Workshops, Tours & Surveys

The VRSC is always looking for workshop and tour suggestions so if there’s any aspect of your work as a visual researcher that you’d like to learn more about, or topics that you think would benefit from a small group discussion, please let us know and we’ll try and arrange a workshop in your region. Please contact VRSC/ARAC President at president.vrscarac@gmail.com with any suggestions.

Past Workshop Topics:

  • Visual Research 201
    This winter workshop was held in March 2023; led by Laura Lucas, Laura Blaney and Sonja Carr. It was a brief recap of Visual Research 101, with 201 focusing on updates and new information in our researching world.  It also included a discussion about freelancing from the home office at tax time. Download Supporting Materials — T2125 ...
  • UGC – Everything You’ve Wanted to Know.
    The October 5th, 2022 Fall Workshop focused on User Generated Content or UGC for short. Led by Sandra Coelho and Dominic Dare of Lola Clips and Steve Bedinger of Collab, we learned about the various UGC categories, the main suppliers and the pricing structure of this type of content. You can view the recorded ...
  • IBPOC Communities Workshop
    On November 4th 2021, Debbie Ebanks Schlums shared her research on what it means to locate the archives of IBPOC communities without perpetuating archaic, racist language and reinforcing racist algorithms. Despite some technical hiccups, the session was extremely informative as was the discussion which followed. As a logged-in member, you can view ...
  • Data Organization
    Introduction to Airtable, Slack and Google Workspace In February 2021, we presented an interactive workshop to learn about tools for archive management.
  • Negotiating Your Deal Memo
    On November 17, 2020, VRSC/ARAC presented “Negotiating Your Deal Memo;” a one-hour workshop led by Willa Marcus with some cameo appearances by a few members. The session was designed to help guide members through the process of contracting their services in a fun, interactive and informative zoom conference.
  • License Agreements Decoded
    Entertainment Lawyer Willa Marcus, in conversation with VRSC/ARAC President Elspeth Domville, reviews the essential components of archive license agreements – the basics and the not-so-basic elements of these very important documents. They come in various forms from supplier’s complex agreements to producer’s own materials releases to simple email permissions from individuals. As archive ...
  • The Basics of Music Clearance
    A panel discussion on how to approach music clearances from the perspective of both the Licensor and the Licensee. The topics covered included an explanation of the different kinds rights that need to be cleared, the process involved and strategies to make this affordable. Music clearances are quite different from footage and stills clearances and ...
  • Workshop – Visual Research 101 – Session 1 of 4
    First things first – what to do at the very beginning of each project in terms of the questions to ask the client and the information you’ll need to get started and to properly set-up the project. This session was held in Toronto on February 7, 2017 and was facilitated by Elspeth Domville. ...
  • Workshop – Visual Research 101 – Session 2 of 4
    How to prepare for the research phase in terms of setting up logs, reports, note taking and tracking your research. This session was held in Toronto on April 18, 2017 and was facilitated by Michelle Demeyere. These four sessions are designed for both junior and experienced members and are intended to provide a ...
  • Workshop – Visual Research 101 – Session 3 of 4
    How to approach the research itself. This session was held in Toronto on April 11, 2018 and was facilitated by Elspeth Domville.

Past Archive Tours:

  • Los Angeles Area Archive Tours, 2019
    The VRSC’s visit to Los Angeles for FootageFest 2019 as well as exclusive guided tours of the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the UCLA Film and Television Archive and the Warner Brothers Archive and Studios. VRSC-ARAC Los Angeles Archive Tours Prior to Footagefest 2019 VRSC-ARAC FootageFest Main Day Event Notes Peter ...

Past Surveys:

  • 2019 Survey of Researcher’s Fees
    In 2019 the VRSC/ARAC conducted an anonymous survey of our membership asking members to share information on how they charge clients for their labour. This was inspired by a number of questions you had about what is fair compensation for your level of experience, how to charge clients based outside of Canada, can you charge ...