focussing on a five-week journey

Ever wanted to make a film?  Well now’s your chance. British film-maker Jason Carter is inviting enthusiasts to join him on a five-week journey starting this Saturday afternoon.

   Since winning a Kodak film prize for a picture of a pearl diver in 1993, Jason’s interest in photography and film has increased and over the years he has developed a love of telling stories through moving images.

    He began using the old Nokia N95 telephone and progressed onto a small Sanyo handheld, before moving on to the much larger Canon movie cameras from the 1980s, which had ‘almost’ come back into fashion!

This was then surpassed by Jason’s discovery of the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera, which opened up a whole new world of creative possibilities with colour grading and retro lenses.

   Most of the films Jason has made have been music videos but recently he found himself in the role of ‘producer’ in Grain of Sand, a documentary about the music of the pearl divers of Bahrain, as reported in GulfWeekly, and also as a commercial film maker in the advertising sphere.

   Jason said: “Producing Grain of Sand has given me more of an objective perspective on the bigger picture and inspired me to start making films for other people. So, with the popularity of Instagram on the increase in the region, I thought this would be a great focus and am now producing professional quality one-minute films for companies and individuals - one-minute films with a story, filmed in cinematic quality with a choice of the retro cine lenses or more modern glass.”

   “This will be the third in a series of short film courses taking place at Inspire in Saar which aim to give people an overview of how to approach film objectively, from framing, filming, light, what not to shoot, editing and colour grading.

   “We will work towards producing at least one new Instagram film every week and if the course proves to be popular, we will split into teams and shoot at several different locations.”

   For those students interested in filming, you need no more than a smartphone, although a video camera would also be welcome. Those interested in editing/colour grading would be advised to bring a laptop.

   “If you don’t have any experience but are interested in film, just come along and find out what you are good at!” added Jason.

l           Call 33474714 to find out more. The course runs from 2pm to 5pm for five weeks, starting Saturday.