46 Educators providing Video courses in Edinburgh

Experience the Rhythm of Reggaeton! Get ready to heat up your week with our dynamic Reggaeton classes, part of our exciting weekly dance program. Whether you're joining online or in-person, we've got the perfect vibe for you.

“Any good photography is a successful synthesis of technique and art.” – Andreas Feininger Discover the magic of Black & White Photography and learn some of the secrets the masters use to make stunning photographs. Explore the fundamentals of light and time and no longer be a slave to the Auto setting. Master the manual functions of your 35mm SLR film camera and unlock its true potential. Get to grips with the complete darkroom workflow from processing film to printing your own black & white photographs. Perfect for those with no experience or those looking for a full refresher. If you don’t have a 35mm SLR camera we have a limited number available for use during the course – please make your selection from the dropdown at time of booking. Week 1 Capture, technical notes, discussions, art context Understand the fundamentals of light and time in balancing an accurate exposure; No longer be a slave to the Auto setting! Learn how to utilise the Manual functions of your 35mm SLR camera including aperture, shutter speed, film speed and metering. Understand depth of field, composition and creative photo-making techniques; Appreciate photography within an art context – Begin to look at the work of other photographers Assignment: You will be given one roll of B&W film to be shot for the second week Week 2 Film processing Learn how to process B&W film by hand in Stills’ darkrooms. We will discuss different film types and chemistry, as well as best practice procedures for film handling. Appreciating photography within an art context-Sally Mann. Week 3 Contact Printing Gain an appreciation of general darkroom procedures;understand how to set up your enlarger and make a contact print using the traditional analogue method; learn how to make 8×10″ work prints using the single filter printing method. All paper and chemistry will be provided. Week 4 Darkroom printing This last session will allow participants to keep on printing with some one to one attention. We will also explore some basic dodging and burning and other printing techniques to get the most from your negatives and make a series of final prints.     Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout. Stills uses ILFORD PHOTO chemicals on this course that can potentially pose a risk to pregnant and breast feeding women and asthmatics. We take every care to ensure good working practices and adequate ventilation in our darkrooms. If you feel you may be adversely affected, please visit the Health and Safety section of Ilford’s website for further information.   General Guidance Notes for Pregnant and Breast Feeding Women and Asthmatics: From a risk assessment standpoint, provided all necessary control measures (such as good working practices, adequate ventilation, and the use of appropriate PPE) are in place then pregnant and breastfeeding women should be able to continue to work safely with photochemical products.Inhalation is the main route by which fumes and gases enter the body, making good ventilation a high priority. Exposure to irritant chemicals that would not affect most people may provoke an asthma attack in a person who already has asthma. For example, low levels of the gas sulphur dioxide can be produced by some ILFORD PHOTO processes. Most individuals would be unaffected but asthmatics may suffer adverse affects. ILFORD PHOTO products include no known human carcinogens, and no substances to which phrase R46 (May cause heritable genetic damage) or R64 (May cause harm to breastfed babies) applies. Most ILFORD PHOTO developers use hydroquinone, and their classification therefore includes R40 (Limited evidence of a carcinogenic effect) and R68 (Possible risk of irreversible effects). Some ILFORD PHOTO chemicals use boric acid or borates. These substances are classified as toxic for reproduction. As a result, the classification of some of the powder developers includes R60 (May impair fertility) and R61 (May cause harm to the unborn child).

This course is about learning to use your digital SLR camera with confidence and skill. Explore aperture, shutter speed and megapixels through to white balance, ISO ratings, histograms and much more! With a blend of technical tuition, demonstration, practical assignments and group discussion, you will discover how to unlock your camera’s full potential and take better pictures. If you don’t have a digital SLR we can often provide one for you – please select from dropdown at time of booking. You can also use your interchangeable or fixed lens system, mirrorless or rangefinder camera on this course. Bridge cameras without interchangeable lenses can be used too, but please note that they may not allow the full range of camera controls. Computer experience is beneficial. Day 1: Features of your Digital SLR camera. Areas covered include aperture, shutter speed and megapixels through to white balance, ISO ratings, histograms and all the rest. There will be time to ask questions and demonstrate the advantages of each feature, getting to grips with the “how’s” and “why’s” We will put into practise all the features that have been discussed and demonstrated in session one on a walk around town with your cameras. We will come back to the gallery, learn a little about methods of downloading and viewing photographs, and explore some basic Photoshop tools. Day 2: Exercises, Assignments and Review Question time. There will be a few formal exercises set up to practise on and time to discuss the elements learned in day one. We will also discuss in more detail the more compositional aspects of photography, and prepare for the afternoons’ assignment. You will carry out your assignments outside the gallery and be given a time to return with your completed assignments. Assignment presentations, troubleshooting and review. The last half will involve editing and viewing the photographs, open discussions and asking any final questions.   Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.

