Why can’t I just download an online class?
You’re not alone.
I was going to write about free online film and digital filmmaking for a long time. But, I realized my experience would be incomplete without talking about some of the major drawbacks and advantages of some online filmmaking courses.
To get the basics of digital filmmaking, you can sign up for a course at the New School for Film and Digital Media or the New School in Theory with your credit card. A great online course is Udemy, where you can even get a 30–day trial membership.
But don’t despair.
I recently started shooting on a new 4K-HD video camera (which I’ll explain in my post tomorrow about the Best Camera to Film on). Even with a new camera, you’ll still be able to learn the fundamentals of video editing via these courses.
If you’re looking at a new computer as your main production machine, I’d recommend getting some experience shooting with it in a class or club (at the film school or home) and then moving to a more powerful laptop until you get a feel for working with some big rigs and high-end gear.
The best ways to learn filmmaking online—and most of what’s been discussed in this essay—is a combination of watching an online video, reading something about it, talking to other filmmakers who also want to learn, and starting a blog about it.
This method has worked well for me, both in terms of how much I’ve got out of it and in helping me develop new skills and talents:
I read lots of online articles and watched a lot of short videos. I learned the basics of some basic editing skills, which I used in my first video, which was really helpful. I watched The Film Maker’s Guide to the Future so I could get an idea of some basic things in computer editing. I went to a couple film festivals with my friends and went home with some awesome film gear and a ton of inspiration, which has helped me tremendously in the past, especially in this age of “cutting it” and having to go to festivals that you cannot afford to go.
But don’t despair, if you don’t already have a few friends already on board—let them know about it!
How to get started (if I made a wrong decision about anything in this article):
Start with an introductory video course from film-school.org or some such website. I’d recommend The
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