Documentary Filmmaking with Soul
What you'll learn
- Plan, shoot, and edit a strong, cinematic documentary with deep storytelling roots.
- Conduct powerful, story-driven interviews.
- Cultivate your ability to see, listen, and feel your way into your stories, so every decision is intentional.
- Compose and light for cinematic images.
- Use audio recording equipment to get high quality sound.
- Use Adobe Premiere pro to edit and refine their footage.
- Develop an eye for location scouting.
- Develop the "Shooting for the Edit" mindset.
- Approach doc filmmaking as a craft.
Requirements
- A dSLR camera, an Adobe Premiere Pro free trial, a tripod, and basic audio recording equipment.
Description
Learn an Emmy-award winning documentary filmmaking technique!
It's time documentaries get a fresh lift. Typically, they are taught with outdated methods which stem from the 90's, with boring talking heads and bad imagery. This class, instead, teaches you how to make modern, cinematic, and story-driven character docs that engage viewers both visually and emotionally.
This class will cover the whole documentary filmmaking lifecycle, covering how to plan, how to shoot, and how to edit. Part travelogue, part course, this course will show you how to craft a resonant documentary film with the hand of an artisan and eye of a storyteller. Showing behind-the-scenes footage, they bring you along Dandan's journey of making her beautiful short doc in Tokyo about a female boxer, also known as "The Japanese Million Dollar Baby."
All of the lessons are designed to be applicable, get straight-to-the-point, and use minimal affordable equipment. They present Dandan's signature filmmaking approach, where you'll get to travel with a light footprint and gain access to your character's world in a natural, non-intrusive way.
By the end of this course, you will have all the knowledge, confidence, and a complete roadmap needed to make your first documentary short.
Come join us in this creative adventure!
Who this course is for:
- Anyone who wants to learn how to make a story-driven, cinematic, and engaging documentary.
- No previous experience necessary.
Featured review
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Instructor
- 4.5 Instructor Rating
- 1,199 Reviews
- 8,242 Students
- 9 Courses
Hi there! I’m Dandan, an Emmy award-winning filmmaker, creative educator, and monk-at-heart living in the Italian countryside.
As a self-taught filmmaker, I started making films while on a 4 year journey living in monasteries around the world. One film led to the next, and after persevering for many years, I found myself working full time on film crews and streaming my films on Roku, Apple TV, museums, trains, and airplanes.
I’m passionate about teaching filmmaking, because I believe that everyone can make amazing films without spending thousands of dollars or years in film school. My classes differ from others in that they emphasize an artisanal approach, using minimal, lightweight equipment to craft high quality, resonant films.
My other passion is helping others build flourishing creative lives from their truth. Once a year, I lead my signature program called Unravel, which brings people on a playful journey of self discovery. If you're feeling lost, stuck, or like you're just going through the motions- definitely check it out on my website.
The fun awaits. Check out my courses below! Feel free to connect with me on instagram too @dandanliustudio.
Cheering you on,
Dandan