16+ Online Film Making Courses to Become a Top Filmmaker

In your current situation, whether you are an established filmmaker, or a beginner in the field, this imaginative and engaging business education never ends. Film schools are very particular in making student choices, and it is obvious that once you are dismissed from your choices, you can stop dreaming. Fortunately, there are a plethora of film making courses for learners of all levels. The location does not matter because the craft does not know the border. More importantly, some filmmaking courses are completely free.

Do not miss the fascinating lessons taught by movie masters. Some people charge a fee, but it is not even close to what you can imagine. These filmmaking certification courses are available at a very reasonable price. The movie competition is more intense than ever, so you have to do whatever you can to stand out from the crowd. Learning from industry experts can give information a personal feel and can be much easier to digest. There are many filmmaking certification courses online, most of which offer free trials. There are also free film making courses that help build fundamentals of movie making and provide you with a firm foundation to build a career as a film-maker. This is good as after the trial, you can choose to continue or not.

16+ Film Making Courses to Become A Top Filmmaker

Here are some of the best online film making courses.

Note: The above data is collected and compiled by the Careers360 team.

1. Digital Filmmaking

This is one of the film making courses offered by Pearl Academy, West Delhi. By joining this online course, you can learn digital filmmaking in a detailed fashion. You can explore cinematography, production of a film, post-production, editing, sound design, various genres of the movies and financial aspects of the film including budgeting and marketing. Anyone who has completed 10/10+2 can join the film making course.

Platform: Pearl Academy

Duration: 11 Months

Topics Covered

• Production of a film

• Film studies

• Post-production of a film

• Pre-production of films

• Various genres of films: from 30 seconds to 150 minutes long

• Specifics of each format and medium

• Diploma in film production

• Direction and production manager

• Sales and marketing

• Film finance and budgeting

2. Filmmaking, Direction & Screenplay

This is one of the filmmaker courses provided by DU SOL. The 10-month-long programme will cover various aspects of writing a screenplay, the direction and the whole process of filmmaking. The online programme will also discuss video editing techniques, the process of producing a movie and budget management. The candidates who have passed class 12 can pursue the online film making course.

Platform: DU SOL

Duration: 10 Months

Topics Covered

• Scriptwriting for Films & TV

• Direction for Films & TV

• Video Editing

• Camera handling & lighting basics

• Understanding characters, artists & crew selection

• Budgeting

• Various film genres, documentaries, ad films, corporate films and web series.

• Production

3. Acting for Films, TV & Theatre

This course also is suitable for professionals in film making to understand the way to mould the characters and help the actors to don the features of the character in the director's mind. This is one of the film making courses offered by DU SOL and goes through various aspects of acting for different platforms such as TV programmes, theatres and movies.

Platform: DU SOL

Duration: 4 Months

Topics Covered

• Introduction to Acting

• Memorizing Dialogues on the Spot

• Preparing Dialogues in Advance

• Preparing to Play Real-Life Characters

• Research: Fictional Characters

• Practically Developing a Character for a Movie

• On-Set Film Acting Tips

• Acting for Camera

• Imagination

• Acting Exercises Using Observation

• Concentration

• Script Break Down

• Voice

• Eye contact

• How to Evoke Emotions on Camera?

• Camera Acting vs Theatre Acting

• Auditioning Tips

4. Film Studies

This is one of the courses for film industry offered by the Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod and it can be pursued by anyone who holds an interest in pursuing film studies. The online programme, one of the film making courses, will expose the students to film studies based on various classical movies such as Pather Panchali, Modern Times, Elipathayam and the like.

Platform: Swayam

Duration: 15 Weeks

Topics Covered

• History of film, mise-en-scene, and cinema verité

• Documentary Film, Andre Bazin ("The Ontology of the Photographic Image"), and Amy Villarejo ("The Language of Film")Louis Lumiere (Early 10 Films), Charlie Chaplin (Modern Times), and Sergei Eisenstein (The Battleship Potemkin)

• Satyajit Ray (Pather Panchali, and "Introduction" to Our Films, Their Films), Film Noir and German Expressionism

• Italian Neorealism, French New Wave and Andrew Dix ("Film and Narrative")

• Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless), Vittorio de Sica (Bicycle Thieves), and Richard Attenborough (Gandhi)

• Samira Makhmalbaf (Blackboards), Dogme 95, and Queer Cinema

• Third Cinema, Auteur Theory, Laura Mulvey ("Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema")

• Deepa Mehta (Fire), and Mehboob Khan (Mother India)

• Ritwik Ghatak (Nagarik), Cinematography, and Black Cinema

• Montage, Film Soundscape

• Jean-Louis Baudry (“Ideological Effects of the Basic Cinematographic Apparatus”), and Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai)

• Adoor Gopalakrishnan (Elippathayam), and John Abraham (Amma Ariyan)

• Writing Film Review, Hollywood, and Film and Music

• Film Genres, David E. James (“Is There A Class in this Text: The Repression of Class in Film and Cultural Studies”)

5. Introduction to Film Studies

This is one of the IIT Madras film making courses offered in association with Swayam. The online proogramme will shed light on the various aspects of the filmmaking process including various isms that influenced the evolution and development of movies such as modernism, realism, German expressionism, noe-relaism and the like. It will also provide insights into editing, the development of the characters and the like.

