Spaces are limited. Don't wait to the last minute to register! Your registration is not complete until full payment for the workshop has been received. Payment may be made by telephone (with Visa only), by post (with a cheque), in person at Main Film (using Interac, Visa, Cheque or Cash).
HOW TO REGISTER
WINTER 2012
Here is the agenda of workshops offered until April 2012.
The full list of workshops will be updated regularly. However, in case there are discrepancies with the information below, please consider the agenda above as the main reference.
Getting started Screenwriting Directing Cinematography Sound Animation & expérimental Documentary Production & Postproduction
FINANCING YOUR FILM
SHORT FICTION SCREENWRITING
INTRODUCTION TO DIRECTING
VISUAL AESTHETICS - FROM SCRIPT TO SHOOT
FUNDAMENTAL CAMERA THEORY (FILM AND VIDEO)
SOUND RECORDING TECHNIQUES FOR FICTION AND DOCUMENTARY
DRAW (SCRATCH, PAINT AND COLLAGE) ON FILM
OPTICAL PRINTING (16MM AND SUPER 8)
POINT OF VIEW IN THE DOCUMENTARY
SHOOTING ABROAD / WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
THE DOCUMENTARY FILM - SHOOTING TO EDIT (BILINGUAL WORKSHOP)
INTRO TO COLOUR CORRECTION WITH FINAL CUT PRO - INTERMEDIATE
FINANCING YOUR FILM
Dates: February 29 & March 1, 6-10pm (2 evenings)
Rate: Member 60 / Non-member 90
Number of participants: min. 4 / max. 8
This workshop will provide information on the financing of independent films: the definition of different types of financing and their influence on the financial structure; sources of financing specific to different genres and formats, with particular attention to short and medium length fiction and documentary films (with a brief overview of feature films); non-traditional sources of financing and interim financing (treasury movement, business relations with the bank). Instructor: Denis McCready
Denis McCready has been working in film and television production for more than 15 years. He has worked on feature and short fiction films, and has organized documentary productions around the world. Denis McCready is also a director, photographer and writer. He recently produced Chercher le courant, a feature-length documentary on renewable energy and the Romaine River, as well as Érik Cimon and Alain Cliche's documentary Montréal Punk : La Première Vague.
SHORT FICTION SCREENWRITING
Dates: February 20, 27, 6-10pm, March 18, 10am-6pm, April 1, 10am-6pm, April 9, 16 & 30, 6-10pm (34 hours = 5 evenings + 2 days)
Rate: Member 300 / Non-member 350
Number of participants: min. 3 / max. 8
Rooted in the basic principles of classical narrative structure, this workshop will allow participants to develop their projects in a personal and creative manner.
Over the course of two and a half months, participants will explore the principles of the narrative structure and the theoretical elements of dramatic writing, as well as the critical analysis of films. Early in the workshop, participants will write and present a synopsis of their project, and will carry out exercises writing scenes and dialogues. There will be individual feedback and critical analysis from the instructor and the group during the readings and presentations of the scenarios.
Participants will have 2 week intervals between rewriting their scripts and by the end of the workshop, each will have had the opportunity to write 3 complete drafts of their project. Instructor: David Uloth
David has been making films since the early 1990s. What once started out as a hobby during his studies at McGill University in Biology turned into a stint at Concordia University's Film Production Program where he made four narrative shorts (Cast, Playing the Sure Shot, Nothing Knew, and Bondage). Since graduating in 2000 he has produced and directed nine more shorts (Sick of the View, The Shine, Kicked Out Moving In, The Interview, The Pick-Up, The First Day of My Life, La Lili a Gilles, Infant, and Reign of Terror) and won many prizes at various international film festivals for his prolific work. He is currently writing his debut feature, Plague Angel. David practices original narrative fiction filmmaking with an emphasis on drama and comedy. He shoots in video and film formats.
