Adult Courses

Filming with an iPhone is great fun and today, moving pictures are the fastest-growing way people communicate. Whether it is sharing a film of the children with family, promoting a business or sharing your interests with others, making entertaining, attractive, professional-looking videos is easier than you think. After all, the phone in your pocket has proved capable of making high-end commercials and even, feature films. With five BAFTA nominations and a Master's degree in teaching filmmaking, your tutor has taught hundreds of professionals and amateurs how to make films that people really want to watch. Join them!

The course will be led by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Nigel Wattis, who has produced and directed over fifty one-hour documentaries for ITV, BBC and Channel 4, winning over twenty awards at festivals around the world. He has been a Series Producer and Executive Producer for ITV and Channel 4 and Head of Arts and Features for LWT and Granada Productions. Nigel also has an MA in teaching media from the Institute of Education at University College London. He shoots many of his own broadcast films and was an early adopter of iPhone and iPad.

Course Requirements

• You will need to provide your own iPhone (iPhone 4 or later) and/or iPad (iPad 2 or later).
• You should know your Apple username and password and ensure you have plenty of memory clear and available on your device (at least 3 or 4GB, preferably more).
• Please make sure you have the application iMovie installed on your iPhone/Pad before arriving at Marlborough. (If it is not already installed, iMovie is available as a free download from Apple's App Store.)

Course Outline

This is a "hands-on” course. Participants will learn by making a short film themselves. It would be helpful for participants to have a basic knowledge of the iPhone/iPad or of photography but developed skills are not required. It provides an opportunity to refresh your basic skills and is also an ideal extension to the Summer School "Introduction to Photography and Video with iPhone and iPad” course. It will cover the fundamental skills of filming with smart devices and teach techniques that give films a more professional look. The course could vary in speed and depth depending on the requirements of participants but will go something like this:

1. Monday

• Introduction to the course and possibilities of equipment
• Initial camera exercise and analysis.
• Basic camera technique - focus, framing, positioning
• Differences between traditional shooting and working with iPhones and iPads
• How to shoot better - different shots and their uses

2. Tuesday

• Developing ideas

• Thinking in sequences
• Equipment and ideas to make iPhone shooting easier and more effective.
• Filming rules and shooting tips
• Going on a recce.
• Creating a shooting script/storyboard and planning a shoot.

3. Wednesday

• Finish preparations
• SHOOT FILMS

4. Thursday

• Viewing and selecting rushes.
• Instruction in use of editing software.
• Post production and editing
• Using music and effects

5. Friday

• Complete edit.
• Final addition of music & effects as required.
• Adding titles
• Watch and discuss completed films

Nigel Wattis

BAFTA MA

About Nigel

Nigel is a BAFTA-winning filmmaker, and also has an MA in teaching media from the Institute of Education at University College London. Nigel has produced and directed over fifty one-hour documentaries for ITV and Channel 4, winning over twenty other awards at festivals around the world. He has been a Series Producer for ITV and Channel 4, an Executive Producer and Head of Arts and Features for LWT and Granada Productions.