Editing and Proofreading

Monday 17 August 2026 6pm - 7.30pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

If you find it difficult to edit or proofread your own work effectively, this is the session for you. During this workshop, you will learn a number of different strategies and techniques to help you redraft your written work and also identify and correct errors. Find related online resources here: https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/academic-writing

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PGT Dissertation Writing 2: Methods and Results

Wednesday 19 August 2026 10.30am - 12pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Postgraduates

This workshop is for postgraduate taught students only. It will look at the purpose of methodology and results sections, and then go on to examine how they can be structured and the sort of information they typically contain. We will give a brief summary of the most popular software used to help you analyse your data and present it in your report. This workshop will also focus on the skills and language needed to write these sections of a dissertation.

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The Distractibles Meetup

Wednesday 19 August 2026 12.30pm - 1.30pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: LFA/144 Academic Skills workshop room (Harry Fairhurst Building, Campus West)
Open to: Students/staff

Finding it hard to focus and plagued by distractions? Join The Distractibles Meetup on Wednesdays, 12.30pm to 1.30pm in the Library, LFA/144. We are a support group of staff and students with small group chat and accessibility ideas to try. Whether you're neurodivergent or just easily distracted, our peer-support group might be just the thing for you. The Distractibles

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PGT Dissertation Writing 3: Discussion and Conclusion

Wednesday 26 August 2026 10.30am - 12pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Postgraduates

This workshop is aimed at postgraduate taught students. It will look at the purpose/function of the discussion and conclusion sections of a dissertation and then go on to examine how they can be structured and the sort of information they typically contain. It will also focus on the academic skills and language needed to write these sections.

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The Distractibles Meetup

Wednesday 26 August 2026 12.30pm - 1.30pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: LFA/144 Academic Skills workshop room (Harry Fairhurst Building, Campus West)
Open to: Students/staff

Finding it hard to focus and plagued by distractions? Join The Distractibles Meetup on Wednesdays, 12.30pm to 1.30pm in the Library, LFA/144. We are a support group of staff and students with small group chat and accessibility ideas to try. Whether you're neurodivergent or just easily distracted, our peer-support group might be just the thing for you. The Distractibles

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The Distractibles Meetup Online

Wednesday 2 September 2026 12.30pm - 1.30pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Students/staff

Finding it hard to focus and plagued by distractions? Join The Distractibles Meetup online on the first Wednesday of each month, 12:30pm to 1:30pm. We are a support group of staff and students with small group chat and an ideas bank of things to try. Whether you're neurodivergent or just easily distracted, our peer-support group might be just the thing for you. The Distractibles.

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DIGITAL WEDNESDAYS: Digital labs open afternoon

Wednesday 23 September 2026 12pm - 4pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: Harry Fairhurst Building (University Library, Campus West)
Open to: Everyone

We have two digital labs in the Library, open to all members of the University: the Creativity Lab has high-end workstations, 3D capture and modelling software, podcasting and video recording studios and more, while YorCreate is a makerspace with 3D printers and a range of crafting materials. Drop by any time this afternoon between 12 and 4 as we open our doors to the two labs to demonstrate how the tech works and show off the sort of things you can do in there.

No booking required.

You can find the Creativity Lab in LFA/103 and YorCreate in LFA/132, both on the first floor of the Fairhurst Building in the Library.

Get a 3D selfie of yourself

Thursday 24 September 2026 10am - 4pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: LFA/103 Creativity Lab (Harry Fairhurst Building, Campus West)
Open to: Everyone

Ever wanted to grab a digital snapshot of yourself in a 3D model and see a 3D scanner?

This is the session for you, and bring your friends too! Come and take a 3D selfie in the Creativity Lab. In this fun session, we'll introduce you to our handheld 3D scanners to take a full detailed scan of your head and shoulders. We will create a 3D model file you can then take away and keep for yourself. We'll also chat about what you can then do with the model, whether that's animating it, or even 3D print it. No booking required, just pop in to the Creativity Lab (Harry Fairhurst Library building) between 10am and 4pm.

