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

Course Requirements

You may have no experience and just bags of enthusiasm and an interest in film, you may have already done a film course and want to explore more of the aspects in depth, or if you’re an actor wanting to experience the other side of the camera then this course is for you.

1. Camera

With practical get-hold-of-the-kit exercises you will explore the functions of cameras and their relationship to light and focus, and how the viewer reads what is being shown.

• Depth of field – using focus to increase production values
• What the f-stop! – how to control the light in the camera
• Shutter Speed
• What colour is light?
• Static and Moving
• Comparing functions across different cameras – does my iPhone do that too?

Through a series of hands-on lighting exercises – this workshop will introduce the building blocks of all lighting for film and TV. Learn the art of using light and shade to create visually arresting effects to enhance the look and feel of the scene.

• Introduction to Film Lighting – examples of lighting from cinema
• Elements of lighting - three point lighting; Key, Fill and Back lighting
• Lighting for backgrounds and actors
• Use of diffusers, filters and reflectors
• Camera control and lighting – how do we see what we’ve lit?
• Creating lighting effects

3. Sound

With hands and ears-on exercises you’ll discover and discuss why good sound makes a film look better.

• Choice and use of microphones
• How to get the best sound – on mic and off mic
• Recording techniques – furry dogs and aching arms
• Employing the skills of your actors 
• Keeping an ear on the prize – sound recording for the edit
• Things don’t sound the way they look – effective effects
• Wildtracks and atmosphere – there’s no such thing as the sound of silence

4. Cinematography

Discover how to compose a frame to represent the details in a screenplay, learn the implications of camera placement and understand the importance of maintaining visual lines with both a static and moving camera.

• The grammar of film
• Know your angles, know your shots 
• Drawing the viewer in
• Camera placement and why it is important
• Maintaining the geography of the set
• Crossing the line
• Framing and Lenses 

5. Storyboarding

From the words on the page via the pictures in your head to the footage in the can.

• How to visualise your ideas to direct your crew
• How to apply the grammar of film to the practicality of filming it
• Through the review of feature film footage you will learn how to:
• Draw a storyboard
• Organise your cameras in a camera plan
• Create a well structured and organised shot list, to impart high production values to your film. 

What people are saying

‘It's fun, it's cool, it's very relaxed, it's like gripping the bull by its horns, you will definitely learn and it's worth it...thanks a million’ Chito Salarza-Grant

What Next?

To put all your practical and technical knowledge to the test you should do the Film Shoot Weekend. Employ all your new-found skills in planning and shooting a film in a weekend using a real script and real actors.

Beyond that you should sign up for the Editing Course to learn about post-production.

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