Platform: Swayam

Duration: 12 Weeks

Topics Covered

• Cinema and modernism

• Semiotics of films

• Realism

• Editing in cinema

• Film theory

• Character in cinema

• Plot in cinema

• Colour theory and cinema

• Ideology in cinema

• Intertextuality and films

• French new wave

• German expressionism

• Italian no-realism

• Great European directors: Luis Bunuel

• Jean Renoir

• Robert Bresson (1907-1999)

• Classic Hollywood

• The cinema of Orson Welles

• New Hollywood

• Counterculture and cinema

• Auteur theory: Alfred Hitchcock

• Martin Scorsese

• Michael Mann

• The cinema of David Cronenberg

• Film genres

6. Scandinavian Film and Television

This online programme is one of the film making courses offered jointly by the University of Copenhagen and Coursera. In this course, you will be introduced to the film and television industry of Scandinavia. The course will help you explore Scandinavian cinema, Scandinavian television culture, the contemporary Scandinavian film industry, new-wave cinema in Scandinavia and many more.

Platform: Coursera

Duration: 5 Weeks

Topics Covered

• Contemporary Scandinavian Film and TV Culture and Dreyer's Classical Cinema

• Ingmar Bergman and Lars von Trier

• New Wave, Art Cinema and Social Drama

• Documentary and Early TV Drama

• Modern TV Drama and the Digital Revolution

7. Dual Course on Fiction Film and Ad Film Making

This is one of the film making courses provided by Bharati College, New Delhi and by joining it, you learn the whole gamut of aspects of filmmaking and fiction film. You can also learn the basics of movie making, writing dialogue and script, shot breakdown and film budgeting. You can also study the production process and the methods to finalise location and casting.

Platform: Bharati College, New Delhi

Duration: 1 Month

Topics Covered

• Indian Culture & Evolution of Media

• Fundamentals of Advertising

• Fundamentals of Film

• USP and Target Audience

• Branding and Research

• Developing a Creative Strategy

• Writing a Creative Brief

• Concept, Story and Ideation Fundamentals

• Screenplay Writing

• Dialogue Writing

• Script Finalization (Ad Film & Fiction)

• From Script to Shoot Fundamentals

• Shot Breakdown & Image Size

• Production & Budgeting

• Master Chart

• Production Design

• Casting & Locations

• Logo, Colour Schemes, Story Board

8. Filmmaking: Write, Direct and Distribute Your Feature Film

This online programme by Udemy is one of the film making courses and it will explore varied verticals of filmmaking such as writing, directions and distribution of the film after the release. The programme will also shed light on the pre-production, post-production, the techniques to write a better screenplay and whatnot.

Platform: Udemy

Duration: Self-paced

Topics Covered

• The Big Picture

• The Screenplay

• Budget and Fundraising

• Advanced Publicity

• Filming during CoronaVirus Pandemic

• Pre-Production

• Production

• Post Production

• Distribution

9. DSLR Filmmaking: From Beginner to PRO!

The online programme is one of the film making courses offered by Udemy in the self-paced mode. By enrolling in this course, you can study filmmaking techniques of DSLR such as camera controls, exposures, camera movement, lighting and many more.

Platform: Udemy

Duration: Self-paced

Topics Covered

• Manual Camera Controls and Exposure

• The Video Language

• Camera Movement

• Light for Video

Know more:

• Which Are The Top 23 Must-have Courses For Becoming A Filmmaker?
• 16+ Courses to Learn Documentary Filmmaking
• 20+ Job Opportunities After Pursuing a Bachelors in Film & Television Production

10. Documentary Filmmaking Masterclass

If you are planning on learning how to make excellent documentaries, you will need to have basic filmmaking knowledge and skills. So you will need to have some intermediate filmmaking skills. If you do, then this is one of the best filmmaking courses for you. Created by the director of the award-winning film The Pearl of Africa, this filmmaking course teaches you to create a film without a big team, budget, or having any educational credentials in the film.

Platform: Udemy

Duration: 5 hours

Topics Covered

• Pre-production

• Production

• Post-production

• Distribution

11. Learn to Storyboard for Film or Animation

This is one of the best filmmaking courses that gives an overall overview of storyboarding for film, Animation or Gaming. This course covers everything about the creative process of Storyboarding for Film or Animation.

