Film School (Advanced)

Collaborating with actors, a DOP and screenwriter will give you the advanced lo-to no-budget indie film experience over four entire Sundays!

Film School (Advanced) is City Academy's most advanced Filmmaking course, running over four Sundays, it guides you through the process of devising, planning, crewing, directing, shooting and editing your very own short film.

Our course gives you an insight into the key aspects of film production through practical, hands-on workshops, from idea to screen, from planning to performing, from scouting to cutting, using professional digital cameras, and editing equipment.

Working together within a clear brief and to a tight schedule you will create the ideas, write the story, work with actors and a writer to develop and rehearse the script, draw the storyboards, schedule the shoot, decide on locations, direct scenes, and be part of the film crew.

Note - you may wish to sign up for the Editing Course to edit your masterpiece following this course.

Each participant will receive a copy of the finished film on DVD.

Who should take this course

Writers, directors, producers, actors, filmmakers, cinema lovers, anyone with an interest in how movies are made and who seek a basic introduction to the filmmaking process.

The Film School (Advanced) will give you a good feel for what its like to create your own story and collaborate with actors to develop and realise your joint vision.

Course Requirements

Before you experience the advanced collaborative approach of Film School (Advanced) we recommend that you have undertaken the Filmmaking Foundations course and the Film Shoot Weekend in order to have gained a good grounding in the roles and requirements of working on a film shoot.

Course Outline

You will be fully involved in the creation of story and shot ideas for the film and be responsible for planning, decision-making, filming and the overall look of the final film. You will direct the actors on set, operate the camera and sound equipment, learning quantifiable filmmaking skills along the way.

Exact course content may differ as it is often tailored to your needs, but the Filmmaking course generally follows this structure:

Week 1: Script Development

• Introductions of participants and tutor - learn participants' areas of expertise and interest
• Create short film story in collaboration with the actors
• Develop character breakdowns for casting use
• Create Storyboard

Week 2: Technical Day

• Location research
• Location obstacles
• Lighting Considerations
• Camera placement techniques
• Create Shooting Schedule
• Create Camera plans

Week 3: Shooting Day

• Rehearse scenes
• Shoot scenes

Week 4: Shooting Day

• Shooting Mop-Ups
• Shoot any outstanding shots or record voice-overs etc through the shooting schedule
• Preparing for editing
• Review logging sheets and highlight key scenes

Screening of footage and feedback with actors

What people are saying

"The knowledge I was able to pick up was invaluable.  If you want to get a real feel for what it might be like on a film set then I couldn't recommend this course enough. I enjoyed it so much that I will be hoping to attend it again in 2012." David Stock

What's next?

The  course to take next after the Film School (Advanced) is the Editing with Final Cut Pro course. There you’ll see the weaving together of your hard-shot rushes into the finished film according to the vision on your storyboard.

Learning to make films can only be done by continuing to make films. With City Academy you can simply sign up for another film-making course with us.

If you’ve done the Film School (Advanced) and the Editing course, how about doing another Film Shoot Weekend?

If you aren't sure which course is for you, click here to have a look at our handy Filmmaking course guide.

Something to think about

Filmmaking is a collaborative art; the cast and crew form a team with a shared vision. During the course you will all have the chance to take the lead and explore the particular area of filmmaking that interests you; there will also be occasions when you may be asked to help out other team members with their scenes and perform a more supporting role.