Multi-Session Workshops

Northwest Film Forum classes and workshops are designed to instruct filmmakers on both the mechanical skills required in current filmmaking technology and the artistic application of tools to explore the critical and emotional range of the cinematic experience. Classes and workshops are taught by working artists: filmmakers, writers, producers and editors.

Explore filmmaking by doing it. We do not want you to make a commitment you are uncomfortable with; we offer a wide range of classes and workshops that can be taken at whatever pace you prefer. Whether you are new to the art and plan to plunge into filmmaking as a career or you have purchased your own equipment and wish to drop in on a few certifications to learn more, our classes are for you. NWFF's curriculum offers a complete education in nearly all aspects of filmmaking. Multi-session classes meet weekly and offer in-depth, hands-on experience with filmmaking tools, while one-day workshops offer both insightful lectures and practical techniques on current filmmaking topics.

This schedule is updated regularly.  Please check back for new classes, or email dave @ nwfilmforum.org to ask about our annual class offerings.

 

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Beginning Editing with Final Cut Pro

Sections to choose from:
Saturday & Sunday, Jan 21 & 22, 10am–3pm
Three Wednesdays, Feb 22, 29 & Mar 7, 6:30–9:30pm
Instructor: Chris Julian or Bernard Mann
Tuition: $250/members, $280/general 
Max Attendance: 5

Learn the basics of non-linear editing with Final Cut Pro 7. This class will cover settings, basic principles, effects, titles, sound and printing to video with hands-on experience for each student. This class is for students who intend to work in digital video productions and who want to know some of the basic skills of editing in a non-linear environment. Prior experience in non-linear editing is not required, but basic computer skills are necessary. Time is available in the Film Forum's edit suite for students to work between classes.  

Register for Beginning Editing with FCP for January

Register for Beginning Editing with FCP for February

 

Contemplative Filmmaking

 Contemplative Filmmaking

Two Saturdays, Feb 25 & March 10, 10am–3:30pm
Instructor: Dan Kowalski
Tuition: $160/members, $190/general
Max Attendance: 12
 
Contemplative Filmmaking is both a practice and an approach. The point of Contemplative Filmmaking is not so much to tell a story but to tap the essence of a scene or situation. Finished work can be in the form of a filmic tone poem, or contribute to narrative work by adding color, texture, nuance or atmosphere.  The workshop will explore both theory and practice. Together, we will view examples of Contemplative Filmmaking, and discuss what it is and how a contemplative approach fits into our modern forms of expression. On the practical side, we will explore the process of filmmaking with our current digital technologies. We'll cover Pre-production, Production, Post-production and ways of sharing work. For the second session, participants will be encouraged to film and bring work for review and discussion. We will come to regard contemplative filmmaking as a unique way of seeing and deepening one's craft.

Register for Contemplative Filmmaking

See examples of work by Dan Kowalski
 

Traditional Animation Techniques

Three Thursdays, Dec 1, 8 & 15, 6-9pm

Instructor: Clyde Petersen 
Tuition: $165/NWFF members, $190/general 
Max Attendance: 8
 
Long before computer graphics began dominating contemporary animated movies, animation already had a 100+ year history of inventiveness, cutting-edge effects and legendary personalities. This all-ages class is for anyone interested to learn some of the traditional techniques of animation, requiring little more than a camera and some affordable craft-making supplies. In a very hands-on environment, students will learn about claymation, animation with paper, stop-motion effects and pixelation—filming the movement of people one frame at a time. You'll learn some of the techniques that make animation a wonderful, vivid medium to explore storytelling. Each student will create their own individual film during the class.
 

After Effects Basics

 

After Effects CS5 Basics
Four Thursdays, Feb 9, 16, 23 & March 1, 6:30–9:30pm
Instructor: Tyler Jacobsen
Tuition: $280/members, $310/general 
Max Attendance: 5

After Effects CS5 is a powerful animation and compositing tool, with a wide range of applications. Commonly used for film, television and multimedia, this program can be difficult to crack at first. Once the basics are mastered, it offers a rich and nearly unlimited range of creative possibilities. We'll be learning from the ground up how to animate typography, as well as combine and manipulate footage and other elements to create effects and motion graphics.

 

 

 

Shameless Self Promotion for the Filmmaker in the Digital Age

Shameless Self Promotion for the Filmmaker in the Digital Age

Three Tuesdays, Jan 17, 24 & 31, 6:30–9:30pm
Instructor: Tyler Jacobsen 
Tuition: $100/members, $120/general 
Max Attendance: 15
 
We all know being an artist or filmmaker means wearing many different hats.  Not only are you asked to create ground breaking artwork that makes people question their very essence, but you also need to design the poster for the show, photograph and document the process, code the website and make sure there are enough people who show up at screenings.  This series of classes will provide artists with the skills necessary to meet these challenges and more. Topics include creating a portfolio website, creating a reel, generating web ready media, finding festivals, applying for grants, residencies, and other forms of funding, creating a press release and more.
 
