COMING 2026

Mid-Island Screen Industry Training Series

Practical skills. Real-world insight. Industry connection.

Designed for emerging and working creatives building sustainable careers in film and television. This workshop series brings experienced industry professionals to the mid-island region.

Sessions offer practical skills, current production workflows, and meaningful connections between local talent and the broader screen industry.

** Limited bursary seats available. Please contact me for details.

THE WORKSHOPS

Leave the city behind for a weekend retreat of professional training, department-hopping, and genuine creative community.

For the multi-hyphenates. For the independents. For anyone ready to do something more.

Performance for Camera: Professional On-Camera Acting

Nathaniel Arcand is one of Canada’s most accomplished and recognizable Indigenous actors, with a career spanning acclaimed television, major studio films, and award-winning independent cinema.

A proud member of Alexander First Nation and of Plains Cree heritage, Nathaniel has built an extraordinary body of work defined by strength, depth, and authenticity.

Audiences know him from standout performances including Chief Arnook in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Clinton Sky in FBI: Most Wanted, and his beloved twelve-season run as Dr. Scott Cardinal on Heartland.

Most recently, Nathaniel has continued an exceptional run in prestige cinema with notable performances in Sinners, the 2026 Academy Award-winning film, and Train Dreams, the Academy Award-nominated Netflix feature, where he delivers a memorable performance as Ignatius Jack.

 

The camera sees everything, and performing for it is a particular skill different from stage performance.

This multi-day workshop takes you inside the craft of professional on-camera performance: how to find truth in a scene, how to work with a director, and how to make every take count. Whether your focus is acting or stunt performance, you’ll leave with a professionally shot reel ready to put in front of casting directors and producers.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

Set Ready: Assistant Directing for Indie and Union Productions

Tammy Tsang is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker who loves focusing on stories that uplift Canadians.

An alum of the Pacific Screenwriting Program’s Scripted Series Lab 2022 cohort, she also works as an assistant director in the film industry and teaches at InFocus Film School.

 

The AD is the spine of every production, the one who turns a script into a schedule, a schedule into a shooting day, and a shooting day into something that actually wraps on time.

This full-day workshop covers the full scope of assistant directing from the ground up: script breakdowns, one-liners, DooDs, callsheets, prep meetings, set protocol, and the real pathway into union work. Hands-on activities throughout. Whether you’re stepping into your first AD role or a producer who wants to understand what your AD team actually does, you’ll leave with practical tools you can use on your next production.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

Light It Up: Grip & Lighting Essentials for Film & TV

Noah Penner is a graduate of Capilano University’s Bachelor of Motion Picture Arts program, Noah brings over a decade of on-set experience across productions ranging from large-scale studio films to independent features, with deep roots in the grip and lighting department.

Noah has extensive experience in vertical drama production and has taught filmmaking to emerging practitioners at the post-secondary level.

 

“Film without light is radio.”

Grip and lighting are where the visual world of a film gets built, and understanding how they work makes everyone on set better at their job.

This hands-on workshop covers the essentials from the ground up: power management, cable handling, stands, fixtures, frames, and light shaping, with real gear in your hands and real problems to solve.

Whether you’re looking to work in the department or just want to stop being the person on set who doesn’t know what a C-stand is, this is where you start.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

Personal Boundary & Self Defence for Women in Film

Yvette André began her self-defence journey over 30 years ago. Her formal karate training evolved into kickboxing, jujitsu, Krav Maga, and self-defence.

Teaching others to be confident, to have boundaries and self-awareness, as well as the ability to defend themselves, is her passion.

Self-defence starts long before anything physical happens.

Remote locations, long hours, and entrenched power dynamics create conditions that challenge every working professional, but especially women. The film industry has a long history of not keeping people safe. That changes when we do. 

This workshop covers the full spectrum of personal protection, from developing your sixth-sense awareness and setting clear personal boundaries, to verbal de-escalation, fight-flight-freeze response, and hands-on physical techniques including strikes, blocks, ground defence, and how to respond to grabs and chokes.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

Script Supervising for Film and Series Production

Stephanie Rossel has been a filmmaker working predominantly as a script supervisor on narrative stories for 35 plus years. She has worked with some of the industry’s most celebrated directors and producers including Robert Altman, Gus Van Sant, and Jason Reitman. Her credits include Juno, 50/50, The Baby Dance, When We Rise and Tully.

 

The script supervisor is the guardian of continuity, the keeper of the record, and one of the most detail-critical roles on any set. But almost nobody talks about what the job actually involves until you’re already in it.

This intensive two-day workshop covers the full scope of script supervising for narrative film and series: continuity tracking, lined scripts, editor’s notes, on-set communication with the director and AD, and the documentation that holds a production together through every setup change. Hands-on, practical, and taught at a professional standard.

For anyone looking to build their skills and understand what a great script supervisor does for a production.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

Cut to the Chase: Writing Short Films That Land

Tammy Tsang is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker who loves focusing on stories that uplift Canadians. An alum of the Pacific Screenwriting Program’s Scripted Series Lab 2022 cohort and a recipient of the 2022 Rogers-BSO Film Development Fund. Tammy developed TABLETOP CLUB, a tween comedy series through the IPF Short Form Series Development Program. She has written 7 produced short films which dive into stories exploring self, family, and community—including Leo Award winning JACKIE’S HAVEN (2024). Her directing debut micro short film, LAUREN IN THE BATHROOM (2021), premiered at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival and won multiple awards in the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon’s Ultra Short Category including Best Screenplay and Best Director.