Please note that our standard 3D scanners use a bright flashing light and may affect those with photo-sensitivity. For any questions around this, please email us via lib-creativitylab@york.ac.uk and we can discuss other options.

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DIGITAL WEDNESDAYS: An introduction to useful digital tools available at York

Wednesday 30 September 2026 2pm - 4pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Open to: Everyone

At York you have access to a wealth of software, from general 'Office' applications like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 through to more specific programs to help you be organised or be creative. This session (aimed at all members of the University, however long you've been here) will provide an overview of some of the digital tools available that you might find useful, with a particular focus on applications for organising information, keeping track of your notes, working collaboratively, and keeping up to date. We will share some of our tips for making the best use of technology, and there'll be time to ask questions and share any of your own IT tips.

This session is being delivered hybridly. You can attend either virtually (via Zoom) or face-to-face (in LFA/144, Fairhurst Building, University Library). Follow the booking link for more details.

Skills Guides

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No-code Micro-games

Thursday 1 October 2026 1pm - 3pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Open to: Everyone

Let's make a simple platform game. Games can be a brilliant tool to aid learning, share your study/research or just make for a bit of fun. Anyone is welcome to come to this session, whether you already have an idea or not. Using a tool called Gdevelop, we'll look at the beginner steps to build your first simple game, with step-by-step instructions and lots of time to have a go yourself.

No coding knowledge is involved, it instead uses some 'event-based' instructions to set up the rules for the game. We'll look at some of the key areas of game mechanics, and have some time to plan out our ideas for a simple game.

This workshop is available to attend both online or in-person.

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DIGITAL WEDNESDAYS: How do you engage with generative AI ethics?

Wednesday 7 October 2026 3.30pm - 5.30pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Generative AI has been a hot topic for several years now, whether that's hype about what it might do or fear about the impacts it will have on our world. The University of York has its own position statement on generative AI. You probably have your own thoughts and feelings about generative AI and its use.

In this face-to-face workshop, you will explore some of the issues and limitations associated with generative AI and discuss what the impact of these might be on the future of education and our world in general. You will consider how you can engage with these issues, keeping up to date and thinking about practical ways to have an impact on the future.

Skills Guide: Generative AI

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Learn to code: Introduction to coding

Thursday 8 October 2026 10am - 12pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Want to know more about what computer coding is, how it works, and how you can start learning to code?

This introductory workshop is for anyone who is new to writing computer programs or learning coding languages. The workshop will look at useful coding concepts and some basics of the coding language Python to demonstrate these, and will cover:

• How computers work and how this applies to coding
• What are coding languages?
• Key concepts in coding, such as variables, loops, and data types
• How to get started with learning coding.

Coding Practical Guide

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How to start a podcast

Thursday 8 October 2026 1pm - 3pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Open to: Everyone

Let’s make some noises. Then record them, publish them, and distribute them online. This two hour online workshop will introduce you to the fundamentals of podcasting, going over some of the basics of podcast production, and looking at how an idea turns into an audio file that can be shared online. We’ll explore podcast formats and how to generate ideas along with our top recording tips. No prior knowledge of audio production or media creation is required. This workshop is perfect for you if you are interested in making a podcast yourself but aren’t sure where to start, and to find out more about podcasting facilities here at the Creativity Lab. This session runs alongside our other '10 tips for Audio editing' session (bookable separately), which will delve into the practicalities of editing audio.

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Spreadsheets basics

Tuesday 13 October 2026 1pm - 3pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Spreadsheets are tools designed to store, analyse and manipulate data. They are commonly used for working with sets of data containing both text and numbers, and for generating graphs and charts. This online workshop will take you through the first principles of working with data in spreadsheets - whether Google or Excel - including:

• understanding the parts of a spreadsheet;
• entering, editing, and formatting data;
• performing calculations;
• using basic functions.

The workshop will also serve as a primer for our five-week-long Essential Spreadsheets training course.

Come along and really start to get to grips with data.

