3 days of Action in Brighton!

Channel 3 Project presented ‘3 days of Action!’ at Onca Gallery Brighton, as the concluding event of our two year partnership. Rocket Artists hosted a wonderful three day event including an exhibition showcasing the films created by educators and learners which explored their wide range of practices and approaches touching on identity, inspiration, process and performance.

Day one at ONCA Gallery began with the visiting partners receiving a gallery tour followed by a creative group activity around planning and preparing for the seminar. After lunch we had a private screening of the films with refreshments. It was fantastic to view the films on the big screen! We had lots of quality time in the afternoon to visit Brighton and socialize with the group.

Day 2 we conducted our group evaluation of the partnership. This was really beneficial as we had a good opportunity to discuss what the successes and challenges were over the two year partnership and marked the achievements of leaners and educators. Following a lovely lunch, the seminar event kicked off which was a really exciting event attended by invited guests and members of the public. The question addresses was ‘How does the presence of the film camera have an effect on and reveal creative processes in a positive way?’ The artists spoke about their learning on the project in relation to identity, agency, inspiration, process, inclusivity and collaboration. Our films were screened during the evening with the artists present and received great feedback!

Day 3 was exhibition day, ONCA Gallery was open to the public from 11am – 4pm with an exhibition of images and and outcomes from the partnership along with the projected films.

The three day event was a fantastic celebration and conclusion to the two year Erasmus+ partnership. Both learners and educators had learned so much and were keen to develop new skills in film making and continue to share with as wide an audience as possible.

Our films!

After many months of filming, we edited our films and are very pleased with the results! we have created a variety of styles of film from documentary to a slap stick comedy

Check out our trailer:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Days of Action at Onca Gallery Brighton!

Action! Inclusive film making in supported studios is a three day event at Onca Gallery Brighton, hosted by Rocket Artists Brighton as the final elements of Channel 3 Project.

Day one features an exhibition showcasing the work produced by Cúig artists Mayfield Arts Cork, Rocket Artists Brighton and Outsider Art Ateliers Amsterdam over the two year Erasmus+ partnership. The three minute films explore a wide range of practices and approaches touching on identity, inspiration, process and performance.

On day two, a seminar focuses on showing the films with the artists present and will explore the question of  ‘How does the presence of the film camera have an effect on and reveal creative processes in positive ways?’ The artist will talk about their learning on the project in relation to identity, agency, inspiration, process inclusivity and collaboration.

Day 3 will showcase the films with the artists present. More information below!

Filming on location

Today we filmed Desmond doing some kickboxing excercises at the Amsterdam kickbox school Saban Gym. The owner, mr Saban him self (right on the photo) taught Desmond some new tricks. Meanwhile camera crew Elise and Sybrand were taking shots. Desmonds’ film will be about kickboxing, a mix of animated and ‘real’ footage!

Midway Meeting in Amsterdam

In February 2016, partners Mayfield Arts, Kunstwerkplaats, and Rocket Artists Brighton met for our midway meeting in Amsterdam over three days. It was exciting to meet again to discuss our progress, view movies created to date and get involved in learning new skills in a series of workshops organised by Kunstwerkplaats.

We discussed activities during an initial planning meeting, focusing on the progress of our project, any difficulties or obstacles encountered and possible collaborations and IT exchanges. It was great to have a tour of the Cordaan studios again to see some of their amazing and inspiring artwork.

Day 2, editor Moniq introduced everyone to stop motion animation. Individual stations were set up with a video camera mounted facing a desk and the artists began to make short animations, working on their stories, designing images and creating backgrounds. Once they were ready, learners were able to view their frames on a laptop screen, with each movement recorded by simply hitting return on their laptop. Each frame was recorded and transferred onto a file on the laptop, once they had finished filming, the whole movie was instantly ready to watch.

Ailbhe worked on a piece about a parrot and a girl and lovely bones, Louella worked on documenting her trip by aeroplane, Matthew made a piece on Fairgrounds and rollercoasters.

Elisa then showed us how green screen works, she set up a large green screen with a video camera and laptop. There were lots of props and costumes available and Elisa had a selection of movies which could be used in the background. Each artist then decided on a theme or story for their movie and acted out their role in front of the camera.

Desmond flew like Superman, Esra ran through Canyons and Helaine ran through the streets! Angela swam in the ocean being chased by sharks and Brid used her own backdrop to relax in the sun sipping on her cocktail. Ailbhe made a small piece on Downtown Abbey, Matthew and Jane were next up and they were transported into Dr Who’s capsule which ran into difficulties, but Matthew saved the day! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the fantastic hands experience

While these activities were happening, we continued our planning meeting to further discuss our partnership’s progress to date, our plans for the seminar and screening in Brighton. Discussions were held with the editor about how to communicate in the future.

Once all the movies had been finished, Niall edited them and put together a showreel for screening. We had dinner downstairs in the canteen and we enjoyed a lovely meal with all our partners. Once we were finished eating, we got bowls of popcorn and we watched our movies. Michelle also screened a portion of ‘Beyond, Irish Outside Art’ a recent documentary portraying the Cúig artists and their studio work.

Day 3, an early start at Kunstwerkplaats at 9.30. We travelled by tram to Central station and were very excited to get a ferry across to the Eye Museum, a film museum dedicated to cinema. After a quick coffee, we met with Bert from the Outsider Art Gallery and were given a guided tour of the museum. There was an exhibiton of filmwork entitled ‘Close Up’ – Film and Video artists from the Netherlands featuring really interesting work including performance body art pieces, observations of architectural developments and abstract image and lightworks.

