Home Video Shooting
Intensive Workshop (suitable for beginner to advanced students)
Taught by Franc Piret.  Click here for Franc's profile.

This course is intended to help the amateur video enthusiast get the most out of his/her camcorder in order to produce stunning footage, whether for travel, holidays, or everyday family experiences like children's football games.  Topics will include how to preset your camera, how to configure the appropriate settings for any situation (recording mode, white balance, shutter speed, ...), how to master focus, light and composition, to build up beautiful frames from various camera angles (long shot, close-up, etc.), to improve sound quality, to achieve continuity so that your videos "tell a story", and how to assemble the shots in your computer and edit them with the addition of titles, transitions, and music (introduction to Adobe Premiere and some other popular editing software is included).  The main objective of this course is to introduce the principles and practices of professional video shooting, enabling you to produce quality footage that is exciting, beautiful, and compelling.  Most of the lessons will be conducted in a workshop-style manner, with plenty of hands-on practice to apply the information being learned.  Each student should come with his/her camcorder, his media support (tape or SD card), a spare battery, a battery charger and eventually a tripod.  For those who don't have all of the equipment for the first class, no problem.  The instructor will give advice on purchasing the appropriate camcorder for your needs along with the proper accessories.

The course will cover the following:

Part 1 – Camera Basics (1 lesson)
Introduction to usual mistakes done in amateur video shooting.
How to preset your camera: recording mode, white balance control, digital zoom, focus control.
The basic settings of your camera: focus, white balance, shutter speed, zoom.
Accessories: tripod, small lighting, external microphone, computer and software for editing.

Part 2 – Shooting basics (2 lessons)
How to achieve proper composition: notion of camera angles, different positions and zoom ranges.
How to achieve smooth movement with the use of a tripod: notion of anticipation.
How to achieve a steady picture when shooting hand held style.
How to follow movement.
How to handle focus, light, and exposure.
How to maximize and optimize the use of the zoom feature.

Part 3 – Shooting advanced (4 lessons)
How to incorporate a sense of narrative (story) into your home videos (story-boarding, rhythm, 'scenes' or sequences).
How to set camera position to keep continuity.
How to change the composition from shot to shot.
How to direct people.
How to record a better sound.
How to improve lighting.

Part 4 – Editing (3 lessons)
How to import your footage into your computer.
How to start with Adobe Premiere and other editing software (such as iMovie for Mac).
How to create a timeline, insert cuts and start the edit.
How to add titles, transitions, sounds, and music.
How to export your movie in an easy-to-watch media: mov, mp4, DVD format.

Course Title: Home Video
Tuition Fee: RMB 3200

Spring Session 2012: March 6th to May 13th

Section A: Tuesday mornings (10:00 AM - 12:30 PM)
10 weeks from March 6th to May 8th (Course Code: HV103)
Location: ELC Learning Center

Section B: Tuesday afternoons (1:00 PM - 3:30 PM)
10 weeks from March 6th to May 8th (Course Code: HV104)
Location: ELC Learning Center

Section C: Saturday afternoons (4:00 PM - 6:30 PM)
10 weeks from March 10th to May 12th (Course Code: HV105)
Location: ELC Learning Center

Section D: Sunday mornings (10:00 AM - 12:30 PM)
10 weeks from March 11th to May 13th (Course Code: HV106)
Location: ELC Learning Center

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS COURSE

Registration Procedure:
Please register online first to reserve your place.  You will then receive a confirmation email with further details.  Next, payment must be made on site at the ELC Learning Center during the payment dates shown below (you can come in person or send someone).

Tuition payment for the Spring Session 2012 will take place from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, from Monday, February 20th through Monday, February 27th, 2012.  Payments will be received in the Registration Office at the ELC Learning Center.  Click here for map.

Please note: classes are kept small for the students' benefit (generally between 8 and 12 people).  Register early to reserve your place.  Payment must be received on time to complete your enrollment and maintain your reservation in the class(es) for which you have registered.  (Any course that does not meet sufficient enrollment may be cancelled and a full refund provided upon presentation of your original receipt.)