Education

Upcoming 2018 Classes

Filmmaking After School – weekly after school program – Tuesday afternoons  – Donations Accepted
Students will make movies and animations!
Youth 2nd-6th grade / 4-5:30pm
Led by Charlotte Taylor & V Kornfeld
Registration Form

Visiting Artist Workshops

Visiting Artists TBD

Private Filmmaking Lessons

It’s never too late to learn video! In private filmmaking lessons, we will work with you one on one to establish a path for accomplishing your filmmaking goals. Whether you’d like to learn for fun, want to start your career in filmmaking, are hoping to brush up on some digital or analog techniques, want to cut together home movies, need help with putting together a presentation, or are looking for specific assistance with an ongoing film project, Mechanical Eye Microcinema is your resource for bringing your visions to screen.

We offer lessons in editing, animation, sound design, screenwriting, directing, 16mm/super8 filmmaking, and more!

Email us at mechanicaleyemicrocinema@gmail.com for more information!

Previous Classes & Workshops

Filmmaking After School – weekly after school program – Tuesday afternoons  – $65/mo or $175 for the semester (September-November)
Students will make movies and animations! Topics change every month.
Youth 2nd-6th grade / 3:30-5pm / Flexible dropoff & pickup 30 minutes before/after each class
Led by Charlotte Taylor & Maggie Severtson
Registration Form

College for the Community: 16mm Filmmaking Minimester
Experience film ON FILM in this 6 week filmmaking course. Open to adults and teens, in this class we will explore celluloid as an artistic medium, pushing the limits of the materiality of film, and expanding our notions of cinematic storytelling. Students will have access to 16mm Bolexes, as well as a Steenbeck editor. The cost of the class includes film & processing. No prior filmmaking experience necessary.

Curriculum includes 16mm filmmaking techniques from start to finish – from exposure and lenses, to how to load and run the camera, to flatbed editing and tape splicing, to projecting your finished film! At the end of the class, each student will create a short film on 16mm which they conceived, directed, shot, edited, and projected independently. We will also discuss festival distribution and other ways of sharing your work. These films will be screened at an end of semester screening, dates and times TBA.

Tuesdays // 6-8pm // October 17, 24 November 7, 14, 21, 28 – with a choice of one of the DAYTIME FILM DAYS: Thurs Oct 26 1-5pm OR Fri Oct 27 1-5pm OR Sat Oct 28 1-5pm
Tuition: $200 (includes all materials for the class)
Instructor: Charlotte Taylor, MFA Film & Video Production

REGISTRATION: https://goo.gl/forms/mQedARx2kqJmTPRi1
Registration Deadline October 10th!

Video Editing Basics
Digital editing for beginners! Learn the ins and outs of video editing. Students will leave this workshop with a short edited video (so bring your own footage, or we can provide it)!

Students with their own laptops can download the free VideoPad software here: http://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/index.html
If you already own Premiere and would prefer a Premiere editing class, please email us to let us know, and we’ll make sure we teach what you want to learn!
No previous experience necessary.

Date/Time TBD
Tuition: $30 (payable via cash/check on the day of class)
Sliding scale tuition. Please contact us if cost is a prohibiting factor to your participation! We want everyone to make movies!
Open to teens & adults!
Led by Charlotte Taylor
Registration: Coming Soon!

Premiere Editing Basics
Digital editing for beginners! Learn the in and out points of Premiere. Students will leave this workshop with a short edited video (so bring your own footage, or we can provide it)!

Students with their own laptops can download the 7 day trial of Creative Cloud before the class (www.adobe.com).
No previous experience necessary.

Saturday, April 8, 1-3pm
Tuition: $30 (payable via cash/check on the day of class)
If cost is a prohibiting factor to your participation, please email us about sponsorships! If you’d like to sponsor a student, please contact us!
Open to teens & adults!
Led by Charlotte Taylor
Registration: https://goo.gl/forms/oTwvEmL4QMBhpzo92

Cellphone StopMotion
Learn how to create a short stop-motion animation with your cellphone! We’ll be working with clay and/or paper cutouts. No prior experience necessary!

