This week I have gone back to school, kind of. The world-renown Vancouver Film School has invited me into their Summer Intensives classes, which are brief crash-courses, each representing a slice of a full multi-month program and course load. The intensives run for eight hours, five days this week and should they desire, students can then sign up for the full program in the fall. I’m getting a sneak peek (a few hours a day) in a different Summer Intensive each day this week. My course on Tuesday was Voice & Movement for Actors.

Introduction

View from the VFS campus on Hastings

As today was the second day of class for those participating in the Summer Intensives, there was no rundown of course content or introduction to all of the instructors. Instead I walked up to the 7th floor of the campus at 182 West Hastings and got right to work.

The class was lead by Adam Henderson, whom everyone was meeting for the first time. From what I gathered during the “what did you learn yesterday” question period, students had some time in front of the camera, did some improvisation, and already formed a bond between them. One student who appeared to be a bit timid said that after the first day, he was more comfortable with everyone and ready to break out of his shell. By the way the group interacted and inquired about one another’s ambitions, goals, and experience, you could tell they were becoming a supportive unit.

Participation

I wasn’t a fly on the wall for this class, I was fully immersed — stretching my shoulders, groaning, and literally clowning around with the other students. To pull out a random reference… it’s like that episode of Friends when Monica and Rachel are at a dance studio spying on a woman who stole — and is using — Monica’s credit cards. They position themselves at the back of the room and when the instructor asks what they’re doing they say they’re just observing. She replies: “You don’t observe a dance class, you dance a dance class!” So abandoned my notebook on the floor and acted, in the acting class. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

Cameras are falling from the sky and they’ve been seen all around Vancouver. If you find one, keep it and follow a few simple steps to win a free ticket to Playland. You’ll also be entered to win tickets to any PNE concert in 2013.

Here’s a video recovered from one of the cameras, the fountain at the end is a clue to where a camera can be found:

You’ll need to pay attention to clues like this to find more and they’ll all be posted on Lost Camera YVR website.

Find a camera, enter it’s pin on the website, and you’re a winner — and you can keep the camera. There will be a new lost camera location every few days from now until mid-August.

To promote the Lost Camera Phenomenon happening all around Vancouver, I have two pairs of tickets to an upcoming PNE concert to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win ticket to see Skrillex this Sunday at the PNE Forum during his Full Flex Express tour.

• Leave a comment on this post naming your favourite Playland ride (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw two winners at random from all entries on Thursday, July 19, 2012 at 3:00pm. Follow the tag #lostcamerayvr on Twitter for more clues and information.

Update The winners are: @TinaMash91 & Brittany Roche!

When the summer sun shines, people love to dance outside in this city and the Vancouver Swing Society wants to help you with your moves. Bringing the sounds of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s Big Band music to Granville, they’re hosting free swing dancing this Sunday, July 22, 2012.

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

With the support of Viva Vancouver, the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, and Dave Henderson Sound, you can take free introductory swing dance lessons and dance all you want from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. Royal City Swing’s Kyle MacDonald & Natsuko Murao will teach beginner steps as participants move to the music of DJ Alan Cheung.

The next event will take place Sunday, August 5th at the same time but with DJ Professor Smack (Joel Schwarz). On August 19th and 26th, Company B Jazz Band and the Brothers Arntzen Jazz Band will be performing a live soundtrack for the dancers.

All events are free (July 22, August 5, August 19, August 26) and take place on Granville between Robson and Georgia. The road will be closed to traffic and open to all dancers – no partner or previous experience is required.

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Up for more free dancing and dance lessons? There’s also Friday night ballroom dancing at Robson Square this summer and Dance at Dusk in Stanley Park on Mondays and Tuesday.

This week I have gone back to school, kind of. The world-renown Vancouver Film School has invited me into their Summer Intensives classes, which are brief crash-courses, each representing a slice of a full multi-month program and course load. The intensives run for eight hours, five days this week and should they desire, students can then sign up for the full program in the fall. I’m getting a sneak peek (a few hours a day) in a different Summer Intensive each day this week. My first course on Monday was Intro to Sound Design.

It was the start of the week for every Summer Intensives student so there was an orientation at VFS’s campus on Homer at Hastings. There, students from around the globe (South Africa, Venezuela, Australia, and some locals) were welcomed to their programs and introduced to some of the impressive work that VFS alumni have done within the last year alone.

Introduction

We were then carted away to the Sound Design campus which is located at 1380 Burrard (at Pacific) while other programs stayed at either 420 Homer or walked over to 198 West Hastings. There I met Shane Rees, Head of Sound who gave an overview of the week’s course content and introduced a few of the department’s faculty who in turn touched on their courses offered throughout a regular school year. Seated in a theatre with a large mixer across the front floor, students introduced themselves and shared a bit of their backgrounds. Some had sound experience in film, others were musicians, gamers, or business students looking to change things up. Previous experience with ProTools, microphones, or foley sound editing not required. You don’t even need to know how to play a piano to take this course.

Course Content

Shane explained that they focus on post-production sound for television and film, and game sound design. You don’t attend to learn how to compose or record for musicians. As for games, he said to keep your mind open to it as a medium, “it’s such an interesting and dynamic industry that is so young, it’s going to be challenging.” Gaming is also the reason that PC software is still prevalent, even though it’s a Mac-based campus. Shane then told us all that we were going to learn some physics and I immediately though of that glint my husband gets in his eye while wearing his Nikola Tesla t-shirt as he tells me about kilohertz and frequencies.

Sound is Energy
Instructor Gary Bourgeois pulled up the whiteboard and attempted to explain what he covers in a full course of Physics & Psychoacoustics within a 40 minute time frame. He then asked us a question that hovered like a cloud over our heads for a good half-minute: “What is sound?” Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

It’s officially I Love Transit Week in Metro Vancouver that involves online contests, promotions, and I Love Transit Night.

Join Translink at Bonsor Recreation Complex in Burnaby (right near Metrotown) on Wednesday, July 18, 2012 from 6:00pm to 8:30pm. The event was packed to capacity last year so they’ve made sure to book enough space for this event. Activities will be available for all ages and include playing a transit board game, enjoying food and drinks, trivia games, colouring for the kids, giveaways, and more. You can take transit right to the event, like the #19 Stanley Park/Metrotown or the SkyTrain to Metrotown.

To attend I Love Transit Night, just fire an email to thebuzzer[at]translink.ca and put “RSVP” in the subject line. Include your name, age, and number of guests.

In celebration of I Love Transit Week, I also have a prize pack to give away courtesy of Translink and The Buzzer. It includes:

• 3-zone FareCard, good for a month of unlimited transit travel
• A cooler tote bag
• A beach towel
• A Frisbee to get you moving
• A bottle of bubbles
• A $10 gift card to Dairy Queen
• SPF 45 hypoallergenic sunscreen
• Metro Vancouver cycling and transportation maps
• And the full collection of Translink’s transit buttons

Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post naming your favourite form of transit (bus, Millenium or Expo Line SkyTrain, Canada Line, Sea Bus, etc.) (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw one winner on Friday, July 20, 2012 at 3:00pm. Follow @Translink on Twitter for questions, comments, and the latest service information.

Update The winner is Darcy D – congratulations!