Learn Professional Filmmaking OnlineFrom Development To Delivery, Learn What It Really Takes To Become A Professional Filmmaker |
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Welcome to Film School Online!Hey, I'm Daniel L. White and I wanted to take a moment here to welcome you to the website and give you an idea about what you'll find as you navigate my online film school. First of all, these video based film courses are the same cost and have the same information that you would get if you came to one of my live lectures. My whole idea behind those live lectures was to give aspiring filmmakers the opportunity to learn how the film industry really operates from a professional, working point of view. As such, you won't find a lot of film school theory or film history kind of stuff here. Instead, I'll show you everything you need to know about how to realistically finance, produce and distribute a professional quality theatrical film, regardless of where you are right now or your current experience. I know that might sound like a bold claim, but if you take some time to look around the site, I think you'll quickly see that my film school has got a very different feel compared to some of the other stuff that's out there. Here you won't find a lot of hype about how much money you'll make as a director or big lists of film related contact information, it's literally just the nuts and bolts, day to day working reality of filmmaking. I mean, you have to understand that most film school instructors out there are really just film school grads themselves and a lot of them don't have any real, meaningful working experience in the industry. And, this is not a knock on the traditional film schools. Those traditional film acadamies still have a valid place in the world and are a good resource for a lot of film students. But, if I'm to be honest, I have to say that sometimes the quality of the instruction can be lacking. There just isn't any easy way to replace real, professional working knowledge when it comes time to teaching anything, and whether it's a film school or not doesn't change the matter. The big difference here at Film School Online is that all of these lessons and filmmaking courses are based on my nearly 20 years of working in film and television. As a matter of fact, its only recently that I've come to start teaching this to others. Like I said before, I want to give aspiring filmmakers the opportunity to really learn what it takes to make films, regardless of where they live or how much money they have. Of course, if you have the $120,000 to go to USC film school, then I'd say go for it. It's a great school that will give you wonderful networking opportunities, not only with other film students, but with a lot of professional film makers as well. But, the truth of the matter is, its not the only path to learn how to make films. You don't have to attend a traditional film school (especially now!) and provided you understand the fundamental concepts that I teach in these film courses, you can start making movies and films for real. I'm not talking cheesy youtube videos here either, I mean professional quality motion pictures that you can be proud of when you're done. Look, the film and television industry has been wonderful to me and I'm happy to share what I know with you. So, if you're thinking about a career in film production and want to learn how to produce and direct theatrical films, Film School Online can show you how. Whether you're an aspiring filmmaker, a student, or even a working professional, I guarantee that you will not find a more complete source of real world film instruction anywhere for any price. Read on and see the Film School Online difference. Film Courses - Series One: Film Finance And DistributionStarting with Film Finance And Distribution, the student will learn:
Again, this is not some fluff stuff film course that talks about how much money you'll make or gives you a list of guild addresses and phone numbers, this is the real deal. Step by step, see exactly how the professional producer does it, how it applies to you regardless of your current situation and how to make it happen in the real world. No abstract theory, no "pie in the sky" empty catch phrases like "you need distribution first" here. In this film course, you will learn, in specific detail, how each and every step of the film financing and distribution process works. You will literally get a real world, behind the scenes view straight from the producer's desk. And, more importantly, I'll show you real methods to scale every concept to fit your current skills and abilities. Whether just getting started or even if you have a few films under your belt, this course will give you the tools to finance and secure distribution for your film project, before you even shoot one frame. Film Courses - Series Two: Theatrical Film ProductionNext Theatrical Film Production will show you::
There's no artistic mumbo jumbo or trivial on set problem solving here, this film course will show you the day to day, working reality of the professional sound stage. Real world examples from actual professional situations will show the student the behind the scenes practices of the modern film set as well as how to adapt these fundamental principles to any size production or budget. This course cuts through the hype and misinformation and will give you a solid, practical foundation to approach film production, whether you are a first time filmmaker, student or even a working pro. You will learn how filmmakers work in a professional setting and see first hand how to realistically shoot a feature length film on almost any budget. Because all of the concepts taught in this film course are based on solid film making fundamentals, they are scalable and will apply throughout your filmmaking career. Once you put these skills to work, the filmmaking student will be refining and expanding, building on that solid foundation, but the core elements will already be in place and will give you the ability to work as a professional filmmaker. Film Courses - Series Three: Post Production And DeliveryFinally, Post Production And Delivery will teach the student:
