Filmmaking for Change 101
Storytelling through entertainment is one of the most powerful forms of mass communication—informing, enlightening, and inspiring audiences to get involved. This course will show you how to produce movies that matter—from story ideas to production, film festivals to distribution. And the best news is…you don’t have to be an experienced filmmaker!
Whether you are interested in making a documentary or producing a narrative feature, this course will prepare you for the journey ahead. Using the Award winning author’s Filmmaking for Change book as a road map, the course will cover the bases, including:
- Sourcing the ideas
- Documentary and Narrative story structure
- Financing & Budgeting
- Cast & Crew considerations
- Shooting the movie
- The post-production process
- Marketing strategies
- Playing the Film Festival circuit
- Releasing the movie
Throughout the course, the instructor will present video, graphics and other written materials to support the ideas; and students will receive printed resources to apply to their projects. In addition, he will offer complimentary copies of one of his movies on DVD.
Here is an excerpt from the Filmmaking For Change Introduction:
Given the remarkable evolution of film as a storytelling device, the current state of the world’s affairs, and our access to information, we can expect that a new generation of filmmakers will emerge feeling the call to create more meaningful, transformational and entertaining stories. We will see fewer movies in the theaters, and more in our living room, or on our iPad, but these stories can and should have purpose and inspire audiences not only to reflect, but to take action. It’s clear there is an audience waiting.
Filmmakers, industry leaders and educators are coming to recognize that the old model is broken. A new paradigm is taking shape, and a new Cause genre is being defined. Audiences want to be enlightened through entertainment. More than welcome this, we need to nurture it. It may take some longer than others -- for aspiring filmmakers to see movies as much more than a form of entertainment or a way to get rich and famous. This next generation of independent filmmakers should see the cause film as a road to opportunity, but they will have to learn to wear many hats. They will have to be more than visual artists, more than documentarians. They have to become entrepreneurs in their own right, and help in redefining the business model.
Our filmmakers of tomorrow have a new calling, Filmmaking for Change. And the audiences they educate and inspire will ensure profitability to the industry, while engaging in positive change for all of humanity.
What people are saying about Filmmaking for Change:
"Filmmaking has become the most powerful weapon in the world, what I call 'a weapon of mass construction.' This is the instruction manual."
- Louie Psihoyos, Academy Award winning filmmaker: The Cove
"Films can have a profound impact...and truly create everlasting, positive change. This book will help you create a blueprint for empowering action."
- Morgan Spurlock, Academy Award nominated filmmaker: Super Size Me
The Writers Store
3510 W. Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, CA 91505
- Date available: 02/14/2013
- Return policy: This item is not eligible for return.
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Meet the Author: Jon Fitzgerald
A co-founder of the Slamdance Film Festival, Jon Fitzgerald served as Festival Director at the American Film Institute and the Santa Barbara and Abu Dhabi International Film Festivals before forming Right Angle Studios in 2003. After directing three award-winning documentaries, he launched CineCause (www.cinecause.com), connecting socially relevant films to related causes.