A host of tutors, whom have worked on some of Scotland’s finest television programmes, including Eorpa, Still Game, Chewin’ the Fat, the Culture show and Hamish Macbeth, were on hand to offer guidance at this year’s FilmG weekend workshops.

FilmG, MG ALBA’s innovative Gaelic online short film competition which is now in its fourth year, aims to uncover and encourage new creative talent towards opportunities in the Gaelic media industry.

The workshops took place at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye over the weekend of Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 August and offered the fantastic opportunity for more than 25 budding film-makers to learn essential skills from true professionals.

Offering their services were director of drama and comedy, Michael Hines, actor and scriptwriter, Stuart Hepburn, sound recordist Becky Thomson and cameraman Keith Ingram. FilmG also welcomed three new tutors all hailing from the Isle of Skye, including production co-ordinator Helen MacKinnon, documentary-maker Duncan MacDonald and film-maker Johnny Barrington.

Michael Hines, who has previously directed Still Game and River City, said: “It’s great to be back sharing my experiences with such a diverse group of people. It’s apparent to me that FilmG is going from strength to strength.”

Saturday night saw an exciting new development for the FilmG weekend, where tutors came together to shoot a scene in front of the participants. This master-class brought together many of the skills taught in the individual sessions throughout the weekend, putting into context what participants had been learning.

Rachel Kennedy from Back in Lewis and a student studying acting at the University of the West of Scotland, who was a participant in the FilmG workshop, said: “FilmG was a brilliant opportunity to learn from a network with a whole host of passionate and talented people. The location alone was enough to inspire. The range of diverse workshops available meant that you were leaving the weekend with extensive new skills and the confidence and drive to create your own film. I would wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone.”

Student Calum MacLean from Inverness, who is about to embark on a course in Gaelic media at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, thoroughly enjoyed his FilmG master-class, being his first ever steps into film-making.

Calum said: “It was great. It opened my eyes as to how a drama could be shot and what to expect. I’m now looking forward to making my own film.”

The aim of the weekend workshop was to give new film-makers grounding in how to make a three to five minute short production as well as building the participants’ confidence to take on their own projects. Along with providing these new skills, the weekend also gave participants the chance to share their ideas and work in collaboration with each other.

Source: FilmG