Utrecht, Netherlands

Filmmaking for Beginners

This course provides an introduction into filmmaking; training in basic storytelling and practical skills that are required for shooting and editing a short film. To become a successful filmmaker, you will need a lot of exercise and experience in different areas. How does storytelling work? How do you visualize your ideas? How do you handle a camera and edit your images? We take a close look at the creative process and will practice the art by making several short films

Filmmaking is one of the fastest growing social skills nowadays. Everyone has a camera with him all the time. Everyone shoots moving images at any moment that are being shared the next moment through internet: everyone is a filmmaker. But making a real film is more complicated than just pointing your camera and sharing the shots with your friends. You need a good concept, a good subject, the right shots and you have to be able to edit this material into a compelling story. This needs insight in the process of filmmaking and a lot of practice.

How do you rise above the level of the well-intended amateur. How do you make a film with an intriguing beginning, a dramatic middle and a meaningful ending. How do you shoot images that are more than just a simple registration of the situation. And how do you edit these images into a film that really shows what you are trying to say in an artistic and interesting way.

To become a successful filmmaker you will need a lot of exercise and experience in different areas. During this course we will cover the various aspects of being a filmmaker. Using both theory and practical exercises, you will learn about the complicated tasks of a filmmaker. How does storytelling work; how do you develop a good concept; how can you translate your abstract ideas into meaningful images; how do you visualize a chosen theme.

During the course we will analyze existing films in a detailed way and study different styles in storytelling. We take a close look at the creative process of a filmmaker. How to start? Writing down your own ideas, converting them into a storyboard and shooting the right images to be able to edit them into an interesting story

Your main assignment is to learn to make a short film, based on your own ideas and created in your own style.

To enable this, we also will pay attention to the technology needed to make sure everybody can do the exercises and assignments. You learn to handle a camera, adapt exposure and color, adjust the sound. You learn to edit your images in the computer. During the course you get a short training in managing the complete workflow.

There will be many moments for feedback from your peers and from the course leader on work-in-progress. The course will also offer the possibility to differentiate between the course members so everyone can participate on a suitable level.

Fee info

EUR 1000: course fee
EUR 450: Housing fee (optional)