INTRODUCTION TO DIRECTING
Dates: March 13, 14 & 15, 6-10pm (3 evenings)
Rate: Member 90 / Non-member 120
Number of participants: min. 4 / max. 8
Introduction to Directing will offer participants a window into all aspects of the job of the fiction film director. Topics explored will include script breakdown and storyboarding, casting, location scouting, technical and aesthetic decisions, working with actors, writers and crew members, on-set communication and protocol, shooting schedules, planning and preparing for post-production, etc. Examples of films, both classic and local, will be viewed and discussed in order to explore aspects of everything the director is responsible for... which is pretty much everything. Instructor: David Uloth
See bio above.
VISUAL AESTHETICS - FROM SCRIPT TO SHOOT
Dates: January 14 & 15, 10am-6pm (2 days)
Rate: Member 150 / Non-member 190
Number of participants: min. 3 / max. 6
Whether you are planning a narrative, experimental or documentary project, the development of a visual style and approach is a key element of your production. This workshop aims to explore both the theoretical concepts and the practical tools that are used to build the image in film and video. Using examples from a variety of films, we will go through the steps used to create a visual style tailored to a particular project, and then see how one carries this aesthetic through prep-prod, to production, to final product. Applying these ideas and techniques to your current or future projects, we will aim to develop an approach suitable to your films. You should come away with a more developed understanding of how to think about, plan and then put into action the elements of photography in film and video. Instructor: Michael Wees
Throughout his career, Michael Wees has stood out as one of Montreal's foremost directors of photography, participating in a broad range of projects: independent short and feature-length films, music videos, art and dance films and a variety of corporate productions. His work has been shown in theatres and on national and international television stations such as CBC, TMN, PBS, etc. Among his best-known works are the feature films 1st Bite, Seducing Maarya and So Far Away and Blue, the short fiction film Take-Out as well as the documentary series The Deadly Arts, created for National Geographic and History Television. More recently, he directed the series Buy Me for HGTV and Fishing Adventurer for ESPN and Discovery.
FUNDAMENTAL CAMERA THEORY (FILM AND VIDEO)
Dates: February 21, 22, 23, 6-10pm (3 evenings)
Rate: Member 90 / Non-member 120
Number of participants: min. 4 / max. 8
This workshop is intended for beginners who would like to learn the technical aspects of shooting with a film camera (Super 8, 16mm or 35mm) or a video camera (SD or HD). The following topics will be covered: understanding the fundamental differences between both technologies, an analysis of the properties of each format, an examination of the mechanical/optical principles of camera and lens, an exploration of basic principles of photography, such as depth of field, focus, sensitometry, filtration, white balance, persistence of vision, camera/lens testing, as well as budgetary and aesthetic considerations for each format. Examples will be screened in order to better illustrate the variations between formats and mediums. Instructor: Pierre Luc Gouin
Pierre Luc Gouin: Graduated in film studies from the Université de Montréal, documentary director, experimental filmmaker, picture and sound editor, instructor, was technical coordinator at Main Film...basically, he's done a bit of everything and he loves cheese.
SOUND RECORDING TECHNIQUES FOR FICTION AND DOCUMENTARY
Dates: February 28, 6-10pm, March 3 & 4, 10am-6pm (1 evening + 2 days)
Rate: Member 200 / Non-member 250
Number of participants: min. 3 / max. 8
This workshop is for filmmakers and beginning sound recordists who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects of location sound recording.
This workshop will focus on the tools and trade of the sound recordist both on set and in studio. Aspects covered will include choice and placement of microphones, microphone powering and pick-up patterns, choice and testing of audio recording devices (DAT, 1/4" tape, video, etc.), tips and tricks to best prepare for location sound recording, the importance of covering a location as well as recording voice in and out of studio.
Students will also learn about such topics as the use of different types of microphones, types of acoustic environments and how to make them work for you. Interfacing with other equipment (mixers, sound boards, video cameras), as well as sync and non-sync sound recording will also be covered. During the group exercises, recordings will be made in a number of shooting scenarios, followed by a listening session and discussion.
