Free Online Courses for Aspiring Filmmakers
This is a guest post by freelance writer Donna Reish.
You don’t have to have a bachelor’s or graduate degree in film in order to become a successful film maker—but you do need to have talent and knowledge of the industry. Open courseware are online classes that are offered entirely for free. The catch? You can’t claim college credit or ask for a professor’s assistance. But you do have access to an abundance of educational resources with which you can teach yourself. Resources typically include recorded video lectures, course readings, project outlines and old exams with keys. So no matter if you need to learn the basics or what to freshen up your knowledge, consider taking the open courseware featured below.
Video Production and Creation
These courses are designed to teach students the in and outs of actually putting their vision on screen and putting their filmmaking skills to the test. Students will learn a variety of concepts from basic video capturing and editing to more advanced techniques like creating holographic images and 3-D designs.
- Introduction to Video [MIT]
- Advanced Projects in the Visual Arts: A Personal Narrative [MIT]
- Producing Film For Social Change [Tufts University]
- Special Topics in Cinematic Storytelling [MIT]
- Filmmaker’s Master Class with Milos Forman
- Blender 3-D Design [Tufts University]
- Holographic Imaging[MIT]
Industry
A great film maker is also highly aware of his or her target audience and the industry as a whole. With that said, these courses may also prove to be beneficial for an aspiring film maker.
- Media in Cultural Context [MIT]
- Visualizing Cultures [MIT]
Philosophy of Film
These courses should help one understand the history and philosophy behind film in order to truly understand and appreciate this art form. The following courses are designed to educate students on everything from the thematic issues of philosophical importance, how to appreciate aesthetics, and will teach you how to cultivate your goals as an artist.
- Studies in Film [MIT]
- The Film Experience [MIT]
- Pathway to Dreams [connexions]
- Philosophy of Film [MIT]
Donna Reish, a freelancer who blogs about best universities, contributed this guest post. She loves to write education, career, frugal living, finance, health, parenting relating articles. She can be reached via email at: donna.reish13@gmail.com.
[photo by velcr0]
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20 COMMENTS
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Alec Sprinkle on 04.29.11 @ 2:38PM
Wow. This is the exact opposite of my college degree. I paid $40,000 for useless information. This is free useful info. Thanks!
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Alec Sprinkle on 04.29.11 @ 5:12PM
Not horrible, but what I do for a living has nothing to do with my degree.
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Mark on 04.29.11 @ 6:26PM
Anyone else read the description for “Filmmaker’s Master Class with Milos Forman”? Granted I doubt Milos wrote the description himself, but I wasn’t exactly filled with confidence upon seeing “Jack Nicholas.” Did you mean Nicholson? He’s only one of the most famous actors in Hollywood history.
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Omega Pro on 04.30.11 @ 12:10AM
So how does this really work? I clicked on “Digital Video: An Introduction [Columbia]” and apparently you have to have an account with them. What is there I can do?
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Ricky on 04.30.11 @ 8:09AM
Am I missing something here? Why can’t I seem to find any of the videos of lectures?
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Bilu on 05.1.11 @ 7:06AM
I cant access these tutorials.. asking to enter ID and Pass..May i need to be a university student to get these tutorials..please some one clarify this…
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Sorry guys — it seems the Columbia links require a Columbia ID. The rest of them should be working, though — am I wrong? I’ll remove the Columbia courses since they’re not exactly “open.”
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Pedro Camilo on 05.5.11 @ 7:33PM
Koo, muchas gracias por esta valiosa información. Un abrazo de Pedro Camilo.
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hazem abdulrab on 05.6.11 @ 1:39AM
im not really sure what to do with the MIT?..theres no lectures, its just shwoin me info abou tthe class,..can u help me please?
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Juhani on 05.9.11 @ 10:44AM
I could also use little explaination how to access them… Just now I only see a description of the course.
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Check the left sidebar — that’s usually where the syllabus and materials are.
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Mathew on 09.20.12 @ 12:50AM
I am greatful for such a help you have provided in such a challenging field.
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Excellent! Thank you for getting all this info together!