We found that the hours spent with Mark have moved our initiative forward and enabled us to consider other avenues that we did not initially think would be viable.

“I have no hesitation in recommending Mark to anyone looking to advance their thinking and practical experience using video.”

Students, Academics, Course Convenors – Welcome Back!

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Training

We missed you.

After a quiet summer, our Digital Video Production for Anthropologists and Social Researchers Weekends in October (8-9) and December (3-4) are filling up fast with students, researchers, and other academics keen to learn video skills for use in field research in a friendly, efficient, and affordable session.

We offer a large student discount on all our courses, making the weekend £180 for full time students (who are paying for themselves). It’s £240 if your department is paying for you, or if you work too — still a bargain.

We have received great feedback from students and academics who have taken our courses in the past, and there’s the opportunity to buddy up with other participants and arrange affordable edit training following the production course.

We also offer bespoke group training for university groups. We can travel to universities around the country and have taught groups at Cambridge University, Sheffield University, Lancaster University and many others in the past.

To arrange a bespoke group session email us at training@spectacle.co.uk

Video Training for Journalists: become a self shooter

Posted on August 11, 2016 by Training

We offer video training for journalists looking to upskill. There’s increasing demand on print journalists to develop multimedia skills, and video skills in particular can increase your employability.

Find out more about our affordable four day and weekend courses on our website: http://spectacle.co.uk/training/

Case Study

Freelance journalist Charlotte took our four day course last year, because she wanted to expand into video…

Since completing training with us, she has been living and working in Myanmar, producing videos in addition to writing for international media.

She recently directed and produced a mini documentary about LGBT rights in Myanmar:

Charlotte says: “Training with Spectacle gave me the confidence and knowledge and skills to go away and make videos on my own. Mark makes a process than can seem daunting seem simple. I have been able to produce and sell short journalistic videos since training with Spectacle, when I had no knowledge of filmmaking before. I have found that I enjoy video production so much that I have now applied for funding to make a full length documentary.”

Interested in learning to produce video with Spectacle?… You’re in great company

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Training

Do you want to learn how to produce and edit high quality video to promote your business, organisation, or institution?

If so, you’re in good company: we’ve trained numerous individuals and groups from large and small institutions, organisations and companies in the past six months. All of them have left happy, and many have come back for more training.

Spectacle clients so far in 2016 alone include:

—The Science and Technology Facilities Council (a UK government body)

—The International Baccalaureate

— Save the Children

— Sentura Group

— The European Parliament

— Autotrader

— Department for Culture Media and Sport (a UK government department)

— King’s College London

— The Open University

— Capcom

Some notable clients from a little longer ago include Cambridge University Press, Watford Borough Council, and Redbridge Council

To find out more about what we offered these clients, and what we could offer you, send us a quick email to training@spectacle.co.uk

Take out our video production and video editing training courses

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Training

Do you work in media communications and marketing? At a university? In the third sector, at an NGO or charity? For an established business or a rapidly growing start-up? A local council? Or a publishers?

If you have a group of people who would like to learn to produce beautiful in house video, we can travel to you and teach essential video production or video editing skills in two days. We bring all our own equipment, so all you need to supply is a suitable space.

Please see our website for more information or email training@spectacle.co.uk for a quote.

In the meantime, have a look at the excellent feedback we received from Angela Farrance, Senior Communications and Engagement Officer at Watford Borough Council:

“We work for a local authority, and want to promote our services, activities and places to visit in the most accessible and fun way, to a wide range of people.

I liked the flexibility that Spectacle offered; the training was completely bespoke and reactive to our needs, but still covered everything we wanted to learn.

The team had varying levels of experience, and all felt it was a really well spent few days. Everyone is very keen to get started!

I would recommend the training, and already have to fellow comms officers in Hertfordshire. Mark made the sessions fun, accessible and everyone is really excited to get filming.”

Learn Video Editing with Spectacle

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Training

Our two day video editing training courses offer an opportunity to quickly and cheaply acquire comprehensive post-production skills in a small group setting. We teach primarily on Final Cut Pro, but offer participants the chance to trial and compare Adobe Premiere and iMovie too.

We always receive excellent feedback:

“It was a small group so things were easily explained if not understood, and the direction could be catered towards our needs” – Sarah

“I had no previous knowledge of the software, so I would have been completely scared of trying things on it — the course felt just right to begin this exploration and the information on codec and export was particularly helpful” – Sophia

“It provides a lot of information quickly and in an understandable format. More helpful and human than the internet.” – Camilla

“[Learning a] structure for editing was extremely useful as this had been a barrier to progressing my own project — I’d only received technical training on the software previously” – Jo

We can also arrange one-to-one training – suitable for individuals, pairs or threes – and schedule bespoke coursesfor groups of four or more. One-to-one and bespoke group training can be tailored to meet your requirements – that means we will teach on editing software of your choice, and we can work on your actual video project.

We cover both how to use the editing software – from importing, marking, logging and editing, to adding soundtracks and effects – and workflow techniques: essentially, showing you an easy and stress-free way to turn your many hours of unorganised footage into a well-structured final documentary film, short video, or promotional clip.

Like our Video Production Weekend course, our editing training is popular with aspiring documentary filmmakers, ‘self-shooter’ journalists who want to expand their skill set, marketers who want to make and edit their own promotional videos, and hobbyists who want to produce better results. We particularly recommend the course to individuals who have completed one of our video production courses and want to add editing skills to their repertoire.

Professional filmmaker and teacher Mark Saunders leads all editing sessions himself.

Each participant will have sole or pair use of a computer, giving everyone extensive hands-on experience.

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