Workshops @ The Workshop

Description

The Workshop hosts a series of interactive workshops about various creative technologies that can support your personal and academic projects.

To receive a link to join the sessions, please register using the links below. For questions or accommodations, please contact Multimedia Teaching and Learning Librarian Oscar Keyes at keyesok@vcu.edu.

Special Series:

AI Café
Second Wednesday of the month, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Register Now

This slate of interactive workshops explores methods for collaborating with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools to create synthetic media. Participants will learn the art of crafting prompts and exploiting errors within these GenAI systems by creating poetry, images, music, and more.

make.WAV: a queer music mixer
Every fourth Thursday of the month, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Register Now

Join (Eli)zabeth Owens - local harpist, music producer, and member of Grimalkin Records - for a casual music meetup designed for queer students. Learn production skills, share your work, collaborate, and improvise in an inclusive, creative studio environment.

Data, Design, and Dissemination: A research communications workshop series
Feb. 13, 2024 - Feb. 15, 2024
Register Now

Research communication is important - As professional and general audiences get information from an increasingly diverse set of sources, researchers benefit from an understanding of approaches that take advantage of the multimedia world we’re in. This series will equip you with tools and know-how to communicate your research effectively through visual communication and thoughtful decisions about ways to reach your audience.

Standalone Workshops:

Bitsy for Beginners: A Video Game Workshop
Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, 5-6 p.m.
in-person in Cabell 203, online on Zoom
Register Now

Dive into the world of video game creation with this hands-on workshop, facilitated by digital media artist and game developer, Tamara Duplantis. This beginner-friendly session is tailored for aspiring game designers eager to explore the fundamentals of narrative game design with Bitsy, a free, web-based and user-friendly gaming engine. Whether you are a complete novice in game design or looking to brush up on your skills, this workshop is the perfect starting point.

No prior experience in game design is required. Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops. This workshop is in partnership with the Game Creators Coalition and a part of the Global Game Jam 2024 event.

Adobe Premiere for Anyone
Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Virtual Event
Register Now

We will be doing a basic overview of Adobe Premiere, with a focus on the parts of the software that can be the most useful for creative expression. This will be in conversation with The Workshop's resource Adobe Premiere Exercises - Maya Deren Remix Series, which was designed for Art Foundation students and faculty but is open to everyone.

Intro to Virtual World Building in Unity (Part 1 of 2)
Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, 10 a.m.-noon
Virtual Event
Register Now

This two-part workshop guides participants through designing a virtual environment in Unity, a popular real-time gaming engine. This part focuses on the terrain building tools and navigating first-person controllers. Participants do not have to attend the first part to attend the second part.

Intro to Interactive Encounters in Unity (Part 2 of 2)
Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, 10 a.m.-noon
Virtual Event
Register Now

This two-part workshop guides participants through designing a virtual environment in Unity, a popular real-time gaming engine. This part focuses more on learning the basics of programming in C#, which is the language used for writing code in Unity. Participants do not have to attend the first part to attend the second part.

Frame & Focus: Digital Photography Workshop
Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, 1-2 p.m.
Happening in The Workshop
Register Now

This beginner-friendly workshop is designed to introduce the basics of using a digital camera, like a DSLR, DSLM, or point-and-shoot camera. This hands-on experience is ideal for those just getting started in photography, demystifying those buttons on your device. This will cover the basics of manual controls, lighting, and composition. Participants are strongly encouraged to bring their own cameras. Additional cameras may be available but cannot be guaranteed.

Videos, Podcasts, Infographics, oh my! – Getting Started with Creative Digital Projects
Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, noon-1 p.m.
In-person at the Focused Inquiry Learning Lounge (FILL) or Online on Zoom
Register Now

Have you been assigned a creative project involving digital technologies and don’t know where to start? This workshop will provide you with an overview of the different tools available and how to get started with making digital creative works and research projects. This workshop is in partnership with the FILL.

Editing and Recording with Your Smartphone
Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, noon-1 p.m.
In-person - Focused Inquiry Learning Lounge (FILL), Online on Zoom
Register Now

Learn how to unlock the full potential of your smartphone for video and audio recording and editing. We’ll cover techniques, equipment, and apps that can help you get the most out of these powerful personal devices we carry in our pockets everyday. This workshop is in partnership with the FILL.

StoryMaps Basics: Telling Your Place-Based Story
Tuesday, February 27, 2024, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Virtual Event
Register Now

Do you have a story you want to tell or research to share about a place that is important to you? This beginner-friendly workshop guides participants through the process of creating a "scrollytelling" web page on Esri's StoryMaps platform using maps, text, photos, and videos to create an interactive narrative that's easy to publish and share.

