Make a Movie Workshops

As part of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s Community Media Strategy, and in partnership with the Charlotte Unconventional Film School, we are excited to announce Make-a-Movie workshops. This year there are five different program offerings held at Sugar Creek Library during January and February. Read below for more information on dates and locations.

These workshops are aimed at helping you make a movie. These FREE in-person workshops take place at various Charlotte Mecklenburg Library branch locations and will bring together filmmakers, professors and professionals to lead the workshops and provide insight into this exciting industry.  

All workshops are FREE, but registration via the links to the individual events on meetup.com is REQUIRED. Please click on the link at each workshop to join meetup.com and to register for the specific events you want to attend. In some cases, there is a waitlist you can join if the event is already full with registered attendees. Space is limited.

Make a Movie Film Sprint: Free Resources for Filmakers

In the past year, our beloved Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has ordered over 100 filmaking books, set up 10 cell-phone video kits (gimbal, boom, zoom recorder) and podcast kits that can be checked out with a library card, sponsored over two dozen filmmaking classes and subscribed to magazines such as American Cinematographer. If you are serious about making low budget, local movies, you've got to join us for this.

Click here to register for Sugar Creek - Thursday, January 9, 2020 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm
 

Make a Movie Film Sprint: How to Make Your First Movie

Joshua Overbay teaches this class and gives you an overview of everything you should know before making your movie. You'll learn about how to build your team behind the camera as well as everything you need to think about that is in front of the camera. This is just one night, so come prepared to take lots of notes!

Click here to register for Sugar Creek - Thursday, January 16, 2020 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm

Make a Movie Film Sprint: Casting and Location Scouting

Join us as we listen to the multi-talented, Emmy Award winning producer and writer Chip White, p.g.a. as he gives an overview of how to find and secure the right location (no, it’s not your apartment in most cases) and how to find the right actors who will bring the story to life and fill it with their unique perspective and technique. We'll be covering a lot in a few hours so be sure to bring something to take notes with!

Click here to register for Sugar Creek - Thursday, January 23, 2020 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm

Make a Movie Film Sprint: How to use a Boom Microphone on your Movie Set

Among the high-quality tools in the newly created "Cell Phone Video Kits" the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has put together, you'll find a boom pole and a boom microphone, as well as a Zoom recorder. How do you balance all of this at once? Where do you point the microphone? Do you alternate directions according to who is speaking? How do you make sure it is recording properly? People will forgive bad visuals, but if your sound is not good, forget it! They probably won't even watch the whole project. We are so fortunate to have seasoned professional Esmeralda James, an in-demand sound pro to come teach us these techniques to help us create the best possible version of our films. Come ready to learn and take some notes, we'll be covering a lot of ground in a short amount of time.

Click here to register for Sugar Creek - Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm

Make a Movie Film Sprint: Screenwriting Basics

This workshop is for people who know they're good writers and who already love to write. He will touch on: script formatting, what a story is, structure, protagonists and more. Rodney Stringfellow is an educator and screenwriter who has written episodes of children's series for Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Disney Channel, PBS Kids, BBC, Peach Blossom Media - Singapore, and Sesame Workshop.

Registration coming soon for Sugar Creek - Thursday, February 6, 2020 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm