The programme ran for four weeks, which was delivered by Cinemagic and facilitated by arts charity WheelWorks Arts. During the programme, students were tasked with creating a short film which would develop their creative and technical film skills, such as storyboarding scenes, planning shoots, and editing sound and visuals. They also learnt about and incorporated digital animation into their films, which varied from students using hand drawn sketches, photographs and online character resources to tell their stories.
Their learning was further enriched through a special effects make-up tutorial with Connie McGrath - a multi award winning special effects make-up artist. Students had the opportunity to try out creating some fake wounds on each other or themselves using special effects makeup materials and tools – resulting in some gruesome creations.
Their final films ranged from showing the perspective of a cat’s day in SERC, to productions based on videogames and shows like Pokémon and Dispatch, displaying the creative variety of the class. After creating their films, students attended a Celebration Cinema Showcase hosted by Cinemagic, where their own movies were shown on the big cinema screen at the Moviehouse cinema Cityside in March, along with a free movie screening.
SERC Foundation Learning student Aaron Lecky (18) from Dundonald comments, “I enjoyed it all. I’ve always liked art, but this course made me realise it is something that I wanted to pursue in the future. The Cinemagic staff were friendly and helpful - they were interested in my film idea, and it was great to be able to bring it to life. I would 100% recommend it to others that have a creative mind.”
SERC Learning Support Assistant Cathy McKenzie comments, “The Cinemagic programme was a resounding success, resulting in a vibrant collection of ideas from the students and in the students being credited with an ASDAN certificate for Creative Arts.”
Apply now for courses commencing September 2026. Real Learning for Real Life #BetterOffAtSERC.