This short course will help you take your images from the screen to final professional-quality prints. We will walk through the processes and techniques needed to take the mystery out of this often daunting and overlooked part of the creative process. By the end of the day you will have gained the skills and confidence to take digital files through preparation in Photoshop, optimisation, and onto physical test printing, adjustments and final output on Stills’ large format Epson inkjet printer. We’ll cover areas critical to the desired outcome including screen and print calibration, paper choice and ICC profile use. By the end of the day you will have two A3 prints on premium Hahnemule matt or gloss papers. Participants should have a basic understanding of Photoshop and attend with a selection of their own RAW files or high resolution TIFFs to work with through the practical exercises. Morning We will begin with evaluating our images and processing the file to maximise print quality output. We will then use Adobe Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw & Adobe Photoshop for the optimisation process. Participants will be guided in preparing their images ready for test printing, before evaluating and adjusting. Discussion will cover using ICC profiles, screen and print calibration, colour rendering, canvas sizing, and sharpening for final print output on various media. Afternoon We will then put the skills we have learned into practice, producing and evaluating test prints before undertaking our final A3 digital inkjet prints. Each participant will finish the session with two finished prints. There will be plenty of opportunity for participants to ask questions at every stage, so that you feel confident and can make informed decisions throughout the whole process. This course is designed for those who are already familiar with some digital photography processes but who want to pursue a particular aspect and develop skills in a specific genre. It is the perfect follow-on from our Digital SLR training courses and will support you in building upon your existing knowledge and allow you to work confidently on your own projects.   Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.

This 6 week course will support you to make the most of the range of applications Adobe Premiere Pro offers in the production of video. Sample footage will be provided for you throughout the course, but you can also bring along your own video files to work on. The course is quite technical so some computer experience is required. We use Macs on the course – the Premiere interface is the same across operating systems but some shortcuts and menu items are different. Week 1- The basics This week we’ll start with some of the basics, introducing you to editing and Premiere Pro through: A short history of editing; from analogue to digital Getting to know the layout of Premiere Pro Working with ‘bins’ (folders) and creating edit Sequences Making selects from the rushes and sound files by creating in and out points Introducing clips to the timeline and making a simple edit with music Understanding rendering for smooth, full quality playback Week 2- Editing narrative sequences This week we’ll get further stuck into editing by building narrative, focus on offline editing‚ better organisation of your projects and breaking down footage through: Re-linking lost or moved footage Video ingest – importing and organising clips Organising and breaking down rushes using annotated markers and sub-clips Basics of the effects and motion settings Using our skills to create a simple narrative sequence Editing a dialogue sequence Considering the best ways of exporting your film for online Learn Adobe Media Encoder for more efficient exporting Week 3- Video settings, effects & titles This week we will focus in on what makes up video from a technical standpoint. We will then look at how we can work with and alter these parameters for different uses in our films through: Transcoding – converting the footage into an editable file and understanding codecs and meta data Adjusting scale and positioning and using motion keyframes to create movement over time Adding titles and animating them Applying transitions and various stock video effects Layering tracks and using opacity and different layer blending effects Creating masks and using motion tracking Working with green-screen footage, creating mattes, mask filters and working with multiple layers Week 4- Audio & sound This week we’ll consider the importance of sound design and music for narrative and atmosphere in film and experimental video through: Learning how to enhance your film with sound and music Introducing audio and music to the timeline, cutting and leveling Laying down music and cutting the footage to fit Building sound design around an existing edit with sync-sound and SFX Common practice and different approaches for syncing external microphone audio and video Mastering the audio and making sure that it is all levelled Learning how to create subtitles for our films and different methods to export/embed them Week 5- Colour This week we’ll start looking at colour in our videos and what role that plays. We will look at the process of colour grading and changing the mood in our films through: Using Lumetri Colour, the colour-correcting function within Premiere Pro CC Matching the colour of different cameras to create a similar look Creating different “colour grades” to create different atmospheres Stylising our footage Understand the colour limitations of video files and the importance of exposure when filming Working with tracked masks to isolate certain areas within your image to colour correct Week 6- Putting it all together In our final week we will get the opportunity to experiment with all the skills we’ve learned to create an opening sequence for a tv series. This is also a great opportunity to revisit any topics from previous weeks.   Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.

