The Only Online Documentary Filmmaking Courses You Need
Looking for documentary filmmaking courses? While most of the documentary film schools will stretch the studies for three or four years, here are two documentary filmmaking courses, that will teach everything you need to know. If you want to master documentary filmmaking, you should learn documentary filmmaking from the masters of the genre. In these courses, not only you learn from those who really “made it”, but you’ll also be able to do it in your own time.
Recommended Documentary filmmaking courses
I advise you to check the MasterClass documentary courses. The masterClass platform offers online video courses taught by experts in various fields, including filmmaking. It can be a good place to learn about documentary filmmaking because experienced professionals teach the courses with a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Additionally, the courses are typically structured and organized to make it easy for students to learn at their own pace and on their own time.
These courses are teaching everything you need to know to start working in the documentary industry. You’ll learn stuff like:
- choosing the right story
- writing treatments and pitches
- getting funds for your films
- Building a strong structure for your story
- working with archives
- Writing a documentary script
- the art of conducting an interview
- creating a shooting strategy
- using the visual techniques
- Recording on set
- video Editing for the documentary
- and really to understand what it takes to become a documentary filmmaker
That being said, MasterClass is just one of many options for learning about filmmaking, and it may not be the best fit for everyone. Researching and considering various options before deciding on a learning platform or program. This can help ensure that you find the right fit for your learning style and goals.
I do have to say that I earn an affiliate commission from MasterClass (that’s the only way I can make some money to write more free lessons), but I promise you I wouldn’t recommend anything on this website that won’t be perfect for you. These courses are a must if you are serious about becoming a documentary filmmaker.
Also Check out our Free Documentary Filmmaking Lessons
Our Online Documentary Filmmaking Course
Documentary Filmmaking: – Introduction
This is my first lesson in the documentary film course. I’m going to give you some basic guidelines and tips that will help you get started with the world of documentary filmmaking.
Every documentary film needs to have his own truly unique and original voice. Before you’ll find your documentary’s voice, you need to first find your own true voice. Your voice is something you can’t be copied from anyone else and no one can copy it from you. In this documentary lesson, I will tell you how to do just that
Documentary Interview Techniques
The interview is not just to bring some facts into the subject, but also a perspective and a point of view. In this lesson, I’ll bring you a complete guide to everything you need to consider when shooting a documentary interview
4 steps to take before starting the documentary script
The documentary is still figuring out its language and every documentary filmmaker needs to find his or her way to express the world that is being investigated. So here are the three main steps you need to take to understand your film.
Every documentary film has to have a good story. Not only an interesting one but one that will move your audience. In this free documentary lesson, I will give you a few key points to do that.
The documentary research is the shield that the documentary film is based on. In this article, I will teach you all the method for a documentary research you need to know
4 Tips You Must Know About Documentary Filmmaking
In this documentary filmmaking lesson, I will give a few tips every documentary filmmaker in the digital age should take into consideration. We are going to talk about, what does it take to become a documentary filmmaker, basic ideas on distribution, how to communicate with your audience and more
Documentary Filmmaking History
To develop the documentary filmmaker’s mindset, it is important to know the evolution of documentary filmmaking and how it affected society. This is the first part of 2 parts documentary lessons on the history of the documentary genre.
I would also recommend checking out these courses on this site:
- Script Writing Class – I really recommend taking a Script Writing class because it provides you with the skills to effectively structure your narrative, ensuring the film tells a compelling and coherent story. Moreover, it will teach you how to create engaging dialogue and narration, which can help bring the real-life characters and events in their documentaries to life.
- Film Directing Course – Taking a Film Directing Course is crucial for documentary filmmakers as it equips them with key storytelling tools, character development techniques, and the ability to visualize narratives, enhancing their ability to create engaging impactful documentaries. It also broadens their perspective on the filmmaking process, enabling them to make more informed creative decisions.
- Video Editing Course – Taking a Video Editing Course is recommended for anyone enrolled in a Documentary Filmmaking Course because it provides the technical skills needed to shape and present the story effectively. It enables filmmakers to control the narrative flow, create mood and pace, and achieve a polished, professional final product.
The first movies ever made are considered documentary films since all they did was capturing short snippets of real-life events. For example, there were movies about a boat pulling up to the dock, workers leaving a factory. This free online documentary filmmaking course’s mission is to help young aspiring filmmakers to actually build careers in filmmaking without having a big-budget film.
The Documentary genre has involved dramatically over the last 10 years and they are considered as the most powerful art forms of this century. In today’s world, documentary films have been much more commercially promising. Filmmakers like Michael Moore, Morgan Spurlock, and others changed the way we all view the documentary field. In addition, documentary filmmakers have many more platforms to show their films.
Although the documentary deals with the real world and not an imagined one like in fiction films, the separation between fiction and the documentary is becoming less obvious. there are more and more documentaries that use scripts, staging, and even acting. Still, the documentary’s job is to convey they are dealing with real-life snd it gets that by using all kinds of documentary convections such as using non-actors, voice-overs, shooting in real locations. In this documentary filmmaking course, you will learn the production process of documentary filmmaking, the language of documentary films, how to make a documentary film script, the history of the genre, and more.