Hands-on workshop Instructor: Tod Van Dyk
Tod Van Dyk has a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Cinema from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. His first film, East to West (1997, 9 min) was a pixilated fast-motion, fixed-frame, cross-Canada love story fusing rhythms and soundscapes to the natural environs of this trip and won the Concordia Student Award at the Year End Screening. Another film. Bohemians, also produced while at Concordia won the Kodak Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking. As a sound recordist he has worked on both documentary and fiction films and was nominated for a Claude Jutra Award in 2009 for his Sound work. He is currently working on the locally produced documentary, "the Fruit Hunters".
DRAW (SCRATCH, PAINT AND COLLAGE) ON FILM
Dates : February 12, 10am-6pm (1 day)
Rate : Member 100 / Non-member 130
Participants : min. 3 / max. 6
Here is a great opportunity to make your own 35mm animated or experimental film without a camera and without processing film. Participants will explore the techniques of camera-less filmmaking including scratching, painting and collage directly on to the surface of clear film and black leader, as well as using 35mm found footage. Hands-on workshop / Materials provided Instructor : Steven Woloshen
Montreal born artist, Steven Woloshen (BFA, MFA Studio Arts) has been passionately creating short abstract films and time-based-art installation pieces since 1977. He has been invited to show his work, has lectured on the subject of handmade analogue film techniques and has been commissioned to create unique films for artist-run centers, international film festivals and galleries. In 2010, he published his first book on the subject of decay, archiving and handmade filmmaking techniques, titled "Recipes for Reconstruction: The Cookbook for the Frugal Filmmaker".
OPTICAL PRINTING (16MM AND SUPER 8)
Dates : March 24, 10am-6pm, March 29, 6-10pm (1 day and 1 evening)
Rate : Member 150 / Non-member 190
Participants : min. 3 / max 4
This practical workshop explores the many functions and possibilities offered by the JK optical printer. Over the course of the full day of the workshop, participants will learn to load the printer camera, shoot sequences and create optical effects. Subjects covered will include : testing, choosing filmstocks, blow-ups, creating movement, superimposing images versus "bi-packing", re-framing, creating titles, using mattes, etc.
Material shot over the full day will be screened and discussed on the final evening of the workshop.
Hands-on workshop / Materials provided Instructor : Alexandre Larose
Alexandre Larose is a french-canadian artist based in Montreal. While completing a bachelor in mechanical engineering, Larose began experimenting with the film medium. He completed a bachelor of fine arts in cinema at Concordia University in 2006 and currently studies Fine Arts at the graduate level. By incorporating elements from the scientific approach, Larose's work expresses and reveals the fragility of the cinematic apparatus through formal treatment of the medium. His work has exhibited internationally.
POINT OF VIEW IN THE DOCUMENTARY
Dates : March 19 & 20, 6-10pm (2 evenings)
Rate: Member 60 / Non-member 90
Number of participants : min. 4 / max. 8
The relationship between subjectivity and objectivity is at the heart of theoretical debates on documentary film and each filmmaker develops it in his own way in practice. Whether the film is personal or political or ethnographic, the notion of "point of view" is what separates a documentary film from simple reporting.
It is not simply a question of a straightforward editorial perspective, but of the directorial choices that influence the reality presented on screen as well as the way that reality unfolds before the camera. This involves technical (the equipment, the crew...), aesthetic (on a visual level: the choice of format, framing styles, editing, etc. / on an auditory level: the choice of integrating narration or music, dialogue editing, etc.) and methodological considerations (the relationship with the people being filmed, the degree of the research, the level of manipulation of the circumstances, ethical considerations...).
There are no rules or "recipes" to create a point of view while allowing reality to speak, but the formal possibilities differ according to the subject, production conditions and the personal expression of the filmmaker. In this theoretical workshop, participants will examine these questions (in order to eventually better develop their own projects), by viewing a number of examples that demonstrate a wide variety of documentary approaches. Instructor : Nicolas Renaud
Nicolas Renaud studied Cinema at Concordia University. For the past 12 years, he has created video installations, experimental films and one documentary film. He is co-founder and co-editor of Hors Champ (horschamp.qc.ca), an online publication that is equally involved in presenting special film programs and conferences at the Cinémathèque québécoise. He was the organiser, among others, of the event that brought the legendary experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage to Montreal in 2001. Among his many occupations, he has also written in several publications and has taught aesthetics and film history at Concordia University.
