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Level 2 Portfolio Development General Information As the second level to the SPAO Portfolio Program, Level 2 is less structured, and more self-directed than Level 1, and entirely centered on portfolio production from the beginning of the school year. Students successfully completing Level 2: Portfolio Development are certified graduates of SPAO; Level 3 is an optional invitation-only graduate level. The schedule for Portfolio Development has formal lecture/demonstration time of approximately 14 hours a week. Facilities outside of these hours are open to student access, day and evening, depending on workshop and part-time studies schedules. Students are required to put in substantial and regular self-directed production hours as they more fully develop their direction and signature styles, flesh out their set of portfolios and create exhibition pieces.  Instructors have extended office hours to provide students with intensive one-on-one tutelage for the entire school year. Course content at this level is more loosely structured from a thematic viewpoint than in the previous year. Students are expected to explore the photographic genres that interest them while honing their foundation skills to match their pursuits. The Core Curriculum Classes run 30 weeks of the SPAO year. An arranged “stage” in which students work a placement week in the photographic arts milieu will occur roughly midway through the session. Four weeks of year-end exhibition and portfolio preparation and presentation finishes off Level 2 with an introduction of the graduating class to the commercial photographic industry, and the visual arts community. In this portfolio development year, students sharpen their photographic skills, expand their visual vocabulary, and evolve their photo practice through intense portfolio and exhibition production. SPAO endeavours to have Level 2 graduates leave the institution with not only the output of this intense production session, but with also the mastery of craft and content and the clarity of vision required to continue working to the highest standards. 
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Core Curriculum Classes Photo Theory 02 - 2 hours/week This course will impart an in depth theoretical approach to colour theory and photographic imaging software. Students will attain a firm understanding of the principles of light, colour and optics from a film base in which these analogue methods will then be linked to current digital systems and workflow. High-end production skills and colour management required for commercial practice will be established to complete an integral knowledge base for today's photographer. History and Theory of Photography 02 - Images and Ideas - 2 hours/week Images and Ideas is a seminar course that builds on the conceptual, critical and historical foundations introduced in Level One. While students' own visual and conceptual investigations will provide the primary direction and structure for the course, we will continue to explore the field of photography and the visual field through a variety of lenses. This seminar is a forum for developing visual ideas and concepts, deepening one's knowledge of the field; heightening one's ability to develop and present one's own work; and constructively engaging with the ideas and materials of your peers. Lighting and Studio Techniques 02 - 2 hours/week Studio photography and the lighting techniques required of the modern photographic practitioner will be examined. Hands on practical working time will provide the student with a strong working knowledge and a direction towards creative problem solving. Digital Techniques - Post Production 02 - 4 hours/week An intensive and hands on building of high-end production skills from set design to final image. Through the merging of refined traditional skills to the most cutting edge digital image processing tools and approaches - students will create fully expressive images. Design and management of the student's set of final portfolios, are discussed in and informed by roundtables, lectures, and demonstrations. Critiques take place in interactive forums that range in scale from one-on-one meetings with instructors to full-day guest sessions with the entire student body. Topics and techniques covered in the lectures, demonstrations and exercises will include: scanning, Photoshop, ink jet printmaking and digital asset management. These will all be investigated from the practical perspective of their functioning in the modern photographic toolbox, and fully appreciated through additional self-directed project time. Portfolio Concepts - 2 hours/week This course is a weekly study and practicum addressing every component of students' final suite of portfolios and culminating in their production at year's end. Over the year students will develop a sense of the power of photographic images as a communicative tool while experimenting with formal structure, visual language and sequencing in book form. Analysis of the specific characteristics of the portfolio and its creative components, target market, historical context, and communication vehicles will be balanced by the study of notions such as creative concept, graphic layout, and relationships between images and texts. Topics covered will include: History, Typography, Colour, Identity, Graphic Design, Construction, Web Design, and Working with Designers. Students will thus be given the opportunity to illustrate their photographic achievements in original, commercial and professional ways. Projects and Presentations - 2 hours/week This workshop is modeled to expand and build students knowledge base in all aspects of photography through presentations of guest lecturers, institutional collaborative exchanges, competitions, group projects, SPAO exhibitions and most importantly - teamwork. All students come together to create exhibitions, group projects and collaborate in photographic projects and shows. They are given opportunities to hear key speakers and attend excursions to critical institutions and events. The workshop provides students with an avenue to learn specialized techniques, methods, issues or information tangential to the core curriculum and key to their future career. Some past Projects and Presentations topics: Cinema as Inspiration for Lighting Still Photographs, Matting and Framing Techniques, Web Design, Historical Print Processes, Photographic Conservation and Archiving, Food Styling, Architectural Lighting Photography, Vernacular Photography, Sculptural Study and the Still Life, Set Design and Construction Stills for Motion Pictures, Figurative Drawing: Poses and Forms, Art Representation and Collection Fashion Week (Styling, Makeup Design, Wardrobe, Models, Hair Design), Artists' Grants and Funding Some past Projects and Presentations speakers: Edith Maybin, Thaddeus Holownia, Jonathan Hobin, Tony Fouhse, Lorraine Gilbert, Phil Gabriel, Karina Kraenzle, Michael Schreier, Marie-Jeanne Musiol, Jennifer Dickson. |
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