If you’re in the Los Angeles area, ’tis the season for open houses, plus plenty of demos, training sessions, and other events—many of them free. Some even serve food and drink!

Open Houses

Open houses are free, but RSVPs are required because organizers need to know how heavily laden the craft services table needs to be.

Saturday, 3 Dec – Hurlbut Visuals Open House, 3–7pm. “Join us for Beer, Gear and Holiday Cheer! Hurlbut Visuals just recently moved into a new studio space in Burbank, CA and we would love to invite everyone to come check out the space! … Our partners will have booths setup to showcase their gear, giving you an opportunity to get your hands on the equipment and to try it out. … There will also be a raffle with great prizes…”

Wednesday, 7 Dec – Zylight Open House, 5:30–9pm. “Network with fellow industry professionals while you demo the best and most unique professional LED lighting solutions for film, TV and stage. See flexible LED panels, color wash systems and more… Tacos, Microbrews, Door Prizes – Presented in conjunction with Precision Productions + Post.”

Thursday, 8 Dec – Band Pro One World Open House, 1–8pm. “…the best broadcast and cinema technology along with fine food, drink, and attendees comprising a who’s-who of the global cinematography community.  Participants this year include Sony, Canon, RED, Angenieux, Zeiss, Fujinon, IB/E Optics, Sigma, AJA, 16×9, Inc., ORCA Bags and many more.  … Esteemed French Director & Cinematographer Pierre-William Glenn, AFC (Day for Night, Coup de Torchon, and Small Change) will be in attendance…”

Tuesday, 20 Dec – Canon Hollywood Open House, 7–9pm. “Get hands on time with the new EOS C300 Mark II… Push-and-pull footage in Canon Hollywood’s new 4K Post Production suite, loaded with Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve 12 and Adobe’s Premiere Pro CC 2015… Watch the EOS C300 Mark II release film Trickshot in its original 4K format on Canon’s 4K 30” Reference Display the DP-V3010… See the XC10 in a multi-camera environment side by side with the EOS C300 Mark II and the EOS C100 Mark II. …get the whole picture with the latest and greatest from companies like Redrock Micro, Zacuto, and Visual Buddha.”

Demos & Training

There’s nothing especially special about the post-Thanksgiving season as far as demos and training are concerned. All these folks (and others) offer ongoing events; it’s worth bookmarking their links for whenever you need a spot of mental stimulation.

LAFCPUG holds a Y-U-G-E meeting every month; this Wednesday, 30 Nov it’s on FCPX 10.3, with presos by Apple and FCPWORKS. As of press time it’s sold out, but you can get on the waitlist…. if you feel lucky.

AbelCine has an ongoing training series, spanning the range from free events to paid workshops costing up to $1500 or more (and not just in L.A., but in New York and Chicago, too). AbelCine’s workshops tend to be meaty, practical, information-intensive training sessions, not mere marketing fluff. Extra bonus: online workshops.

Canon’s Digital Learning Center offers both free and $99 seminars and workshops, as well as $99 one-on-one sessions. The focus is on Canon’s EOS Cine Cameras, as you might expect, but not all topics are Canon-specific, like Staying Focused: the Long Term Project, 29 November; Shooting Cinéma Vérité, 30 November; Women Behind the Camera, 1 December; or Self-Distribution for Independent Filmmakers, 8 December.

(With a tip of the hat to the Digital Cinema Society, from whose email newsletter many of these events were gleaned.)

Disclosure: I’m a member of the Digital Cinema Society, but neither they nor anyone else mentioned offered me any considerations, emoluments, blandishments, or outright bribes to mention their events.