Spectators in cinema are protected, both from the mechanisms of cinema’s production through the artifice of film and from elements that would disrupt its reception through the architecture of the theatre. Consequently, although the physical experience of viewing a film is a collective one, the space of the theatre promised a private, anonymous viewing experience.
This installation incubator workshop explores the intersection of experimental cinema, public space and installation. Combining a theory and hands-on handmade filmmaking, participants will work on individual, 100 ft silent films that thematically consider the engagement of film, space and place. Participants will receive feedback from the instructors and other participants during this workshop, and should be open to having their works critiqued.
** It is not necessary to have experience in film or in experimental filmmaking to benefit from this workshop. Ideal participants include those interested in architecture, landscape and choreography in film, as well as those interested in learning handmade filmmaking practices.
The completed collective student project will then be presented to the public in a looped, outdoor pop-up exhibit during the WNDX festival at the end of September.
WORKSHOP FEE INCLUDES:
• 2 x 100 ft of 3378 16 mm stock (B/W, high contrast, orthochromatic)
• Use of Bolex camera and accessories for two days
• Access to hand processing facilities
• Access to tinting and toning resources
• Access to Steenbeck for hand editing
• Inclusion in final public group workshop exhibit during the WNDX festival
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS:
Solomon Nagler’s films have played across Canada, in the U.S., Europe and Asia at venues such the Centre Pompidou (Paris), L’Université Paris Panthéon Sorbonne and Lincoln Center in New York. His work has been featured in retrospectives at the Winnipeg Cinematheque in August of 2004, at the Excentris Cinema in Montreal in August of 2007, the Festival de les cinémas differenta in Paris in December 2005 and 2007, the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers and the Canadian Film Institute in Ottawa in 2009. Originally from Winnipeg, Solomon Nagler currently lives in Halifax where he is a professor of film production at NSCAD University. Nagler is a member of the Winnipeg-based WNDX curatorial collective.
Lawrence Bird is a designer, instructor and writer with an interest in cities and their image. He has trained in architecture (B.Arch), social sciences and urban design (MSc), and history and theory of architecture (PhD). He has recently completed the SSHRC-funded postdoctoral project Beyond the Desert of the Real, based in Winnipeg, Canada. The project focused on desolate urban sites, elicited visual narratives from city residents and graduate students of architecture in response to them, experimented with representations of the city based on these narratives, and used these strategies as points of departure for urban design and urban landscape proposals. Lawrence also makes films, and is currently developing a hybrid film and animation project WPG_POV.
SCHEDULE:
Sat June 1, 10 AM to 3 PM
• A lecture component where the artistic concept of the workshop is presented, including watching film examples that highlight different aesthetic and technical considerations.
• An overview of the entire group project process, finalize sign-up for individual equipment and facility use booking allocations (*initial bookings should be done following workshop registration), and a tutorial on the Bolex and considerations when using 3378 stock
Sat June 1 to Fri June 14
• Participants shoot their films over two days during this period, with the specific two days pre-booked in advance at time of registration
Sat June 15, 10 AM to 5 PM
• Participants are provided instruction on hand processing, tinting and toning, and the basic of cutting on the Steenbeck
• Participants will sign up for hand-processing and steenback use timeslots
Sat June 15 to Sun Jun 16, 10 AM to 5 PM
• Participants will hand process their 200 feet of shot footage in the darkroom during a 1 hr timeslot pre-booked in advance
Sat June 15 to Fri June 21
• Participants will have access to an open tinting and toning facility during this period
• Participants will have access to up to 4 hrs of pre-booked time on the Steenbeck to edit their films
Sat June 22, 1 PM to 3 PM
• Workshop screening of the individual works in progress
• Instructors and other participants will provide feedback that may lead to some further independent final revisions post-workshop
Sun Jun 23 to Fri Aug 2
• Workshop participants are able to independently complete their projects, accessing up to 4 additional hours on the Steenbeck, with advance booking
• Workshop participants who want to have their films transferred (at their own expense) should do so by Fri Aug 2, as the process of running the films through a 16 mm looper during the public exhibition may cause damage to the work print
Fri Aug 2 at 5 PM
• Final completed workshop films to be submitted to the WFG’s production centre, for inclusion in the workshop public exhibition during the WNDX Festival at the end of September
We acknowledge the support of the WNDX curatorial collective in partnering on this workshop.