Essential Spreadsheets: a Practical Guide

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Clay, but digital: Intro to 3D modelling

Wednesday 14 October 2026 2pm - 3.30pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Let's explore the world of 3D models. In this introductory online session, we'll quickly share our top tips for getting started with designing and creating a 3D model from scratch. We'll try out out a few tools that let us manipulate a shape, like sculping clay.

Open for everyone, we'll get practical with some easy-to-use free tools to help you get started with modelling your own creations. 3D models are great for 3D printing, using in a virtual environment and sharing ideas. They are also an interesting way to help explain a topic or engage people with your work. Feel free to come along with an idea of your own!

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Creating Google Forms

Thursday 15 October 2026 1pm - 2pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Our Bitesize training session on Google Forms will help guide you through the essentials of creating sleek and effective online surveys. Whether you are brand new to Forms or just looking for a refresher, this session will give you the confidence to craft user-friendly forms with ease!

We will explore topics including:

• Google Form basics
• Implementing conditional survey logic
• Sharing and sending your form securely
• Real-time data analysis features
• Navigating advanced form settings

Data: Gathering data

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Slicing models to 3D print with Bambu Studio

Friday 16 October 2026 1pm - 2pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Slicing is the process of turning a digital 3D model into instructions for a 3D printer. In this session we'll look at the practicalities of how to slice models using Bambu Studio — the software that's used with our Bambu Labs 3D printers in YorCreate. We'll look at how to slice for those printers, and we'll also offer some tips and tricks for getting the best out of your 3D prints.

This session is open to all members of the University, but if you want to try 3D printing using the printers in YorCreate you'll also need to come along to a separate induction.

Skills Guides: YorCreate

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3D capture with Photogrammetry

Wednesday 21 October 2026 2pm - 4pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: LFA/103 Creativity Lab (Harry Fairhurst Building, Campus West)
Open to: Everyone

Have you ever come across a detailed 3D model of a real object and wondered how it was made? In this hands-on session, you’ll discover how a series of standard photographs, combined with some software magic, can be transformed into a 3D digital model—a process known as photogrammetry.

We’ll start by photographing a university sculpture and sharing some top tips for capturing great images. Then, you’ll get a chance to process the photos yourself. Along the way, we’ll explore what to do when things don’t go quite as planned and share helpful tricks to refine and tidy up your model for viewing.

This session will show you how to digitize objects related to your work or study and demonstrate how 3D scans can captivate and engage audiences with the unique aspects of your research or interests.

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Editing content for Social Media

Thursday 22 October 2026 10am - 12pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Need to edit media content for social media? In this practical workshop, we’ll demonstrate tools and tips for editing some video and image content, thinking about what works best for social media. There will be advice on how to record content in the right size and scale, and how to plan your content to clearly portray your message. We’ll explore:

• Basics of social media
• Different platforms, types of post and choosing what works best
• Tips for capturing and filming content
• Key techniques of video and image editing
• Demonstrations of free-to-use editing tools
• Ensuring your posts are accessible

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Creating surveys with Qualtrics

Thursday 22 October 2026 1pm - 2pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Tried Google Forms and feel the need for something stronger? Or maybe you’ve heard of Qualtrics but don’t know where to start? Dive into our Essential Qualtrics Bitesize training session, where we'll guide you through the basics of this advanced survey design platform. We will explore topics including:

• Qualtrics basics & getting started
• Survey formatting & customisation
• Implementing skip logic and survey flow for a tailored respondent experience
• Settings & sharing.

Data: Gathering data

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Google Vids: quick video creation

Tuesday 27 October 2026 1pm - 2.30pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Google Vids is a web-based video editing tool, available as part of Google Workspace. In this bitesize session, we’ll show you how to easily compile and edit your own videos. We’ll explore, using the in-built recording feature, AI videos tools, importing pre-existing videos and how to cut your video clips. This is an online session held via Zoom.

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Create models for 3D printing

Thursday 29 October 2026 10am - 12pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

This in-person interactive workshop is intended for anyone who would like to come and try out 3D modelling, and learn a new digital skill. Even if you're not sure what you would use it for, come along and we will share lots of ideas that relate to your own study, teaching or research.