Bring your smartphones or iPads to make movies with!

Wednesday, April 12, 6-8pm
Tuition: $30 (payable via cash/check on the day of class)
If cost is a prohibiting factor to your participation, please email us about sponsorships! If you’d like to sponsor a student, please contact us!
Open to teens & adults!
Led by Charlotte Taylor
Registration: https://goo.gl/forms/3QJ2PIbrnyFVxUy32

Weaponize Your Media – Remix the Media
The best way to fight oppressors is to use their own words against them! Understand your rights under Fair Use, learn how to rip footage from YouTube, and how to use a variety of programs to edit, export, and share your remixes with the world! Democratize media! No prior experience necessary!

Students with their own laptops can bring them. Make sure you have iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, or another video editor (Premiere or Final Cut) downloaded before class. If you need help with this, send us an email and we’ll talk you through it!

Tuesday, April 25, 6-8pm
Tuition: $30 (payable via cash/check on the day of class)
If cost is a prohibiting factor to your participation, please email us about sponsorships! If you’d like to sponsor a student, please contact us!
Open to teens & adults!
Led by Charlotte Taylor
Registration: https://goo.gl/forms/bvYqG2OSlj01b1SG3

Cellphone Cinema for Non-Geeks
So you’ve got kids and grandkids and those photos just seem to be getting a bit boring… well there is an alternative… Make A Film! Easy to do, can be made in a few minutes all you need is right on your smart phone and we can take you from thinking about it… to doing it… to sending it to the family. In one afternoon. Easy!
For those of us without the aforementioned kids + grandkids… the same holds true… whether you want a horror film/ a romantic comedy/ a great doc, or a short reminder of that wonderful trip to… We can do it. It’s fun, can be a cool skill to have, and it won’t tax your over-active brain.

Important! This course is for NON-GEEKS… and is taught by a REAL NON-GEEK. (We like geeks, too, but this course is for beginners and digital non-natives!)

Simple, easy, pretty much big fun… come on and check it out!
Sunday April 30, 2-4 PM
Open to everyone!
Led by Peter Goldsmith
Registration: https://goo.gl/forms/yakoqaGt1klvdmjo2

Spring Filmmaking After School – weekly after school program – Monday afternoons (Wednesdays available if Mondays fill) – $95/mo or $180 for the rest of the semester (April/May)
Students will make movies and animations! Topics change every month.
Youth 2nd-6th grade / 3:30-5pm / Flexible dropoff & pickup 30 minutes before/after each class
Led by Lisa Smith & Charlotte Taylor
Registration Form

Parents’ Night Out
You know what’s better than a babysitter? A MOVIE MAKING ADVENTURE! Drop your kids off with us for a Friday night full of filmmaking fun!
Students will make movies about all things green! Happy St. Patty’s Day!

March 17, 2017 6-9pm (Flexible drop-off: 5:30-6 and pick-up: 9-9:30)
Youth ages 4-11
Tuition: $25/individual student, $40/two siblings, $55/three siblings
Led by instructors Charlotte Taylor and Lisa Smith
Register here: https://goo.gl/forms/xbozHi7xUDn9uHcu1

After Effects Basics
Learn the basics of After Effects keyframe animation and design/create your own motion graphics. No prior experience necessary. Students with their own laptops can download the 7 day trial of Creative Cloud before the class (www.adobe.com).

Saturday, March 18, 1-4pm
Tuition: $40 (payable via cash/check on the day of class)
If cost is a prohibiting factor to your participation, please email us about sponsorships! If you’d like to sponsor a student, please contact us!
Open to teens & adults!
Led by Charlotte Taylor
Registration: https://goo.gl/forms/DrUg05xslayo6JOB2

Hamartia: Writing Character & Story for Short Films with Arpita Kumar
Join visiting filmmaker, Arpita Kumar, in a short form screenwriting workshop! Unpacking hamartia, the tragic flaw, students will work directly with award-winning, internationally recognized independent filmmaker and screenwriter, Arpita Kumar, to develop their own screenplay. Students will leave the 2-hour workshop with an outline for a three act short film. No prior screenwriting experience necessary!
Adults & Teens / 1-3pm / Sunday March 5, 2017
Taught by visiting artist Arpita Kumar
Cost: $30 (email us about sponsorships if cost prohibits your participation!)
Registration Form
This project was supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.