SHOOTING ABROAD / WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (BILINGUAL WORKSHOP)
Dates: March 21 & 22, 6-10pm (2 evenings)
Rate: Member 60 / Non-member 90
Number of participants: min. 4 / max. 8
You're planning to shoot a film abroad, in uncharted terrain, and you want to be ready for anything. You wonder how to go about making contacts and obtaining authorizations, and you have questions about technical issues and logistics?
Based on real-life experience and concrete examples, this workshop applies specifically to documentary production with a small crew in southern or developing countries. It can also apply to certain modest fiction or experimental projects. This workshop will offer participants the tools to plan their shoot and to avoid or to successfully resolve some difficulties that may be encountered along the way. Instructor : Erica Pomerance
Erica Pomerance has worked as a writer, director, line producer, and translator on over 50 documentaries, series and fiction films, in collaboration with various independent Québec production companies. Her films primarily deal with women's issues, Africa and its diaspora, First Nations communities and cultural diversity. She has directed several documentaries in West Africa. Dabla! Excision, broadcast internationally, won a documentary award at the 2004 Turino Women's Film Festival. Mirror Image won the 2006 ReelWorld Canadian Documentary award. A Board member of the Association de Réaliateurs et réalisatrices du Québec (ARRQ) and the Conseil des Arts de Montrléal, Erica was founding member of the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (RIDM), and sat on its board for ten years. Erica is the founder and current coordinator of Initiative Taling Dialo, an association offering video training to youth in Africa and Canada.
THE DOCUMENTARY FILM - SHOOTING TO EDIT (BILINGUAL WORKSHOP)
Dates: March 28, 6-10pm, April 14, 10am-4pm, May 3, 6-10pm, May 5, 6, 10am-6pm (Training on Final Cut Pro), June 11, 6-10pm (27 hours of instruction + 1 day shooting and sound recording + 14 hours editing on Final Cut Pro, incl. 2 hours with the instructor)
Rate: Member 600 (members only)
Number of participants: min. 3 / max. 8
In the course of this workshop, participants will have the chance to develop and realise a short documentary project. (Participants take their projects with them at the end of the workshop).
Participants must provide for themselves a mini DV cassette and DVD-R. Hands-on workshop Instructor: Marlene Millar
With the technological advances today, filmmakers are able to shoot extensively without concern with the costs. However, hours and hours of footage do not guarantee that you have captured what you need for crafting a well-constructed film regardless of the infinite number of options and possibilities afforded to you by digital editing systems.
This intensive workshop will provide participants with practical "back-to-basics" experience on how to shoot a documentary for the editing process.
The workshop will cover the following steps:
Each participant will be provided with:
Editing times in the Final Cut Pro suites must be during office hours when technical support is available.
With a background in contemporary dance, design and cinema, Montreal filmmaker Marlene Millar has been creating dance and art films over the last twenty years. In 1999 she received a Pew Dance-Media Fellowship at UCLA, and in 2001 founded the award winning arts film production company Mouvement Perpétuel with Philip Szporer. Their dance films and arts documentaries (Moments in Motion, The Hunt, a soft place to fall, Butte, Byron Chief-Moon:Grey Horse Rider, The Greater the Weight, 40, Falling & Quarantaine) are broadcast regularly on Bravo!Canada and are featured in festivals around the globe. She has taught filmmaking workshops at the National Film Board of Canada, Main Film, Concordia University in Montreal, Bowling Green University, Ohio, Centre Imagine in Burkino Faso, and at ImpulzTanz in Vienna. Ongoing projects include a stereoscopic experimental documentary with choreographer Crystal Pite, a multi-platform dance series and an immersive environmental installation.