Have a brilliant idea for a 3D design? Let's sketch it and then turn it into a digital 3D model. In this practical session, we'll look at using Computer Aided Design (CAD) software to learn how we can design our own models and how we can alter our designs ready for 3D printing. No previous experience needed, we'll show you how to get started in a modelling tool and work through some of the key tips. We'll include information at the end of the session how you can then get access to our YorCreate makerspace to 3D print your design. Please note: to use our YorCreate 3D printers, you must also attend a separate safety induction before or after this session, see the YorCreate webpage for upcoming dates

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10 tips for better surveys

Thursday 29 October 2026 1pm - 2pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Let's make badly designed forms and surveys a thing of the past! In this session, we'll take a look at the principles of survey design, from what kinds of questions to ask to get the data you're looking for to how to choose question types and use logic.

Data: Gathering data

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Organise your life with Google!

Tuesday 10 November 2026 10am - 11.30am

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Sort your life out!

Join us for this session as we share tips on how to use Google’s tools to help you stay organised. Whether it’s using note taking apps to stay on top of your to-do list, managing your time effectively in Google Calendar, staying on top of your emails or organising your files in Google Drive, we’ve got you covered.

We will look at helping you get organised with:

• Gmail
• Google Calendar
• Google Keep
• Google Tasks
• Google Drive
• Google Chrome
• Google Contacts.

Google Workspace: a Practical Guide

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Get started with Audio Editing

Wednesday 11 November 2026 2pm - 3pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Open to: Everyone

Needing to edit a podcast or audio track? In this hybrid session, we'll share our top tips for when it comes to editing an audio file. We'll take you through some tools and advice on how to edit any sound file; whether you're making a podcast, playing around with music or just recording yourself. From trimming and splitting your clips to our favourite tools, this session will get you ready for creating and combining your own audio files. This session is useful if you have any audio like music, podcast or recordings. We'll show you the fundamentals to start having a go yourself.

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Essential Spreadsheets (a 5 week course)

Thursday 12 November 2026 10am - 12pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

In these sessions you will learn how to exploit the capabilities of both Excel and Google Sheets for storing and analysing data, including features that are particularly helpful when working collaboratively.

All five sessions take place over five weeks, on Thursday mornings.

This course will take place online via Zoom.

Essential Spreadsheets: a Practical Guide

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Essential Video Editing

Thursday 12 November 2026 3pm - 5pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: LFA/103 Creativity Lab (Harry Fairhurst Building, Campus West)
Open to: Everyone

Want to be able to edit video content?

Video is a really useful medium for storytelling, educating, and sharing your ideas. Whether you're making a longer film, or short videos for social media, we'll cover tips on many types of video. Based in the Creativity lab, this session will go through key video editing concepts and techniques to help you get started, from gathering your material to exporting your completed video. We’ll explore top tips for recording video and sound, along with how to put everything together using video editing software. During the session, you'll have a go at editing pre-recorded footage using some recommended tools and you will be able to begin your own creation.

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Voice and scripting skills for recording yourself

Monday 16 November 2026 1pm - 3pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: LFA/144 Academic Skills workshop room (Harry Fairhurst Building, Campus West)
Open to: Everyone

Need to record yourself in an audio or video for a task, or would like to explore how to record yourself effectively? This in-person skills session focuses on tips and techniques to help build your confidence, specifically when recording your own voice. We’ll study some existing examples of videos and podcasts, along with different ways to help engage your audience. This session will cover:

• Vocal warm-ups and exercising your voice
• Finding the right tone of voice
• Use of different types of language to appeal to your audience
• Key tips for writing a script
• Technical recording advice and using recording equipment effectively

We’ll have a go at some fun, practical exercises to try these techniques out, with a chance to meet other people who are completing similar tasks.

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Getting better at Google Docs: from essentials to advanced (and everything in-between!)

Tuesday 17 November 2026 1pm - 3pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

In this session, we will look at making the most of Google Docs and all of the clever features it has to offer, showing you how it is so much more than just a simple word processor.

