Filmmaking Fundamentals for the Digital Age

If you want to learn the fundamentals of modern digital filmmaking this course is for you. This 3-day course is for beginners, filmmakers on a budget, media teachers and students, people wanting to make videos for their businesses and put them online, and people generally wanting to learn more than the essentials of filmmaking. It's about learning what you can never learn from the internet. It's about being a crew making films together with participants writing, acting, location scouting, producing, directing, lighting, sound recording and editing a music clip.

You’ll learn how to expertly light a scene, record sound and move your camera to get high production values. Over the 3 days we will shoot a music clip, light and shoot a multi-cam interview using equipment provided at the course. We’ll also use iPhones, mirrorless cameras, camcorders, low-cost digital cinema cameras. We will introduce you to inexpensive professional editing programs like Final Cut Pro X. We will shoot a master shot for the music clip as a group then students will break into smaller groups to shoot additional scenes for B-roll. Each group will then cut their own version of the music clip using the common master shot and the B-roll scenes they shoot themselves in each group.

This course is aimed at people wanting to take their filmmaking to a professional level. You’ll learn how to move your camera using devices that don't cost much and learn about apps to help you. A strong emphasis is placed on sound and lighting techniques which can let a production down if not done well.

While there will be cameras available to shoot with at the course. Participants are encouraged to bring, and use, their own cameras (and tripod if you have one) to experiment with the techniques demonstrated at the course. This is a very hands-on course and we encourage all participants to be involved in all aspects of filmmaking - camera, sound, directing, acting and editing.

An individual exercise will be given to anyone wishing to put their learning into practice after the second day (not mandatory). They will be given the task of shooting and editing a 2-3 min interview piece as homework using their phones or other equipment they own. They will need to shoot with good sound and lighting techniques learned in class and overlay B-roll footage throughout the edit. Films shot on iPhones can be cut on LumaFusion or iMovie and uploaded directly to social media sites. A limited number of lapel microphones, headphones and small LED lights can be loaned out for the task. The next morning we show and discuss some of these films.

You will also get the latest information on affordable cameras (mirrorless, dedicated hand-held cameras), lighting, audio, sliders and stabilisers. By the end of the course participants should be able to go out and shoot their own stories and make much better films with higher production values.

Conducted by Con Filippidis DoP/Cinematographer (https://www.fivecs.com.au/).

Participants are advised to book early to secure a place in this popular, innovative course, which books out quickly every year.