 

Sound Recording for Film/Video

Sound Recording for Film/Video

Saturday, Jan 21, 12–2pm & Sunday, Jan 22, 12–3pm
Instructor: Robb Kunz 
Tuition: $65/members, $80/general 
Max Attendance: 12
 
This 5-hour workshop will present you with the essential principles of audio signal, microphone and recorder technology and technique. The first afternoon will be a 2-hour lecture, and the second class will include three hours of hands-on field testing and evaluation. Participants will learn how to listen and capture better in the production phase. 
 
 

Introduction to Post Production Sound

Introduction to Post Production Sound
Saturday, Jan 28, 12–2pm & Sunday, Jan 29, 12–3pm
Instructor: Robb Kunz 
Tuition: $80/members, $100/general 
Max Attendance: 5

Learn the basics of audio editing and sound mixing for video. Using Final Cut Pro, students will learn the standard tools and techniques that apply to most editing platforms. With sample audio clips to edit, each student will work at their own station during class. Focus will be given to importing, cleaning up problematic audio, basic editing and getting a presentable sound mix.


Register for Intro to Post Production Sound
 

 

The Character Map

 The Character Map

Six Mondays, Jan 23–Feb 27, 6:30–8:30pm
Instructor: Dickey Nesenger 
Tuition: $150/members, $180/general 
Max Attendance: 12
 
Writers taking this workshop will become familiar with what will soon be recognized as a writer's most essential tool—the “character map." The map, designed by film consultant and UCLA Film Professor Laurie Hutzler, lays the emotional groundwork for the mining of human behavior. Examining contemporary and classic film characters that illustrate the map's principles, and using writing exercises to make the mechanics clear, screenwriters will apply the map to their own scripts (or ideas will be provided), sharing their works-in-progress for in-class discussions. By the end of the workshop, writers will discover how to turn one-dimensional individuals into complex human beings that can transport any story. The “Character Map" book can be found online at www.etbscreenwriting.com but the purchase of materials is unnecessary for this class.
 

Screenwriting 101: The Eight Week Screenplay

Screenwriting 101:  The Eight-Week Screenplay
Eight Tuesdays, Feb 7–Mar 27, 7–9pm
Instructor: Walter Dalton
Tuition: $230/members, $260/general
Max Attendance: 8 

Whether the goal is to pitch a film to Hollywood or make an independent feature, students in this class will learn the substance of a good screenplay. With his decades of experience writing and directing for television and films, Walter will lead frank discussions about character development, plot structure and themes. Expect to talk about your ideas and receive regular feedback as you make progress in your writing. Students will work towards completing a feature-length screenplay in eight weeks. Students should come to class with an idea for a feature film, and will benefit from reading about proper screenplay formatting techniques before attending class. 

Register for Screenwriting 101 

 

Performance with Video

 Performance with Video

Saturday & Sunday, Feb 11 & 12, 1–5:30pm
Instructor: Wynne Greenwood 
Tuition: $150/members, $170/general 
Max Attendance: 12
 
In this workshop, you will learn the basic theory and practice of performance with video. Participants will explore how contemporary artists use pre-recorded video in live performance through lecture, screenings, discussion, in-class improvisation and group work. You will consider what video is, what performance is, how video can be used to develop the set, narrative and character of a performance and how performance can bring spontaneity to video. Working with found and pre-taped images as well as video images taped within the workshops, you will experiment with live interaction, developing short performances that incorporate video projection and video on TV monitors. The materials and exercises presented are intended for a diverse group of participants and accommodate a wide range of experience and skill level. 
 
 

Optical Printing and Direct Animation

 

Optical Printing and Direct Animation
Three Sundays, Feb 19, 26 & Mar 4, 12–3pm
Instructor: Jon Behrens 
Tuition: $100/members, $130/general 
Max Attendance: 8

In this very hands-on class, filmmakers will learn direct animation techniques like painting, bleaching, scratching and dying 16mm celluloid film stock, and then learn how to create magic using the Film Forum's JK Optical Printer—an age old and nearly forgotten device used to re-photograph motion picture film with dazzling results. At the end of three weekends students will have contributed to the making of a short experimental film that will be very colorful and beautiful.

 

 

 

Intermediate Final Cut: Editing

Intermediate Final Cut: Editing
Saturday & Sunday, Feb 18 & 19, 10am–3pm
Instructor: Chris Julian
Tuition: $250/WigglyWorld members, $280/general
Max Attendance: 5
Prerequisite: basic familiarity with Final Cut Pro. 

Participants will study clips and then go into the final cut room and walk through the many steps of making a scene or situation come alive.  You’ll cover pacing, crosscutting, defining the atmosphere, continuity, etc. and discuss how all these affect the emotional foundation of the work. Time will also be devoted to the role of sound and how it’s the first thing neglected in beginning picture editing: how to make dialogue flow, how to incorporate music, and how sound can save an edit.  We will also discuss the different approaches for documentary vs. feature vs. music video.

Register for Intermediate FCP: Editing for February