Following our lunch, we said our goodbyes until our next meeting in Brighton in November, full of inspiration, new ideas and lots of new creative skills!

 

 

 

Getting down to filming!

Now that the group have learned how to use the camera, set up shots as well as basic editing skills, its time to put it all into practice. Learners began using the camera at different opportunities during the weeks and months following the video training workshop, working on storyboards and ideas about how potential short films might take shape. Becoming familiar and confident with the camera was one of the most important things for the group. Some learners focused on filming aspects of their own professional practices, focusing on different techniques and creative processes they engage in. Events and exhibitions the adult learners were involved in were also filmed.

The next phase of our Erasmus+ partnership is a mid way meeting of the three partners in February 2016 in Amsterdam. This will be an opportunity for the group to share their learning, show the short films they’ve made so far and discuss their experiences and any issues. Niall the editor will also be on hand to give support and expertise.

 

 

Journaling

This gallery contains 11 photos.

Throughout our video training week, participants journaled their learning visually. Partners also used Moleskin apps on I-Pads to document learning outcomes and communicate with each other.                             … Continue reading →

Video training week; Evaluating our learning

As part of our evaluation session we popped the balloons containing our aims and expectations for the week. Each participant went through their own personal statements and discussed with the group whether they thought the week had delivered their expectations. Some of the responses to their initial wishes held within the balloons:

Michelle – have fun, learn stuff and make friends    – yes
Josien – film making, meeting people     – yes
Stephen – fun and enjoyment – achieved
Emma – have fun – yes
Brid – learn how to make films, use a camera  – yes
Esra – Tintin interviews, cowboy Lucky Luke – yes to interview and yes to film about Tintin
Matthew – cowboys film,  – yes to making a film
Ben – work with people from different backgrounds – yes
Jo – find new ways of noticing things around learning – yes
Alice – editing skills – made a good start
Jago – make a film, make a new friends
Elisa – new ways to teach people to work with video – enjoyed working with Ger and his enthusiasm
Aja – make new friends and have new ideas – yes
Sofia -learn more about filming and editing as group process – made a start but more to know
Desmond – learn the technical skills for making movies – yes
Susan – looking forward to learning how to use a video camera – yes
Brahim – more about set decoration and prop making – learned gelly printing
Heleen – make a simple film and learn techniques. yes to film, technique a start
Louella – Film star, being Celine Dione, my heart –
Dee – have fun learning new skills – yes
Lisa – hoping week went well and everyone got what they could, ideas etc, fun and getting together most important – special and lucky to be part of partnership – yes, all went well
Gillian – classic techniques and collaborate – yes
Ailbhe – get to  be a film star recreate Greys Anatomy- yes
Lynda – edit and film a movies – learned some of the basics and look forward to learning more
Angela – be a film start- yes i was filmed, I’m a star i was interviewed  – yes

We looked at the learning outcomes from the week under 8 key competencies:

1) Communication in own language, 2) communication in a foreign language,                  3) Competencies in science, maths, technology 4) Digital competencies,                                  5) Learning to learn, 6) Social & civic competencies, 7) Sense of Initiative & entrepreneurship, 8) Cultural awareness & expression.

Some of the outcomes from this discussion were: Learned new technical words, the language of film, terms such as ‘Looking Room’ ‘Dirty & Clean shots’  Learning new Dutch and English words, learned the Dutch sign language for ‘Good morning’ We learned how to use new apps for film making including Panascout, Stop Motion Pro & Moleskin, Other technology we learned to use were digital cameras, I Movie, Premier Coral, I-Cloud, WordPress, Card readers & hard drives.

Other things the group learned: Collaboration, focusing, organising files, Taking direction, Listening, Editing, Lighting, Story board, planning, animation, bounce back boards, Secret friends!, new art techniques, how to manage different learning objectives in a big group, organizational culture, flexibility and planning.

We concluded our evaluation session with each participant sharing one thing they enjoyed from the week and one thing they would change. The session concluded with some wind down activities and everyone received a certificate of learning from the ‘Secret Friend’.

Video training week; Day 5

Our final day of training! The participants continued to work together in different groups focusing on editing skills and sharing their learning with each other. We continued with creative activities including dry point etching and Josien from Kunstwerkplaats did some more stop motion video techniques allowing participants to create some of their own videos.

To conclude the day and week, the group evaluated their learning through a number of activities and discussions.

Trainer Niall put a show reel together of short films the group had created during the week which demonstrated just how much was learned and achieved over the week!

We said our goodbyes and are thoroughly looking forward to all meeting up again in February 2016 in Amsterdam!

Video training week; Day 4

Another energising morning of activities and warm up games with the group! Trainer Niall and technician Ger continued to support the team focusing on both outdoor and indoor filming and continuing to work with other members of the group on editing skills. Rocket artist Louella wrote a monologue, Ben  and Alice supported her perform and film it. Lots more discussions of ideas and plans for filming took place throughout the morning.

After lunch, most of the group took a trip to Kinsale to film on location. the day was overcast but the team took some good footage and got to practice lots of their new skills.

 

Meanwhile, Ger and Niall went through lighting with the remainder of the team, setting the scene, looking at control and space, point of interests etc.