FINAL CUT PRO FOR BEGINNERS
Dates: February 18, 19 & 25, 10am-6pm (3 days + 4 hours individual practice time before last day of workshop)
Rate: Member 300 / Non-member 350
Number of participants: min. 2 /max. 3
Pre-requisite: Experience with MacIntosh computers is required
Participants will learn to set up projects in Final Cut Pro, capturing media, editing tricks and shortcuts, basic colour correction and effects, importing audio and out-putting to tape. Hands-on workshop
Instructor: Jonathan Durand Jonathan Durand studied Philosophy and Political Science at McGill University before moving into documentary filmmaking while living in Johannesburg, South Africa. He studied documentary screenwriting and direction at l'Institut national de l'image et du son, and has worked as an editor on socially engaged films in Canada, South Africa, and Mozambique. He currently works as an editor and technical supervisor for the documentary series CONTACT, on Télé-Québec.
INTRO TO COLOUR CORRECTION WITH FINAL CUT PRO - INTERMEDIATE Pre-requisite: Working knowledge of Final Cut Pro
This workshop is intended for filmmakers and editors who wish to expand on their knowledge of the colour correction process using Final Cut Pro Studio 2. Over the course of the workshop, participants will learn to properly calibrate a reference monitor, to read the waveform monitor and the vectorscope, to use and understand the software's colour correction filters and to achieve balance in the colour correction of a finished film. Instructor: Pierre Luc Gouin See bio above.
WORKSHOPS IN FRENCH : Pour commencer Réalisation Cinématographie Son Animation & expérimental Documentaire Postproduction Click here to view the French workshops page Course fees must be paid in total to reserve your attendance (first come, first served).
Cancellations must be made 48 working hours (Tuesday to Friday, 10am-6pm) in advance of the workshop start date. An administration fee of $10 will be applied if a refund is requested. No administration fee will be applied when transferring from one workshop to another.
No refunds or transfers on cancellations made less than 48hrs in advance of the workshop start date.
The dates and times of the workshops are subject to change without notice.
Main Film reserves the right to cancel a workshop (in which case, all fees are reimbursed 100%).
Dates: March 17, 10am-6pm, March 22, 6-10pm (1 day and 1 evening + 2 hours individual practice time before the last evening of the workshop)
Rate: Member 150 / Non-member 190
Number of participants: min. 2 / max. 3
DÉPÔT DE PROJET
RENCONTRE CALQ & CAC
RÉDACTION DE DEMANDES DE SUBVENTION (CONSEILS DES ARTS)
BUDGET DE PRODUCTION
MISE EN SCÈNE ET CADRAGE
ÉLECTRO 101
TOUT SUR LES LENTILLES
L'ART DE L'ÉCLAIRAGE FILM ET HD
TOUT SUR LES MICROPHONES
UTILISATION CRÉATIVE DU SON
ANIMATION IMAGE PAR IMAGE (STOP-MOTION) **NEW DATES**
DRÉFI DE CRÉATION : LA BOUCLE EN SUPER 8
TIRAGE CONTACT
RÉALISATION DOCUMENTAIRE
DÉVELOPPEMENT DOCUMENTAIRE
SCÉNARISATION DOCUMENTAIRE
CAMÉRA ET PRISE DE SON DOCUMENTAIRE / TOURNAGE LÉGER
TOURNER À L'ÉTRANGER / TOUT CE QUE VOUS DEVEZ SAVOIR (ATELIER BILINGUE)
CRÉATION DOCUMENTAIRE : DU TOURNAGE AU MONTAGE
MAQUILLAGE F.X. : MAQUILLAGE D'EFFETS SPÉCIAUX DE BASE
MAQUILLAGE F.X. : MAQUILLAGE TRIDIMENSIONNELS EN GÉLATINE
FLUX DE PRODUCTION ET DE POSTPRODUCTION HD (WORKFLOW)- INTERMÉDIAIRE
FINAL CUT PRO POUR DÉBUTANTS
DÉVELOPPEMENT À LA MAIN : COULEUR (FILM INVERSIBLE COULEUR EKTACHROME)
WORKSHOP POLICIES
3981, boul St-Laurent, suite 750
Montreal (Quebec)
H2W 1Y5
Tel.: 514-845-7442
Fax.: 514-845-0718
Business hours: Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 6pm
For additional information or to suggest topics for upcoming workshops, do not hesistate to visit us
or email us at: services@mainfilm.qc.ca