Arts Abroad Summer School Grant: Georgia Ellis on her time at Berlin Summer School
- Written byStudent Communications
- Published date 16 February 2024
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London College of Fashion BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology: Womenswear student, Georgia Ellis, tells us all about her Summer School experience in Berlin as part of the Arts Abroad Summer School Grant.
Ich bin ein Berliner: Georgia’s time at Summer School in Berlin
I read about the Arts Abroad Grant as part of the Global Mobility Programme in the latter part of the first year on my course. Within my first year at LCF I was made aware of the diversity within the student body, particularly with regards to socioeconomic status. As the term started to wind down for the year, there were discussions on summer plans. As a working-class student, with no ties to anything outside of the UK, my plan like many other students was to work ‘normal’ jobs throughout summer.
The Arts Abroad grant supports students with a fully funded place at a 2–4-week summer school with one of UAL’s European partners. There was a plethora of courses on offer, from all over Europe with STEM related courses in Denmark to more business-related courses in Italy. I gravitated towards the design related courses offered at the Germany university Universität De Kunst (UDK).
Applying for my course
The application process for attaining the Arts Abroad grant was seamless, and the support from both UAL and the host university was exceptional. The main requirement of the application was to describe how this opportunity would benefit you and what you would take away from the experience. My personal reasons were simple. I believe it is important to expose ourselves to a myriad of influences via people and places worldwide; the greater the exposure, the greater the effect on our creative process and outcomes. However, it would be naive to assume that gaining these exposures is possible without appropriate financial backing.
Once my course was secured, UAL gave me free reign to secure my own accommodation and flights, with the support of the grant. UDK was near the Charlottenburg district of western Berlin, an older part of the city. It boasts the best of both worlds: gorgeous green spaces and Rococo style historical buildings, contrasting with its more atypical Berlin features such as trendy alternative districts with low lit bars, a heavy underground music scene and a thriving arts community.
My welcome party!
I arrived in Berlin 2 days before the course began to acclimatise myself with the city and its surroundings, arriving at the Airbnb early Saturday daytime. Everyone says Berlin in summer is something special, and they’re not wrong. It was around 28°C that day, which was a welcome change from the moody British summer I’d just departed from. After arriving at the accommodation, my bags touched the floor for about ten seconds before I headed out again, knowing I had a week only in the city, I wanted to ensure I could fit in as much as possible. I headed towards Alexanderplatz in the centre of the city.
It was 4pm when I reached Alexanderplatz park, to be greeted by a sound system in the street, blasting out some obscure industrial techno with what looked like seasoned ravers and children as young as five in attendance! I couldn’t tell you what this impromptu party was even for; but in my head, I pretended it was all for my arrival! Later that evening I took the longest route back possible, shooting some night-time photography along the way.
Becoming a Berlin filmmaker
The course at UDK provided some invaluable tips prior to the course starting, this included a brief overview of what we would cover in the week and outlining the best programmes/software to use. It would be an understatement to say I am familiar with any sort of film or video-editing; this was a completely new venture for myself having no experience within this field other than what I have learnt via social media etc. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t starting the course as a complete novice, so Sunday was spent learning the basics of Premier Pro, which was the main editing suite recommended.
My day was split, the mornings were spent doing theoretical work in film. We analysed and critiqued clips from the past 100 years, exploring themes such as ’Graphic and Temporal Relations’. In the afternoon, we split into groups to focus on a collaborative short film projects that linked to the discussions earlier in the day.
As a group of 4 we rotated between being director, camera operator and actor. Traversing around the city to gather footage before heading back to the university, to spend the latter part of the afternoon editing our footage together ready for presentation to the group the following morning.
It was challenging at first to translate my creative vision for the film, with my limited knowledge of the software and filming techniques. However, by midweek everything was coming together. I could start to understand the terminology and techniques used and was already brainstorming personal projects I was going to apply this to when I returned home. The benefit of studying such a knowledge intensive short course is that your skill level rises exponentially – you have no choice other than to learn very quickly!
The small group dynamic also allowed for a cross pollination of knowledge, as we all had varying degrees of experience within film editing. The differing perspectives and viewpoints brought to the table allowed us to share best practise with one another and create really exciting work.
Auf Wiedersehen to Berlin
As the week drew to an end we decided as a farewell activity, to all attend an open-air screening showcasing a short film by Gernot Wieland. It was an incredibly special end to the week, all sat on bean bags outside in a balmy Berlin evening, discussing with the film maker the socialist themes covered.
My time spent away was not only an incredibly experience but I left Berlin with a new skill set for digital media and a larger creative network than what I arrived with. I would highly encourage students from all backgrounds, specifically lower socio-economic backgrounds, to apply to the Arts Abroad scheme in the future. It endorses accessibility in the arts and allows you to diversify your experiences, expanding your existing skill set and preparing you for industry in the future.