Platform: Udemy

Duration: 2 hours

Topics Covered

• Draw storyboard panels for scripts

• Process of storyboarding, for animation or for film, from start to finish

• Main camera angles and shots used in film, animation, TV and gaming

• Directing and editing techniques

• Draw basic characters, character model sheets and layouts

• Draw scenes and backgrounds using 1-point and 2-point perspective

• Principles of animation and how to draw for animation

• How to Become a Storyboard Artist

12. Hollywood Film School: Filmmaking & TV Directing Masterclass

Do you wish to make great films and television that win worldwide recognition and accolades? In this online filmmaking course, you will learn aspects of seamless camera movement which is a skill that requires the right education as well as effort.

Platform: Udemy

Duration: 5 hours

Topics Covered

• Shooting a Good Moving Master Shot

• Five Tasks of a Good Moving Master Shot

• Mastering the Master Shot

• How to Direct and Shoot Action

• Storyboarding for Action Sequences

• How to shoot a chase scene

• How to Breakthrough as a Director

• Bonus: Indie Film Hustle Podcasts

13. How to make a living making films: Business of filmmaking

This is a complete guide to making an independent feature film. Completing this online filmmaking course will give you the information you need to succeed in a feature film that can be distributed worldwide for millions of people to watch.

Duration: self-paced

Platform: Udemy

Topics Covered

• Diversifying Income

• Making Better Product: Learn Make Repeat

• Passive Income

• Building an Audience

• Forget Film School: Learn, learn, learn

• Networking the right way

• Focus on Business

14. Beginner's Course in Film Making and Video Production

This is one of the beginner-level film making courses offered by Udemy and it provides insights on video production and filmmaking. The online programme will talk about audio location recording, audio XLR, film financing, screenplay writing tips and the like. It will also touch on techniques to shoot the car, horror and romantic scenes.

Platform: Udemy

Duration: Self-paced

Topics Covered

• Audio Recording on location

• How to get on IMDB

• Film Financing -- How to get money for your film projects

• Writing Tips and Techniques

• Filming the Argument

• Lenses and framing basic information

• Car Scenes

• How to film chase scenes

• Shooting Dialogue

• How to direct attention

• Dramatic Moments

• Filming Fight scenes

• Filming Entrances and Exits

• How to film Shock and Horror scenes

• Revelations and Discoveries

15. Make Epic Videos for the Internet!

If you are struggling to keep pace with the world of social media and YouTube, then this course is right for you. If you have a great Youtube channel then you have a strong digital presence. If your directed videos become “viral” or “trendy”, then you have hit gold. This is one of the best online filmmaking courses for this purpose.

Platform: Udemy

Duration: 2.5 hours

Topics Covered

• Tips to make better videos

• How to get better footage

• Three Requirements for a Successful Video

• Common mistakes of boring videos

• Emotion and logic

• 8 Ingredients

• What is a Story?

• Spine

• Pitch Me your Next Video

• What camera should you buy?

• 180 degree

• Format, setting and support

• Audio and Video

• Natural and artificial lighting

• Finishing touches

• Feedback, Video Critique

• Final Tip

16. Explore Filmmaking: From Script to Screen -FutureLearn

The National Film and Television School offers a comprehensive study of the art of filmmaking. The BFI Film Academy is known for its excellent filmmaking courses. Learn from award-winning filmmakers how films go from script to screen with this film production course from the BFI Film Academy. Leading laboratories have launched an online course, The Quest for Filmmaking: Scripts to Screens, in collaboration with the FutureLearn e-Learning Platform. This is one of the finest filmmaking courses that covers writing, storytelling, directing, cinematography, editing, sound and music composition, and more.

Platform: FutureLearn

Duration: 6 weeks (3 hours per week)

Topics Covered

• A passion for film

• Having vision: Telling stories

• Accumulation of decisions

• Breaking down a scene

• Transitions in time and space

• Music and sound in film

17. Filmmaking in a Box: Indie Feature Film Masterclass

This masterclass online programme is a complete induction into filmmaking from pre-production to post-production. This course, one of the film making courses, will enable you to familiarise yourself with script, budgeting, rehearsals, planning the production and shooting, logistics and the post-production process including editing and sound.

Platform: Udemy

Duration: Self-paced

Topics Covered

• Pre-Production

• Casting an Indie Film

• Rehearsals and Tables reads

• Production

• Planning and Logistics

• Post Production

• Editing the Beast

• Sound and Music

Top Providers Offering Film Making Courses & Certifications

Conclusion

Online courses are perfect if you do not know which filmmaking path you want to pursue. By understanding what each feature comes with, you know what you want to work on. Online movie classes are a great way to learn and gain knowledge wherever you are. There is no stress of going back and forth, and you can study with confidence! So take some of the best film making courses to become that professional who everyone seeks after.