The course will introduce you to some of the most enduring photographic portraits and provide discussion on why they remain so seminal. The course includes an introduction to lighting and composition techniques for portraiture, as well as providing guidance on shutter speed, aperture, lenses, and other visual controls. You will use studio flash lighting to explore basic techniques in formal and informal portrait photography – though all of the techniques taught are transferrable to natural and other lighting media. There will be time for participants to photograph under three standard lighting set-ups. Some digital SLR photography experience is recommended. Morning The morning session centres on discussion of the work of some classic portrait photographers and standard techniques employed. The discussions will include elements of composition, pose, gesture, format and technique. Afternoon The afternoon session will cover practical studio lighting, standard lighting set-ups, direction of sitters, and time permitting also a brief introduction to some of the editing capabilities of Adobe Photoshop. Project Days are designed for those who are already familiar with digital photography processes but who want to pursue a particular aspect or develop more specific skills in one or more areas. This course is the perfect follow-on from our Digital SLR training courses and will support you in building upon your existing knowledge of DSLR camera skills and becoming a better photographer in general. It will help you to work confidently on your own creative projects and develop the artist in you.   Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.

Do you use video as a tool to promote your charity, business, organisation or campaigns? And if you don’t, do you feel as if you ought to? Videos account for more than 80% of all consumer internet traffic. So the pressure to use video as a marketing and PR tool has increased enormously. But the cost can be prohibitive. Using a video production company, such as ours, might be ideal, but for many it is out of reach – particularly if, like many of our clients, you’re a charity. However, there is an alternative, which more and more organisations are choosing, especially those which need to produce regular digital content. That is to produce the video yourself. Nowadays, you do not even need to invest in a video camera. All you need is your smart phone, some simple equipment you can buy on Amazon for as little as £80, plus your laptop or PC. This is why we have developed a new smartphone video training course, Smart Video. Our smartphone video training course covers: Equipment – including setting up your phone, microphones, tripods and editing programmes Planning your video Techniques to give your films broadcast-quality polish Getting the perfect shot – including shot sizes, positioning the camera, framing, lighting, sound, sequences and backgrounds Filming interviews An introduction to editing Producing videos for social media Bespoke training The course can be tailored to the type of videos you need to make. If most of your videos will be interviews, we’ll focus on presenting your interviewee in the best possible light – literally. If, on the other hand, you need to film buildings, events or products, we’ll tailor the course accordingly. If your video needs a script, we’ll give you tips and techniques on how to “write to pictures”, so your messages comes across well. And on all our courses, we’ll give you a guide to the best equipment and apps to use to enhance your filming and editing. The smartphone video course will be led by Paul Curran who has many years experience producing, filming and editing films and videos, for the BBC and corporate clients.

Video coding training course description This course investigates the characteristics of video coding with an emphasis on compression and the standards used in IP networks. What will you learn Explain how video coding works. Describe the main video coding standards. Evaluate and compare the major video coding standards. Video coding training course details Who will benefit: Anyone working with MPEG. Prerequisites: None. Duration 2 days Video coding training course contents Introduction Video coding systems, encoding, transmission, decoding. Digital video formats: Old formats (CIF…), PC formats (VGA…), SD, HD, UHD. Video codecs What is a CODEC, pictures and audio, digitisation, sampling, quantisation, encoding, compressing. Codec types Lossy, lossless, uncompressed. Quality, bandwidth. Video Fps, bitstreams, pictures, frames, fields. Aspect ratios. Colour Colour perception, RGB, YUV, YCbCr sampling, 4:00, 4:2:0, 4:2:2, 4:4:4. Hybrid video coding scheme Picture partitioning, intra prediction, inter prediction, motion estimation, residual coding, in loop filtering, entropy coding. Containers Relationship with codecs, audio, video. Audio Video Interleave (.avi), .asf, QuickTime, AVCHD, Flash, .mp4, 3gp. MPEG-TS. MPEG Analysing MPEG frames. Video coding standards H.264/AVC: Profiles MPEG, bit rates, resolution. I, B, P frames, GOP. MPEG 2, MPEG 4, H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1. Hands onand levels, how it works. H.265/HEVC: Profiles and levels, Quadtrees, slices, how it works. Open video coding: VP8, VP9, AV1.