Writing short is harder than it looks!

This workshop with award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker Tammy Tsang breaks down the craft of the short screenplay: story structure, character setup, dialogue, scope, and how to make a complete, satisfying film in a fraction of the runtime. From classic three-act structure to less conventional storytelling forms, you’ll leave with the tools to take an idea and shape it into something screen-ready.

Open to writers at any level. Come with an idea or let one find you in the room.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

Don’t Get Sued! A Practical Guide to Film & TV Clearances

Raman Sihota is a film and television professional with 20 years of industry experience. Over the course of her career, she has worked across production offices, executive support, business affairs, and clearances, giving her a well-rounded understanding of the industry from both the creative and legal sides. After starting as a coordinator and executive assistant supporting senior industry leaders, Raman transitioned into business affairs and clearances, where she has spent the past seven years specializing in rights management, content clearances, and production-related legal processes. She brings practical, real-world insight into navigating the complexities of clearances in film and television.

Names, logos, music, locations, real people, real events… almost everything that makes a story feel real needs to be cleared before it can be screened.

This practical workshop with clearances specialist Raman Sihota walks you through what needs clearing, how to do it, and what happens when you don’t. Essential knowledge for producers, writers, coordinators, and anyone whose job puts them close to the paperwork that protects a production.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

Script Coordinating and Writers’ Room Fundamentals

The script coordinator role is a foot-in-the-door for writers who want to learn from the inside.

In this workshop, you’ll get a practical introduction to what script coordinators actually do, how a writers’ room is structured, and what it takes to walk in the door ready to contribute. Whether you’re prepping for your first coordinator role or are a writer who wants to understand the room from the ground up, this is where you start.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

Stunts for Film & Television: Safety, Technique, and On-Set Protocol

Stunts are one of the most specialized (and most misunderstood) departments on any set. Get it wrong, and someone gets hurt.

In this workshop, you’ll learn from a veteran stunt coordinator and performer with decades of experience across film and television. Covering everything from on-set safety protocols and stunt performer contracts to coordination, choreography basics, and how every department intersects with the stunt team, this is essential knowledge for producers, directors, ADs, and anyone whose set work puts them in proximity to physical performance.

Whether you’re looking to break into stunt work or simply want to run a safer, more professional set, this workshop gives you the foundation.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

Building Worlds on Budget: Set Decorating for Film & TV

This workshop takes you inside the art of creating believable screen worlds without breaking the bank. From reading a script through a set decorator’s eye to sourcing, dressing, and striking on schedule, you’ll learn the practical skills and industry knowledge that make this department essential on any set — indie or union.

Taught by working professionals with deep roots in the Vancouver Island and BC film industry, this is a hands-on introduction to one of the most creatively satisfying (and most overlooked) crafts in production.

Props and set decorating go hand in hand (and so does knowing where to find what you need, right here on the Island).

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

Post-Production Coordinating and Delivery Workflows

Post-production is where everything comes together, and where a lot of productions quietly fall apart.

This workshop covers the coordination and delivery workflows that keep post on track: from organizing footage and managing editorial to navigating VFX pipelines and hitting delivery specs. Whether you’re a coordinator, producer, editor, or VFX artist, understanding the full post workflow makes you better at every stage of it.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

Writing for Vertical and Short-Form Series

Vertical and short-form series aren’t just smaller versions of conventional TV. They’re a distinct craft with their own structure, pacing, and audience expectations.

This workshop breaks down what makes short-form storytelling work: how to build compelling characters and hooks in compressed formats, how to structure episodes for vertical screens and short attention spans, and how to develop a series that travels across platforms.

For writers ready to meet the audience where they already are.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

Editing for Story, Pace, and Impact

Editing is where a film is made for the third time, where story, performance, and pace either click into place or don’t.

This workshop goes beyond the technical to focus on the decisions that shape a film: how to find the cut that serves the story, how to build and release tension through rhythm, and how to turn raw footage into something that lands.

For editors at any level, and for directors and producers who want to understand what happens in the room after the cameras stop.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

Empowered Storytelling and Sustainable Creative Careers

The most resilient creative careers are built across formats.

This workshop is for storytellers ready to think bigger about their work and their future. Explore how your stories can move across formats: screen, page, graphic novel, and beyond. Explore how building a multi-format practice gives you more creative freedom, more ownership, and more ways to reach an audience.

For writers who are done waiting for one gatekeeper to say yes.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.

People Working Well | ActSafe Safety Association

A safe set starts with people who look out for each other.

This workshop, delivered in partnership with Actsafe Safety Association, covers the knowledge, skills, and sensitivity every production team needs — physical safety protocols, mental health awareness, and working with neurodivergent colleagues. For indie crews and union sets alike, big productions and small ones. Because when we look out for each other, everyone does better work.

Dates, locations, and pricing coming soon. Register Your Interest — and be first through the door.