We will cover all the essentials for those new to Google Docs or transferring from Microsoft Word, as well as the more advanced features for those already familiar. This is a chance to get the full inside scoop on how others are working effectively with Google Docs and see everything it has to offer!

Creating documents

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Using AI for Creative Media

Wednesday 18 November 2026 1pm - 2pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Open to: Everyone

Generative AI isn't just for text; it is being used to generate images, audio, video, and lots of other creative outputs. But is it actually helpful? And what do you need to know if you're considering using generative AI to help with creating things? In this session, we'll look at some of the ways that generative AI might be used to help with creating media and some of the pitfalls with doing so. We'll look at the tools available at the University and how to use their features more effectively when creating things. And we'll showcase alternatives for digital creativity so you can choose the right tool for the job, rather than assuming generative AI is good at everything. Before attending this session, we recommend you make sure you are familiar with the relevant University of York generative AI policies for you.

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Create advanced 3D models in Blender

Thursday 19 November 2026 1pm - 3pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Open to: Everyone

Interested in how more complex 3D models are created from scratch?

Blender is a free, open-source and advanced tool for creating detailed 3D models and is widely used for many purposes, from video games to 3D printing. In this two-week course, we will explore how to get started with this tool and explore some of brilliant ways it can be used to help your study, teaching or research. We will cover:

• Key tools and keyboard shortcuts for getting started
• Using automated tools to make changes to models
• Lots of practice in creating your own objects from scratch
• Creating a number of parts and putting them together

On signing up to this session, you are signing up for two two-hour sessions, with the second session held the same time the following week:

• Session 1 takes place on Thursday 19th November 2026, 1pm - 3pm
• Session 2 takes place on Thursday 26th November 2026, 1pm - 3pm

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3D model a new business idea

Tuesday 24 November 2026 10am - 12pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Open to: Everyone

Let's get prototyping! Got an idea for an object or invention? In this 3D modelling workshop, we'll look at how to get started with the process of sketching, designing and creating a 3D prototype, using some easy-to-learn web-based 3D modelling software to help visualise it. It doesn't need to be related to your work or study.

We'll talk about how to test and check your product, along with chance to chat to staff and give feedback on your idea. If you don't have an idea yet, do still come along, we can help you with that too.

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Record and edit a voice recording

Tuesday 1 December 2026 1pm - 2.30pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: LFA/103 Creativity Lab (Harry Fairhurst Building, Campus West)
Open to: Everyone

Looking to speedily record a voice recording for a podcast, voiceover or presentation? This practical session is focusses on the recording process by getting you in our podcast recording studio to record a short audio file. We'll then look at how to edit that audio into a publishable file. This session is perfect for those looking to record a short, single voice clip for an project or task, and for those looking for support on how to record something easily without too much work or development.

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Create logos and images with graphic design software

Thursday 10 December 2026 3pm - 5pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Open to: Everyone

Interested to try out a graphic designer tool for the first time? Using the free tools like Inkscape or the Creativity Lab's access to Adobe Illustrator, this practical session will guide you through creating an design such as a logo or simple clip art graphic. We will focus on the technical aspects of using the program, including some of the most useful tools and effects to create a range of shapes and text. There'll be ideas for how you could practice further and learn a really useful digital skill. No prior knowledge is required. We will also share information on other alternate tools that can be used.

This session will take place with hybrid joining options. You can join either online via Zoom or in-person at the Creativity Lab LFA/103 with Creativity Lab staff. You can choose from these options when booking.

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Creating graphics and videos with Canva

Tuesday 15 December 2026 1pm - 3pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Want to create eye-catching images, social media graphics, animations and videos without needing a graphic design background?

Canva is an online graphic design tool with a range of templates allowing you to create everything from social media graphics to animated videos, posters to presentations, and all sorts of other things. We'll take a look at what you can use in the free version of Canva, including their templates and colour schemes to help your design look as good as possible, and offer advice on creating and sharing simple designs that will be clear and accessible to others.

Media editing: a Practical Guide

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