This final installment of the Film School Online series on filmmaking is potentially one of the most valuable assets a new filmmaker will have. As technology pushes the boundaries further and further out, even the big studio players can and do struggle with and go over budget in post. For perhaps the first time, the post process is being laid out in easy to understand terms. Films really can and do die in post, but yours won't with the skills you gain in Post Production And Delivery. This comprehensive film course lays open one of the most overlooked and costliest aspects of film making. Films "die" in post because the modern post production process is highly technical, with specific delivery requirements in order to not only finish a film, but be able to distribute it as well. If you want to have a successful filmmaking career, understanding what needs to happen in post and why is going to be one of the biggest challenges you will face, especially as an independent filmmaker. And, until now, the information that is in this film course was extremerly difficult to come by. Now with Post Production and Delivery even highly trained, experienced filmmakers will have the inside track on how the modern post production chain works and realistic ways to not only "survive" post, but to truly understand the process and actually save time and money. (watch a sample lesson)The Trouble With Film SchoolAs I hope you can see, these courses will give you unparalled access to information that was traditionally limited to personnel working in the industry. The trouble most film schools face, even the elite schools such as USC and UCLA, has always been getting working, industry professionals to teach their film courses. As people that work in film production know, a filmmaking career is a lifetime of temporary employment. Most working professionals are generally unable to devote significant time to teaching at a film school, as they have to be ready and able to take the next job that comes along. Even when they do teach, such as after retiring or while taking a break from the industry, most tend to be highly specialized in their field and thus, limit what they teach to a range of fairly narrow topics. This is not even mentioning, that even if they know a lot about their field, that doesn't necessarily equate to that person being a good film school teacher. I've heard countless students from almost every major film school in Los Angeles complain time and again that their "instructors" often love telling war stories and personal tales all the while neglecting to actually teach something! Now, there are obviously some very talented instructors at the major schools. But, with the problems I just laid out above, you can see why they tend to be fairly rare, which leaves an instructional gap. The way the film schools fill that "gap" is to hire film school graduates to teach their classes. This isn't necessarily so bad, but if the guy teaching couldn't get a meaningful gig in the film industry, how's he going to teach you how to do it? The truth is, he can't. The Film School's Little SecretThe thing of it is that film production is an experience based industry, just like every other industry. You learn filmmaking jobs by doing those filmmaking jobs. Have there been filmmakers that have gone to film school and become famous directors and such? Of course. Do the bulk of the people that make up the working film crews, directors, producers and associated personnel out there go to film school to get their jobs? The overwhelming truth is, no, they don't. Now, if you go to an elite school like USC or UCLA, the level of talented, professional people that you will have access to during your education can help you tremendously when you get started in the film business. But, that's still no guarantee either and for every grad from the elite school that comes out swinging, there are still thousands that come out and struggle to even find entry level work. Believe me, I've seen the stacks of resumes from film school grads just dying to get a job in shipping and receiving. Put it to you this way, I know four people that have attended USC's film program, two of them really well, one kinda and one just in passing. The one I knew in passing dropped out after he created a major, primetime network television show for FOX, the one I kinda' know is a writer and producer of theatrical films (think like Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr. and so on), one runs a film lab in Los Angeles and one is in medical billing, but I think she still gets writing gigs once in a while. Not bad, right? First, they are all pretty exceptional people right out of the gate and second, they also paid a bare minimum of $120,000 each for the education. Obviously, that's not going to work for everyone. The trouble is when you start getting further and further down the educational ladder, the quality of the film education goes way down too. When you're talking some of these regional film programs at State colleges and universities in middle America, you're not even on the professional radar anymore. And, like I said earlier, most of the people teaching at film school at any level are usually just film school grads themselves. Yes, they might have made a short film or two or started a little "production company", but for the most part, they graduated, they struggled and then they decided that teaching film school was probably a better gig than working in customer service at AT&T. The Film School Online DifferenceFilm School Online is different because