Frugal Filmmaking:
Video Editing on a Budget
Details
Dates: Tuesdays, October 13, 20, and 27, 2026
Time: 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM EDT
Location (Hybrid): Online and at the Arts Court building in Odàwàng / Ottawa, ON
Price: Pay-What-You-Can (PWYC) — no one will be turned away due to lack of funds. 💸
Experiment with video and learn editing techniques using free software
Are you...
- a racialized / BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Colour) artist, designer, or creative?
- looking to learn and experiment with video editing?
- tired of paying monthly for (or pirating) expensive creative suites?
- not sure where to start with editing, or where to find good music to use?
- searching for a chill and welcoming community of creatives to collaborate with, get feedback from, and exchange ideas with?
You're in luck! Join us this October for a pay-what-you-can (PWYC) video editing workshop series, in collaboration with the Digital Arts Resource Centre. 📼
What you'll learn
Over the course of three 3-hour sessions, you'll learn how to edit audiovisual footage using Kdenlive, a free and open-source software. You'll also be provided with some tools and resources to source assets.
We'll go over the technical fundamentals of editing audiovisual footage, such as:
- selecting and cutting footage,
- adding effects,
- adjusting audio,
- creating titles,
- basic colour correction,
- using overlays,
- generating captions,
- and more!
The workshops aim to strike the right balance between teaching how the tool works, video editing techniques, and thinking critically about video.
How to participate
If you're interested in joining us, complete the registration form below, and indicate whether you want to join in person or online. The workshop series is drop-in, so you can register for all the sessions, or just the ones you're interested in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this for?
This workshops series was designed by and for creatives, designers, and artists who are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Colour) / racialized / members of the global majority.
This class is perfect for beginners to video editing, as well as people who have some experience and are looking to try a new tool.
If you're looking to create and edit experimental video works, short films, video essays, interviews, music video, poetry, storytelling, personal narratives, or any other creative expression using video, then this workshop is for you!
Which video editor will be taught?
The techniques taught during the workshops will be demo'd using Kdenlive, a free and open-source video editor. Kdenlive is a desktop app which works across operating systems (Linux, Windows, Mac) and is created by volunteer members of the KDE Community, a non-profit organization.
As a participant, you are free to use whatever tool(s) that best meet your needs. That said, the demos and assistance provided will focus on Kdenlive.
What won't this workshop series cover?
This workshop series won't go over motion graphics, special effects-heavy video works (think sci-fi flics), animation, or commercials.
We'll briefly touch on how to work with your own audio and video footage (as well as how to find some online), but we won't go in depth into screenwriting, cinematography, or production. The focus is on post-production video editing.
Will the sessions be recorded?
The online sessions will be recorded, shared with registered participants, and available up to two months after the last session.
Accessibility Information
Frugal Filmmaking is a hybrid workshop, and participants will have the choice of joining in-person or online.
The in-person portion is happening in the Arts Court building, which has an accessible ramp, accessible and all-gender washrooms, automated doors, and an elevator. Arts Court also offers transport chairs and walkers free of charge by reservation.
The online portion of the event will happen over video-conference, and there will be auto-generated captions / transcripts available.
Are there any community guidelines / safe(r) spaces policy?
Everyone who participates in the workshop agrees to follow our safe(r) spaces policy:
This space welcomes people across races, gender expressions, orientations, abilities, and lived experiences. We are committed to respecting people’s boundaries, pronouns, and consent.
As such, there is a zero tolerance policy for bigotry, harassment, or violence.
This is an encouraging and affirming learning space which understands that everyone has different experience and comfort levels with the technology used.
Constructive questions and clarifications are welcome. Everyone is encouraged to share their knowledge and resources on the topic with the community.
I can't make it... Will there be more events in the future?
Short-answer: Yes!
Everyone who has signed up for the mailing list will receive future updates on other events.
Future programming may explore different formats (in-person, online, synchronous, asynchronous) based on the feedback provided by past participants.
The plan is to provide a variety of learning materials in different formats and build a community of creatives who are interested in this sort of thing.
Grab your tickets
What past participants had to say
About candide ꘎ media
Hi, I'm Candide! 👋🏿 I’m passionate about empowering creatives like you to tell their own stories. candide ꘎ media is the community I'm creating to learn about independent and accessible content creation using open-source software.
I've developed this workshop because although a ton of video editing classes already exist (both online and in-person), they often cover apps that are proprietary, pricey, exclusive to certain operating system, or requiring a very powerful computer.
It doesn't have to be this way!
There are other video editing apps out there which won't lock users out of their own projects if they can't afford to pay the subscription that month, or add export restrictions such as watermarks.
I've been using Kdenlive for several years to edit videos for myself and clients, and I want to share my tips and tricks with fellow creators who are new to video and want to learn a new tool. I’m a big advocate for using open-source tools so that content creation and media production are accessible to many.
Join us as dive into the world of video editing! 🌀
Land Acknowledgement
I would like to honour the original owners and custodians of the land on which we inhabit and create. This workshop series will take place on the unsurrendered territories of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg (Odàwàng).
As a guest on these lands, I am committed to listening to Indigenous people, working towards the strengthening of solidarity between Black and Indigenous communities, and supporting the movement toward decolonization.
Get in touch
Have questions, concerns, or comments about the program? Interested in sponsoring or providing an in-kind donation?
Reach out via the contact form
Acknowledgement
