Brora filmmaker hails ‘rich and creative’ film workshops across Sutherland
A Sutherland-wide film training project has made a successful start in its remit to offer workshops on smartphone filmmaking.
The summer project, devised by Brora born filmmaker Robert Aitken, is being led by Lairg and District Learning Centre (LDLC) and delivered by Poetic Film School in a bid to create more arts-based screen training in the far North.
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Beginner and intermediate training days providing an insight in how to use your mobile phone to create micro-films, have been held so far at Strathnaver Museum, Bettyhill, Timespan Arts, Helmsdale, and LDLC, Lairg.
As well as using their mobile phones as a filmmaking tool, attendees have explored people and place as poetics that are unique to the far North.
Mr Aitken said: “The technical tutorials are a necessary part of smartphone filmmaking but the essence of Poetic Film School is all about people; their past, memories and dreams for the future.
“It’s about finding voice and expression through filmmaking; to listen, learn and share about where we live and our place in near and far worlds.
“This way of creating can be seen in the past works of Ossian, Rob Donn or new pieces today by poet and playright George Gunn.
“Our mobile phones are merely the new tool to express that great legacy of Highland living as poetics.”
The project has has been instigated as a socially engaged filmmaking process and offers invaluable opportunities and support to all who wish to learn new skills.
Mr Aitken added: “I embrace opportunities to reconnect people to their home area in the far North Highlands through filmmaking and engaging with communities, local filmmakers, creatives, researchers, anthropologists and historians etc.
“I enjoy sharing this rich and creative experience through mentorship and socially minded projects like this screen arts project.”
Uptake in the July delivered workshops has been very positive and varied with people signing-up from all walks of life including; artists, writers, educators and charity representatives.
Attendees have enjoyed the mix of tutorials, pacing and engaging practical sessions. All felt they had improved their filmmaking skills and some were revisiting older creative skills from younger days.
Among attendees’ feedback were statements such as: “so good you covered script and story development”, “the training helped me tell historic stories using modern equipment” and “I discovered new ways to share information and important messages”.
On the demographic, Mr Aitken said: “There has also been a greater uptake by the older generation in digital activities since the Covid Pandemic, which can help combat isolation and loneliness.
“Poetic Film School aims to bring together in-between localities, creatives and younger & older people - here, there is great potential for intergenerational activities, including memory recording sessions.
“Recent workshops have also pioneered new methods of screen-arts archival and display of heritage at Timespan Museum.”
The film project is currently seeking additional funding to run another Micro-Film festival. The inaugural Festival was held last year as part of Arts Festival Highland 2023 at Lairg and District Learning Centre.
Each attendee on the Intermediate workshops has been asked to complete a Micro-Film and submit for inclusion.
Last years event was such a success that the organisers are keen to replicate and grow the event this year to show the many different ways of story-telling a host of subjects and themes relevant to the far North, especially in light of the uncertain future face by many people.
Mr Aitken said: “We are all having to adapt to new ways; adapting to the very real societal and environmental changes that local communities are facing whilst tentatively looking toward to new ways of harnessing jobs and energy.
“As Caithness Makar, George Gunn, once told me, ‘I want to tell modern stores about people in an ancient landscape’. This sums up the Poetic Film School approach.
“With the right skills and a little bit of training, Poetic Film School seeks to seed a new wave of screens arts rooted in the far North; a gateway to create and share meaningful stories about who are and where we live, to each other and those across the globe.”
The next film training events start on August 14, 21 and 28 in which attendees will research, write and produce a short-film as a group.
For more information please visit facebook.com/poeticfilmschool