Video conferencing over IP course description A current hot topic in recent years has been the provision of multimedia services over IP networks - triple play. This course investigates the characteristics of video transmission and then studies the impact on IP networks. What will you learn Describe the issues of video and data convergence. Describe techniques, which can be used in IP to provide low uniform delay. Evaluate video technologies. Design data networks, which will support video.. Video conferencing over IP course details Who will benefit: Technical staff. Prerequisites: TCP/IP fundamentals Intro to data communications & networking Duration 3 days Video conferencing over IP course contents Review Traditional video, digital video, video formats, MPEG, brief review of IP, Uses of video: downloading, streaming, TV, CCTV, conferencing. Video over IP issues Delivery methods: FTTH, ADSL, VDSL, 3G and others. Bandwidth, delay, jitter, signalling. Digitising video, CODECS, packetising video, comparison of techniques. IP performance and QOS IP TOS field, queuing strategies; FIFO, WFQ, custom, priority, RED. Differentiated services, diffserv. Video over IP protocol stack RTP, RTCP, mixers and translators, RSVP. IPv6. Conferencing Traditional solutions, Video conferencing over IP, point to point, multipoint, architectures, bridges. IETF - Session Initiation Protocol Comparison with H.323, SIP proxy, proxy server, redirect server. SDP. Multicasting Multicasting compared to unicasting and broadcasting, when to use and when not to use multicasting. IGMP, DVMRP, PIM. Security Impact of firewalls and NAT, ISMA, DRM, DTCP.

Adobe After Effects CC is the industry leader in video compositing software, offering an exciting and versatile array of applications for the creation of professional moving image work. On this course you will learn a range of visual effects and animation techniques, working between Photoshop and After Effects to create videos which explore text based motion graphics, character animation, green-screen compositing, 3D landscapes, motion tracking and lots more in-between. Alongside technical exercises the tutor will screen and discuss relevant artists, designers and filmmakers, providing both the technical skills and inspiration to create your own professional motion graphics work, filmic special effects or experimental artists video. Computer experience is required. Week 1 This week we will create a short video that combines text, still image and video layers. Through this exercise you will learn how to: Navigate the workspace on After Effects Set up a project and select a video format Introduce video to the timeline and split layers Change the position and scale of layers Introduce basic text Use selections in Photoshop to create a still image composition Import this composition into After Effects to create a composite video. Week 2 This week we will look at basic animation techniques. Through a series of exercises, you will learn how to: Use Photoshop to great multi-layered elements for animation Import these Photoshop elements into After Effects Work with key-frames and interpolation Add motion blur Duplicate and pre-compose animated elements Create a parallax effect to give the illusion of depth Apply blending modes Work with the puppet tool to create moving joints for an animated character Week 3 This week we will look at converting 2D photographs into a 3D virtual space to provide depth and movement. Through a series of exercises, you will learn how to: Convert a 2D image into a 3D space Set up a multi-layered diorama in Photoshop Import this into After Effects and position the layers within 3D space Create an animated camera move through 3D space Apply depth of field Week 4 This week we will look at working with green-screen compositing to place a live action figure within an animated backdrop. Through a series of exercises, you will learn how to: Work with the Keylight filter Adjust colour balance and tone Composite the figure against an animated background Introduce shadows and highlights Use the green-screen figure to create a silhouette Week 5 This week we will look at applying masks to footage to create cutouts, as well as exploring different applications for effects. Through a series of exercises, you will learn how to: Work with masks Use the Roto-mask tool Apply time re-mapping Work with ‘Particle Playground’ and similar effects Week 6 This week we will look at working with the paint panel to create animated drawings, as well as using motion tracking to attach a text element to a moving point within a video clip. Finally, we will cover how to output your final project, adding sound effects and applying a basic edit. Through a series of exercises, you will learn how to: Create text based motion graphics (kinetic typography) Apply motion tracking to live action footage Render your project Add sound to your video   Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.