Strand Arts Centre and Giga Training Looking for East Belfast Community Groups and Children to take part in FREE DJ Skills and Film Making Summer Workshops

Thanks to a grant of £10,000 from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme, budding film makers and those wanting to follow in the footsteps of DJ and music producer David Holmes will have the opportunity to hone their craft this summer.

Strand Arts Centre, East Belfast’s cultural hub, along with creative industry specialists Giga Training, will deliver skills development programmes in animation, and music and video editing that will educate and inspire participants and enhance the employability of those at secondary school age.

Minors Club iPad Workshops will provide three free Saturday afternoon sessions (4th, 11th & 18th June) for ages 6+ in film making and animation skills using digital technology. Each session will begin at 12pm in the Strand Cinema, with a screening of a specially selected film. The participants will then move to the Arts Centre next door for a two hour animation workshop. The workshops will end between 3:50pm and 4:30pm depending on the length of the film screening. Parents or guardians can register for all three sessions or for individual weeks, based on their availability. Please find the registration form at gigatraining.com/sac. 

Community groups can sign up to learn about DJ Skills and Film Production.

The DJ Skills Programme gives participants aged 14+ the opportunity to learn how to build a DJ set, perform as a DJ in a live environment, and how to promote themselves and get a gig in the real world. They will work towards a final DJ mix that they will perform, record and master to take away as a promotional tool, ready for duplication or to be uploaded online.

The Film Production Programme for ages 14+ is designed to reflect many aspects of the film making process, from interpreting a client brief to script writing, storyboarding, filming and editing. Each participant will learn the skills required for each stage of production and take on a number of roles within the film making team to create their own unique set of edited films which will be screened at a gala event on the final day of the programme.

Throughout each of the programmes the delivery team will motivate and encourage the young people by signposting them to the further and higher education opportunities within the creative arts and media sector.  Each participant on the DJ and Film production courses will gain digital ICT skills in Creative Media as well as practical experience working with industry professionals.

Mimi Turtle, Chief Executive of Strand Arts Centre, said:

With the recent rise in film production in Northern Ireland, there has never been a better time to invest in the creative arts and media to improve employability skills for young people.

There is a clear need for skills based training for young people in the East of the city, and this project will bring together young people and community groups from different cultural backgrounds.

They will be empowered through the decision making process, working collectively as a team to produce, distribute and promote content in their community.”

Giga Training is a hub of creative industry professionals based in Belfast, delivering multimedia, music technology and film training to the youth and education sectors for over 10 years. In the last year alone over 50 young people participating in Giga Training courses at the Strand Arts Centre gained Accreditation at Level 1 or above.

John Walls, from Giga Training, said:

Participants will gain a range of technical skills in the chosen area, giving them experience and confidence and a tangible portfolio of work. Secondly, they will

gain skills to understand how to work as an effective team member with a common goal and how best to problem solve to achieve that. These are transferable skills which will enhance future prospects in terms of education and employment for all participants.

Frank Hewitt, Big Lottery Fund NI Chair, commented;

The Big Lottery Fund’s NI Awards for All programme funds health, education, environment and community projects that help people bring about positive change in their lives, improve health and well-being, develop skills and create safer communities.  This project is a great example of how small pots of money can have a big impact. We are looking forward to seeing the difference this project makes to the young people involved.

If you’re a parent or guardian and would like to register a child to take part in the Minor’s Club iPad Workshops, please fill out the application form which can be found at gigatraining.com/sac.

If you’re part of a community group or organisation, and your group would like to take part in one of the film or DJ skills programmes, contact the Giga Team by calling Giga on: 02895811202, or by sending Giga an email at [email protected]