Courses - Online & in London

Learn all the stages of film making from initial pre- production planning through to post production editing. Whatever genre interests you, this course will give you the essential skills to realise your own movie.

Explore London's places of protest and discover the stories of radicals, agitators and campaigners who fought for social justice, equal rights and better lives for all from the 1830s to the 1930s.



The first session will be in the classroom at Keeley Street followed by 11 guided walks.

If you are nervous of singing in public, scared to open your mouth or just want to know how your voice works, this course is for you. Classes are fun and cover a wide range of musical styles, so there is something for everyone. Break weeks 6 & 27 May 2024.

Whether you’re a beginner or have some experience, this choral class will give you something to look forward to on a Monday. We sing many genres from musical theatre to pop plus more traditional pieces. This course is very popular, so booking early is essential. Break weeks: 6 & 27 May 2024.

The 1950s was the beginning of the end for the Hollywood studio era, a golden age in place since the 1920s. The fifties are more difficult to pin down than the 1930/40s due to explosive diversity in both subject matter and cinematic technology, the profound influence of WWII, the development of European neorealism and the first signs of the French New Wave. An emphasis on teen culture emerged, represented by the brief career of James Dean. Film stars became anti-heroes. The moguls who founded Hollywood began to disappear. The studio business model was doomed. Hollywood reacted both defensively and creatively, going for broke—and producing some of the finest and most enduring films in its history, films that transformed the culture, from Sunset Blvd. (1950) to Some Like It Hot (1959)—both by Billy Wilder. From The Asphalt Jungle (1950) to The Misfits (1961)— Marilyn Monroe’s first and final films, both directed by John Huston. From Here To Eternity (1953 Fred Zinnemann) to A Place in the Sun (1951 George Stevens, part of his American trilogy). Fifties’ films reflected a darkening America. (See related courses on Fifties Musicals, Melodrama and Film Noir).

Literature provides a very effective springboard into the understanding of the developing notions of selfhood and human nature in the history of ideas and philosophy sharpens our understanding of literature within the broader context of this history.

Existentialist themes of anxiety, anguish, dread, freedom, melancholy, loneliness, death and absurdity pervade the arts from the era of Romanticism onwards. What is the cultural significance and consequence of giving expression to such concerns?



NB: no classes on 6th and 27th May.