Blender Basics: Painting in 3D
Friday, March 15, 2024, noon-1 p.m.
Happening in The Workshop
Register Now

Learn the basics of Blender, a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software tool set used for creating 3D models, animations, motion graphics, virtual reality, and so much more. This session is aimed at beginners but anyone is welcome.

Prior Sessions:

Series 1: Workshops @ The Workshop: Generative AI series

This slate of workshops explores methods for collaborating with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools for the purposes of synthesizing media. Participants will learn the art of crafting prompts and exploiting errors within these GenAI systems for creating graphic narratives, poetry, and music.

Storytelling with Generative AI: a graphic narrative workshop
Friday, Sept. 15, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Online - Registration Link
Facilitated by Ye Sul Park, Pennsylvania State University

Join us for a special session on using GenAI in a thoughtful and meaningful way to generate images for a graphic narrative. Whether you’re interested in graphic novels, comic books, or single-panel comics, this workshop explores how AI can be used in a collaborative way to tell visual stories. This workshop is aimed at beginners but is open to anyone.

About the facilitator: Ye Sul Park (she/her) is a PhD student in Art Education at Penn State University, who has been fortunate enough to take on several artistic identities including artist, educator, curator, and researcher. She is interested in how new media and emerging technologies are reshaping pedagogical approaches in art education and aims to help students navigate through the evolving media environment creatively and critically.

Dreaming with Generative AI: a poetry workshop
Wednesday, Oct 4, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Online - Registration Link
Facilitated by Gregory Kimbrell, Brown University

This workshop will explore the creative possibilities of ChatGPT as a collaborator. This session will include different prompting techniques for generating surreal and other-worldly text which can be used for brainstorming ideas, inspiring new directions, or surprising you altogether. During the session, the facilitator will use ChatGPT, audience suggestions, and a little dash of Jungian dream analysis to synthesize a collective dream in the form of a poem.

About the facilitator: Gregory Kimbrell (he/him) is a writer who uses multimedia compositional strategies such as generative text, word collage, and erasure to create ambiguous, surreal worlds populated with animal-headed men, robot doppelgängers, demonic avatars, and doomed wanderers.

Jamming with Generative AI: a music workshop
Thursday, Oct. 26, 1-2 p.m.
Location: Online - Registration Link
Facilitator: Eli Owens in partnership with Grimalkin Records and the Department of Music

Music generators can create some of the spookiest, dissonant sounds. So come join us for a special Halloween-themed jam session, where the facilitator will compose a song from samples generated using MusicLM, Google’s AI music generator. Participants will learn some of the tricks and limits of music generators and how these samples can be assembled into a track using Ableton Live.

About the facilitator: (Eli)zabeth Owens (they/them) is a nonbinary songwriter/artist based in Richmond, Virginia using music & video as a vehicle for brave and vulnerable self-uncovering. For the last five years, Eli has also been passionately pursuing music education, teaching both private lessons and K-12. In what little free time they have, they also help run Grimalkin Records, a nonprofit record label and collective that supports marginalized artists.

Series 2: Data, Design, and Dissemination: A research communications workshop series

Research communication is important - As professional and general audiences get information from an increasingly diverse set of sources, researchers benefit from an understanding of approaches that take advantage of the multimedia world we’re in. This series will equip you with tools and know-how to communicate your research effectively through visual communication and thoughtful decisions about ways to reach your audience.

Part 1: Data (Eric Johnson)
Tuesday, Sept. 26, noon–12:45 p.m.
Online - Registration Link

Learn the simple principles of data visualization that help you present effective charts and graphs so your audience can better understand your quantitative information. We will cover ways you can draw viewer attention to the point you want to make, choices you can make to declutter your visualization, discuss tool options, and more.

Part 2: Design (Oscar Keyes)
Wednesday, Sept. 27, noon–12:45 p.m.
Online - Registration Link

Participants will learn how to create their own figures through design principles and accessibility guidelines in this interactive workshop. We demonstrate a few different tools and leave time for participants to create their own simple figures.

Part 3: Dissemination (Hillary Miller)
Thursday, Sept. 28, noon–12:45pm
Online - Registration Link

Participants will learn about the art of disseminating their research to maximize impact in their fields. We will cover where and how to share your research in order to meaningfully connect with audiences and access scholarly networking.

For special accommodations, or to register offline, please contact Ryan Pander, event manager, rbpander@vcu.edu or 804-828-0593.