Share your knowledge
Share your passion
Lead a workshop
Make money
Call for Proposals
The Surplace media coop is calling for proposals for workshops as part of the Practical Media Training series, Winter 2018 edition. An ideal workshop is 6 weeks long, 2 hours per session, teaches practical skills, and mentors students on their projects. The class size is limited to 6 students. The suggested cost for students is 150$, but this is negotiable. Teachers keep 80% of tuition. This works out to $720 for 6 students paying 150$.
Please read through the details on this page, and use the form below to submit your proposal. Proposals will be considered as they are received; there isn’t a specific deadline. The first session of workshops will begin in late January 2018; the second session will begin in mid March.
If you have any questions, send an email to .
Propose a workshop on one of these subjects
The goals of the practical media training series are to teach students hard skills that can advance their own art & media practices, and that they can use to get paid contracts or jobs. The small class size (max. 6 students) means that teachers will have time to mentor student projects one-on-one. A workshop can be quite specific, e.g. shoot and edit portrait photography, or more general, e.g. short fiction writing. Propose a workshop in an area you have expertise in and passion for. Here is a list of recommended categories for the training series; all proposals will be considered. If you’re not sure whether your idea will be eligible, .| Photography | Videography, filmmaking | Writing, editing | Publishing |
| Digital art, graphic design | Video editing | Radio, podcasting | Animation, motion graphics |
| Illustration, visual art | Art direction, sceneography | Sound design | Journalism, research |
| Web design, wordpress | Adobe programs (or other software) | Promotions, marketing | Social campaigns |
| Performing arts | Grant writing, arts administration | Community organizing | Something else! |
About Surplace
Surplace is a media coop and creative agency that is creating a YouTube channel with several original shows, and other media content streams like podcasts, internet radio, events, and more. We have an experimental business model for creating media that enriches our local community while creating meaningful employment and opportunities for our members. Surplace offers affordable workshops to help Montrealers tell the stories that matter to them in a fun and relaxed environment.
Accessibility notice: Unfortunately, Surplace is not a physically accessible studio for people with mobility issues. There are 8 steps and no ramp to the front door.
Key dates
| Call for proposals | Nov. 30, 2017 |
| Accepting submissions now! Then interviews & workshop development. Proposals are considered on a rolling (first-come first-serve) basis. There is no hard deadline. | Until January 10, 2018 |
| Open house event: Teachers describe their workshops for students. | Wednesday, January 10 |
| Session 1 – Practical Media Training | January 22 – March 4, 2018 |
| Session 2 – Practical Media Training | March 5 – April 15, 2018 |
Resources available for workshops
Workshops happen at the Surplace studio and coworking space on Parc Ave. The room can be reconfigured for different needs. Here is what teachers will have access to:| Desk space for up to six people | Studio backgrounds: white, green |
| Projector, screen, speakers | Lighting kit: 2x softbox, ring light, reflectors kit |
| Production PC with Adobe CC suite | Camera: Sony Nex-5 camera, GoPro, Teleprompter |
| Wifi | Sound recording: various microphones, zoom rec & audio gear |
| Printer, copier, scanner | Webcam (for remote guests) |
| Kitchen |
Preparing your proposal
Here are some thing to keep in mind when preparing you proposal:
- In this training series, we suggest that workshops run for 6 weeks, happen once per week, and each class last ~2 hours. If you have a different schedule in mind for your workshop, we are open to it.
- We highly encourage workshops in which students get to develop their own projects in media arts. Often the final class will showcase each student’s work. Surplace would like to share these projects with our community.
- The suggested cost to students for taking the workshop is $150. The teacher keeps 80% of tuition and Surplace takes 20% to cover administration and rent. If you would like to charge more for your workshop that’s totally fine, you can indicate that in the application. If you would like to offer a pay-what-you-can sliding scale, that is also fine.
- The maximum number of students per workshop is 6 students.
- In the application form, the teacher is asked for their preference to hold the workshop in a morning, afternoon, evening, or weekend time slot.
- The application form is the first stage of the application, where you’ll give a 250 word description of the workshop, and your bio. If we like the proposal we’ll set up a meeting, and work with you to develop the full workshop.
Questions and answers:
- Question: What if I want to do a workshop that gets messy or gets really loud? Answer: It depends on a few things. Let’s talk about it. Evening and weekend slots will be better for loud/messy.
- Question: What if I have more than one workshop idea? Answer: Submit as many as you like.
- Question: Can I lead a workshop in French? Answer: Yes, definitely.
- Question: How will the workshops be promoted to Montrealers? Answer: Surplace produces a video ad for each workshop with the teachers; we’ll hold an open house a couple weeks before the session; we’ll do online and flyer advertising.
- Question: What if only a couple people sign up for my workshop? Answer: We’ll decide together whether to proceed. The pay is always based on 80% of tuition received.
- Question: What if I already have students or collaborators lined up, and I don’t want open registration. Answer: That should be fine. Let’s talk about it.
- Question: What if I want to be picky about who gets to take your workshop? Answer: That should be fine. Let’s talk about it.
- Question: What if I have another question? Answer: send an email to