Experimental Motion: Chemigrams – Instructors Charlotte Taylor and Jason Scott Furr will teach you how to apply the chemigram making process to 16mm motion film stocks and then edit them into experimental short films.
This is a collaboration with the Asheville Darkroom.
Teens & Adults
Saturday, March 11
Taught by Charlotte Taylor & Jason Scott Furr

Projection Mapping with Wenhua Shi
Join visiting artist, Wenhua Shi, as he leads a projection mapping workshop! Want to learn projection mapping (for your installation) but don’t know where to start? We will teach you! The workshop will show participants the essential design fundamentals of video projecting and mapping. Projection mapping is a technique of projecting animation/video onto a three dimensional surface. Participants will learn the basics of video mapping software. This workshop is intended for anyone who wants to learn how to develop projection mapping projects for future events, art installations, and performances.
Adults & Teens / 11am-3pm / Saturday November 12, 2016
Taught by visiting artist Wenhua Shi
Registration Form
*Please bring a laptop if you have one you’d like to use for projection mapping!

Write Your Mask with Monté Patterson
Join visiting artist, Monté Patterson, in writing your life as a children’s story!
Adults & Teens / 1-3pm / Saturday November 19, 2016
Taught by visiting artist Monté Patterson
Registration Form

Lights! Camera! Action! – 6 week course – Thursday afternoons – $135
Students will work together to script, storyboard, act in, direct and edit a movie of their own design!
Youth ages 5-11 / 3:30-5pm / October 6, 13, 20,  27, November 3, 10
Led by Lisa Smith
Registration Form

Stop Motion Animation – 6 week course – Tuesday afternoons – $135
Students will work with white boards, cut paper, clay and digital cameras to create their own movies! All materials provided!
Youth ages 8-14 / 3:30-5pm / October 4, 11, 18, 25, November 1, 8
Led by Lisa Smith
Registration Form

Stop Motion Animation (Adults) – 6 week course – Saturday mornings – $135 Members / $180 Non-Members
Work with cut paper, clay, white boards and more to make your own stop motion animation! All materials provided!
Adults / Saturdays / 10-11:30am / October 8, 15, 22, 29, November 5, 12
Tuition: $135 Members /  $180 Non-Members
Led by Lisa Smith
Registration Form

Super 8 is GREAT! – 6 week course – Tuesday evenings – $135
Make a short b&w movie on super8! No prior experience required! Film & processing included!
Youth ages 12-17 / 5:30-7pm /October 4, 11, 18, 25, November 1, 8
Instructor: Charlotte Taylor
Registration Form

Storytelling with Your iPhone – 4 week course – Thursday evenings – $90 Members & Youth / $120 Non-Members
Learn the 12 tips to making great video on a smartphone!
Instructor: Peter Goldsmith
*Please note – this is a mixed ages adult and youth class & students must have their own smartphone.
Adults Registration Form
Youth Registration Form

Film Editing Basics – Dates/Times TBA – Open to Teens and Adults – FREE / limited space
Learn 16mm and super 8 editing techniques, from splicing to projecting!
Led by Charlotte Taylor

Cameraless Film Bee – First Saturdays 1-2pm – Open to All Ages – FREE / limited space
Learn a different technique for cameraless animation each month – on 16mm film! (Think quilting bee – but film!)
September 3 / October 1 / November 5 / December 3 / January 7
Led by Charlotte Taylor

Oral History Documentarys – Dates/Times TBA
Instructor: Patricia Furnish

We believe that everyone deserves equitable access to film production and are happy to help those who need assistance. Please email us at mechanicaleyemicrocinema@gmail.com for questions about sponsorships for classes or to sponsor students!