I have spent nearly all of my adult life working in the film and television industry. I only came to teaching after I had been working professionally for 15 years. At the time, I had been working in post production and was starting to produce my own films and wanted a clean break. Teaching gave me a nice opportunity to start that transition and do just that. Since I started teaching, I've realized that a lot of what I'm teaching isn't getting taught at most film schools. I've literally had students with Master's degrees in film come up to me after a seminar or lecture and tell me that it's the first time they've heard most, if not all of the information in my lectures. And, as you'll see, the information in my lectures is the how, what and why of developing, financing, producing and distributing a theatrical film. It's kind of important stuff to know if you want to be a filmmaker! I really think it's a shame that someone could spend 5 or 6 years of their life and tens of thousands of dollars to learn all of that film history, criticism, theory and rudimentary production skills, but still not have the faintest idea of how professional films get made. Perhaps the worst of it is that the degree tends to give them a false sense of knowing, but the reality is, they're wholly unprepared for anything except the most entry level jobs. I think that disconnect from the film school environment to the reality on the street only adds to the frustration and bitterness down the line when those soon to be film school teachers can't get an industry job. If you've ever been to a film school, you'll know the teacher(s) I'm talking about. As for me, I love teaching film. I love filmmaking in general, both as a fan and as a producer. I don't have any secrets or guarded information here. My resume is readily available on the internet. I simply want to share my filmmaking knowledge with people that want to learn how to be part of this industry. I recognize that not everyone can afford to go to an elite film school, and I also know with absolute certainty that most people don't have to! I'm here to tell you that you can learn how to become a filmmaker wherever you are right now and I'll show you exactly how to do it. Look, filmmaking takes time and is a skill that takes years to refine, but I will show you how the game is played at the studio level all the way down to an aspiring filmmaker with no money and a dream. I will show you how to play at any level you feel comfortable with. Most importantly, I will show you a path that allows you to refine yourself professionally while you discover and grow as a creative filmmaker personally. Before now, this information wasn't hidden, it was just pretty hard to come by. I honestly believe that this is the first time where an in-depth, complete guide to professional filmmaking has existed in one place at one time. Literally everything from development to delivery is covered in this video lecture series. I sincerely hope these film courses will be of great benefit to you as you begin your filmmaking career. Best Of All, These Film Courses Are Inexpensive And They're Guaranteed!Now, try this one on for size. Call up any brick and mortar film school and ask them if you can take all of their classes and get your money back at the end if you think they wasted your time. Just don't hold your breath waiting. I will though. I've kept the prices on these courses very low, they're basically similar to what I charge per student for a live lecture. You can buy one course at a time or get all three for less than the application fee for most film schools. And, if you don't feel like they're worth even that small amount, just let me know within 30 days and I'll give you your money back, no questions asked. I know the frustration and anxiety you've probably felt trying to find somewhere reliable to learn how to do this craft. There are so many shysters and film school elitists out there that toss around a lot of confusing rhetoric about what you need to know to be a filmmaker. I know the type all too well, they either spout a bunch of artsy talk about different film movements or they'll ask a bunch of trivial questions about the creative process or some minor technical matter and then act as if that stuff is what makes a filmmaker. The trouble is, it's really all test material to give someone a grade. A grip doesn't care about that crap. Neither does the gaffer, nor the set designer nor any other technician on the set. Sure, they might be interested in it on some level, but really all they need to know is how to do the job and that's the big difference in these courses. These courses are all about the job of making films, not giving you some pointless grade on an exam. And that is precisely why I can offer a money back guarantee. Because I'm actually going to show you something useful in your film career, things the film elitist only wishes they knew. You've got everything to gain and nothing to lose. If you're really worried about it, just try out one course and see if you like it, though if you decide you do like them you'll save a little money by buying all three at once. I very much encourage you to watch some of the sample lessons I've posted and read the free articles and filmmaking tips here on the site. The thing is, I know that these are the most complete, in-depth, realistic film courses available anywhere for any price and I think you'll agree. I'll show you a step by step path to a real film career, all you have to do is add the time, talent and determination to take those skills and make it happen. If you have any questions or comments, you are always free to email me. Thank you for reading, good luck out there, just be sure to remember me in your Oscar speech!
Daniel L. White, |
Filmmaking TipsFilm School: Film Finance - Part One 
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