about the course
Moving Images is a filmmaking course at Simon Fraser University in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology during which students are guided through the process of creating a short film (narrative, documentary or other). In the Summer of 2020, Kate Hennessy completely redesigned for asynchronous online delivery. It was also redesigned for students without access to the SIAT equipment library and who would need to use at-home available documentary technologies.
We partnered with the Museum of Vancouver (MOV) to support their efforts to document the pandemic experience and give students the opportunity to exhibit their work at the museum. Students created films that reflected their experience of the pandemic, resulting in three online premieres and a physical exhibition at MOV that opened in the summer of 2021.
filmmaking during covid
The shift to online teaching presented new challenges, particularly in a filmmaking course where students usually rely on camera and lighting equipment through the SFU library.
In this course, students were asked to complete several filmmaking assignments focused on resourcefulness and creativity. In one assignment, students were asked to look for, identify and find a way to creatively document and label resources they had at home for creating videos, digital images and special effects. In another, students paired up to create distance portraits, inspired by photographer Kimon Katketsis, in which they used zoom, skype or facetime to create portraits of each other at home.
These assignments were valuable for students to understand how to make the best use of lighting and composition, as well as to understand how the medium used can contribute to the story, in this case: staying at home because of a global pandemic.
“I picked up new editing skills during the course and learned how to schedule with people remotely”
“I am capable to do more with what I have than I thought was possible”
“I have learned a lot about time management and remote team working.”
about the instructors
Kate Hennessy, Instructor
I am an Associate Professor specializing in Media at Simon Fraser University’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology. As an anthropologist of media and the director of the Making Culture Lab, my research explores the impacts of new memory infrastructures and cultural practices of media, museums, and archives. I have been excited and honoured to develop IAT 344 “Moving Images” to collaborate with curators from local museums and galleries to help bring stories alive in exhibitions. Teaching online during the pandemic brought new challenges and opportunities that we are proud to showcase on this website.
Doenja Oogjes, Teaching Assistant
Doenja Oogjes is a design researcher originally from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Her most recent work focuses on textile fabrication through weaving. She is a PhD candidate at the Everyday Design Studio at SFU, where her research is informed by post-humanism, philosophies of technology and feminist theory. Through design, Doenja explores indirect, accidental, surprising, and overlooked ways technologies mediate the everyday.
Julian Iliev, Teaching Assistant
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Catherine Pearce, Teaching Assistant
CATHERINE SANTOS PEARCE is a documentary filmmaker and Master’s student at the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at SFU. Her research interests include the integration of film and video games, narrative theory in video games, circular narratives, and immigration and the Latin American diaspora. She is currently using research-creation and participatory design as a way to explore the telling of women’s stories through reality-based narrative video games.
J Tseng, Course Support
J is a designer and story teller who works at the intersection of product UX design, prototype fabrication, and multimedia storytelling. Their goal is to enable sustainable human and technological interactions through innovation & design as well as empowering people through storytelling and audio-visual experiences.