Training Links

9 Tips for Surviving an Independent Film Shoot
 
Through my experience of working on low budget and independent films for the past 15 years, I have learned a few crucial and important rules that can help you survive the jungle of what is the independent film world, or better known as Guerrilla Film making.
 
Art of Storytelling CourseWhat makes a story great?  What makes someone a good storyteller?  Storytelling is something we all do naturally, starting at a young age, but there’s a difference between good storytelling and great storytelling.  In this lesson you’ll hear from Pixar directors and story artists about how they got their start and what stories inspire them, and you’ll begin to think about what kinds of stories you might want to tell.
ActingSelected videos about auditioning and casting featuring actress Wendy Davis
 
Car advertising production without the carJust days ago, the London-based VFX studio, The Mill, unveiled the Blackbird, a car rig built with a fully adjustable chassis, programmable electric motor, as well as on-board cameras and lasers that produce “100% realistic CG renderings” of virtually any car in the world. Essentially, this thing can become whichever car you want, past, present, or future.
Digital Production Buzz ChannelDigital Production BuZZ covers filmmaking, video production, post-production, and distribution world-wide. From the people creating the gear, to the people using it to create cutting-edge film and video projects, these are the interviews you need to hear and can’t find anywhere else.
 
Facts About Speech InteligibilitySpoken and sung words should be intelligible. Unfortunatley, it can be technically challenging to retain intelligibility, when recording the voice. In this article, we present some facts on speech intelligibility and, most importantly, how to retain it.
Four-Minute Film School

 
A playlist of 4-6 minute videos about various aspects of film making.
Grip Techniques

 
Grip equipment tutorials
Helpful Ways for Cinematographers to Get a Grip on Lighting

 
Foreground and Background Exposure
How to frame over-the-shoulder shots in filmmaking: a detailed guide with pretty pictures!Over-the-shoulder shots are considerably more laborious to frame correctly than other shots, such as close-ups, because it is not enough to frame the subject correctly – the other subject’s shoulder in the foreground must also be framed in a pleasing way.
 
Making Sound DecisionsFor most dramatic films, production sound is critical to the storytelling. It has been said that 70% of the film is the dialog sound.
Micing ActorsA series of videos showing various ways to hide mics on actors.
Moviola.comMultiple online courses in screenwriting, cinematography, lighting, editing, visual effects, Davinci Resolve, Premiere Pro CC, etc.
Open Letter from Your Sound DepartmentThis letter is being written by audio professionals to help directors and producers understand how good sound can be recorded on the set. We want to help you make the best film possible.
 
Production Book for Want to be FilmmakersThis book shows the simplified procedure for making a film. There are links to sites explaining more details and to some free screenwriting software. More will be added as we develop the program.
RX4 TutorialsAudio spectral repair and audio repair.
 
Steven Spielberg film techniques – With pretty pictures!No written description can ever do justice to an artist of Steven Spielberg’s magnitude, but I do hope that you will find this post inspiring and instructive.
 

The Seven Arts of Working in Film: A Necessary Guide to On-Set Protocol

Perhaps you’ve gotten a new job as a production assistant. Perhaps you’re still in school and have been given an opportunity as an intern, or you’ve recently been asked to help out with a friend’s production. You probably have some questions.
Visual Storytelling20 episode series dedicated to the creative process of visual storytelling. Telling a good story doesn’t require a lot of money — a lot of gear — or a lot of people. Mainly, it just needs a good story and the knowledge of how to shape it into something other people want to watch.
 
What You Need to Do to Make Your Sound Editor Love YouSound is probably the only part of the filmmaking process that is still relegated to a hazy Netherlands. No one wants to talk about it, (until they HAVE to!) or think about it on the set (too many other things to do, like lighting!) or deal with it until the very end. But think about a world in which sound is given the same (if not more) importance as the visual image.