Have you ever wanted to pick up a video camera and make a short video or film, but felt intimidated by your lack of knowledge? The explosion of film-making for websites and mobiles gives people and organisations the opportunity to tell their stories and show what they have to offer, at low cost. This collection of exciting videos features The Open University’s experienced team of filmmakers, who will show you some of the craft secrets that underpin good filmmaking, and how professionals stay up to date. You will learn the basics of editing, how to conduct an interview, the role of the producer and other crew members and how to archive your finished project. This material forms part of The Open University course T156 Digital film school.

Free learning from The Open University http://www.open.ac.uk/openlearn/ --- Dr Stephen Serjeant, senior lecturer in astrophysics at The Open University, uses a pint of stout to explain what dark matter is. (Part 12 of 22) --- Bang Goes The Theory on OpenLearn http://www.open.ac.uk/openlearn/whats-on/ou-on-the-bbc-bang-goes-the-theory-3 Articles by Dr Stephen Serjeant on OpenLearn http://www.open.ac.uk/openlearn/profiles/dr-stephen-serjeant ---

What is a microbe and what have they ever done for us? From Black Death to Cholera, and Syphilis to Typhoid, microbes have been responsible for some of the world’s most devastating diseases. But they have also provided the human race with the technological advances of genetic engineering and nitrogen fixation, the vision of life on Mars, the life-saving properties of antibiotics and food preservation, along with the wonderful taste of beer. Using expert commentary, animation and stylised visuals, these videos provide an engaging introduction to microbiology, by examining the impact microbes have had on humans through a historical perspective, from Egyptian times to the present day.

The aims of the course are:

* to introduce you to strategies for stimulating creativity and engendering ideas for writing;
* to introduce you to a wide variety of the skills and methods associated with the writing of fiction, poetry, and life writing;
* to help you to write, revise and edit your own fiction, poetry, and life writing;
* to help you to evaluate and develop your own emerging texts and those of your peers;
* to teach you to read as a writer, building up your own repertoire by studying other writers’ strategies;
* to provide you with an introduction to the world of publishing and the requirements of professional presentation.

This course is suitable not only for aspiring writers, but for any students with a strong enquiring interest in reading and writing and will be of interest to Literature students keen to learn more about the kinds of strategies that writers commonly employ.