Digital Arts Camp for Youth is a week-long program that provides an opportunity for youth aged 13-17 to gain hands-on experience with music production, experimental video, and audio-visual manipulation.
Under the guidance of professional musicians, filmmakers, and multimedia artists, participants will learn how to handle equipment, record audio and video, edit creatively, and complete exercises to better understand how audio and video interact.
Participants have the option to work independently or together in small groups to produce a short media art piece or music video that will be screened at the end of the program. This is an in-person workshop offered at Digital Arts Resource Centre (67 Nicholas St, Ottawa).
Outline
Electronic Music Production:
In this introduction to electronic music production workshop, you will learn about the tools that will help you shape your creative practice. This workshop will guide you on how to navigate your workstation, browse sounds, use plugins, write parts and arrange tracks in Ableton Live. You will also learn about how to use a MIDI controller and how to set up your own studio at home.
Experimental Video:
Discover the world of experimental video as you grasp the fundamentals of filmmaking. Uncover how storytelling, camera techniques, and editing work together to create cinematic experiences. Get hands on experience bringing your own creative visions to life.
Glitch Art:
This workshop will explore glitch art as a creative medium for producing captivating visual anomalies and unexpected results. We’ll start with a practical overview of TouchDesigner, a powerful programming software, that will allow us to explore various techniques such as data bending, pixel sorting, and datamoshing. We’ll then add our own music or audio files to the software to explore how visuals can be manipulated by audio.
Schedule
March 11 – Welcome / Music Production Lessons and Exercises
March12 – Experimental Video Production Lessons and Exercises
March 13 – Experimental Video Editing Lessons and Exercises
March 14 – Glitch Art Lessons and Exercises
March 15 – Finalizing Projects / Screening in DARC Microcinema
Daily Schedule
10am-1pm – Lessons
1pm-2pm – Lunch
2pm-5pm – Project Work / Hands-on Exercises
Materials Required
All equipment and software required for Digital Arts Camp will be provided by DARC.
Instructors
Yolande Laroche (she/they) is a franco Taiwanese-Canadian clarinetist, keyboardist, singer-songwriter and producer established in Gatineau, Quebec. She holds a Bachelor degree in Music and Minor in Arts Administration from the University of Ottawa. She is a core member of art-pop group Pony Girl, experimental sound-art trio KAY-fayb and leads her solo project Orchidae who will soon be releasing her debut album in spring 2025. Yolande works as a clarinet teacher and brings her classical training to her world of contemporary music as a freelance touring and session musician accompanying artists such as Tess Roby, Nick Schofield, Rayannah, Luka Kuplowski and Cedric Noel.
Ash Campbell (she/they) is a graduate of Film and Media Production at Algonquin College and is focused mainly in Directing and AD Department work. Ash is a filmmaker who is passionate about pushing the boundaries and embracing the unconventional. Her personal style in film typically focuses on exploring the diversity of the human experience and bringing light to stories and circumstances they find important. Telling stories about the experiences of Women and LGBTQ+ people are near and dear to their heart.
Najeeba Ahmed (they/them) is an artist and a creative technologist based in so-called “Ottawa”. With a multi-disciplinary degree double majoring in Biology and Visual Arts from the University of Ottawa, they have a complementary range of experiences in laboratories, in education, NGOs, and studios across Canada and Asia. Najeeba’s artistic practice is currently centered around uncovering the tensions between technology, identity, consumerism and community through the lens of bio-art, generative art, XR, speculative design, and textile art. They are a natural tinkerer who is always curious about possibilities of design and craft technologies through experimentation and exploration. You may find their work through their pseudonym Ajeeb Sir.
