Thursday 29th October 2020 6.30pm – 9.pm EST
Opening Session  5 Month Film Course With Colm O’Murchu

Course Introduction Meet your fellow course participants via Zoom who will be from Canada Australia USA and the United Kingdom and Ireland

• 5 Month Film Course Objective -> To Make Your Own Feature or Short Film in your home city using the principals outlined in this course
• And get your film seen by a huge audience around the world. 
• How the Film Market now works as of 2020.
• Zero Budget Filmmaking: It is not about the money. See one minute trailer. Made with no money, $,  at the start of production. 
• Setting the Goal for your Film  – 4 Months to a completed 10 minute Short Film or Doco or one year to complete a 90 minute Feature Film.
• Preview Step by Step of what you will have to do, to succeed.
• Mobile Phone Camera Shoots V Black Magic Camera or RedCamera
• Production Design and why it will be essential for your Film.
• The Golden Four Shots – Coverage – Shot Lists – Actor Blocking
  

   

• Our New Movie Tabernacle 101, Supernatural Movie  $50K 

Thursday – 5^th November  2020       6.30pm – 9.pm EST

Screenplay 1 with Script Specialist – Greg Woodland

Story Invention Workshop: In this session we create the Story for the Film Production. We show you exactly how to create a story that grabs the audience.
Learn How to write a great story & screenplay:

• Every Film needs a great screenplay.
• Formatting the Screenplay.
• Story Ideas Brainstorm and Generation
• Adding Conflict to your story
• The Improvisation Technique
• Scene by Scene Breakdown to create the Story Outline
• Working in pairs come up with a short film concept

Homework Voluntary
Write a scene-by-scene outline of your own version of the chosen story

Thursday 12^th November  6.30pm – 9pm EST
Screenplay 2 with  Specialist Greg Woodland 

• Feedback on Homework Story Outlines
• Formatting scripts – How to professionally format your screenplay
• The Free Software you will use to format your script
• How to set up a Casting
• The importance of casting for the success of your film.
• Voluntary Homework – Write a 10 page screenplay – Deadline Date TBA.
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Behind the Scenes from the Micro Budget Tabernacle 101

Thursday  19th November 6.30pm – 9pm EST

 The Film Equipment    Sean Smith

• What Film Equipment will you need?
• Mobile Phone Camera Shoot – List of Gear Demonstrated. Sound, Lights and Grips Gear.  Keep it simple and keep it inexpensive.
• Black Magic Camera Shoot – List of Gear Demonstrated. Sound, Lights and Grips Gear. Same as Mobile
• PDF of Gear emailed after session with links to get the gear, at amazing prices. This is to save you money and so you get only what you need. Keep the Cost to a minimum. Save Thousands of $ here.
• Camera basics (AFEW-Aperture, Focus, Exposure, White Balance) ⇀ How to balance a Fluid Head Tripod
• How to focus effectively using Focus Chart and pull focus
• How to check exposure⇀ How to compose/frame your shots
• Camera movement: Tilt & Pan using a tripod
• Camera movement:  Handheld with a shoulder rig
• Mobile Phones What you need to Shoot Your Film

Thursday  26th November 6.30pm – 9pm EST

   Sound Department  Sean Smith 

• The Sound Session: Learning how to use Professional Sound Equipment on location, including: ⇀ Sound basics
• ⇀ Shotgun Microphone & Boompole
  ⇀ Wind Sock
  ⇀ Wireless Transmitters and Receivers with Lapel Microphones
  ⇀ XLR Inputs on the Camera
  ⇀ Setting the right sound levels and monitor in sound on set

The Lighting Department
⇀ Basics of film lighting (3,2,1 point lighting and effects)
⇀ Lighting for exposure vs lighting for mood & effect
⇀ Using natural light
⇀ Lighting with set lights: Dedolights, Fresnels, LEDs and Redheads
⇀ Using Gels& Diffusion with lights
⇀ Grips Gear and Camera Movement. 

Thursday 3^rd December 6.30pm – 9pm EST

SCREENPLAY 3  –  Screenplay Specialist – Greg Woodland

• At this point you will have completed a first dart screenplay for your 10 minute short film or a treatment story outline for your feature film.
• Editing dialogue:
• Writing big print (action description). Reading examples from famous scripts
• Exercise: writing big print from live action (get a student to act out a scene which everyone will write as action).
• The elements of good script Dialogue: Text and Subtext (PPT lecture)
• Writing dialogue with subtext.
• Editing dialogue: exercise in pairs
• Perfected Screenplay is now the goal  Deadline TBA 

PRE PRODUCTION – PREPARING THE SHOOT FOR THE COURSE MOVIE 

Thursday 10^th December  Casting with  Film Director – Colm O’Murchu 

How to organise and find the best actors.  The A- Z of Casting
We will show you examples of Casting from a recent casting. 

• Where to advertise for actors and what to say to attract them. 
• Every 10 minutes an actor is scheduled for the casting
• Aprox 25 – 50  actors as a minimum but it can be more,  will attend
• The Casting Space What you need
• What crew and what gear  you need. 

You will learn an invaluable skill.  You will  know how to cast a film effectively by doing it for real. 

Thursday 17^th December Production Management One – Part One – Prepare the Movie Shoot – Sean Smith

As we are getting close to shooting Day One of your movie, the focus is now on how to produce the 10-minute film by actually producing it.

Producer Preparation –

• Locations – How to find your locations
• Location Scouting & Negotiation and Finalisation of location agreement
• How much should they cost?  Free in nearly all cases but some will cost.
• Find Production Designer  — Why it is important.
• Essential Crew to lock down now. 
• The Shoot Schedule – How to break your Script down into 4 Shooting Days.

Homework Preparation Over Christmas Break. 
Find your cast and Find your Crew  Deadline 14th January 

Thursday 14^th January The Acting Session  Directing Actors. –  The Full Breakdown   Colm O’Murchu.

With only 10 Days left to the big 3 Day Shoot, tonight’s focus is firmly placed on working with actors.

• Actor Blocking and how it will determine the shot list.
• Top 10 Tips for working with actors on set.
• How to direct Actors effectively when you are starting out.
• The A_Z of working with and Directing your Actors. 

Part Two Rehearsals with your Actors 

• Costumes for the actors finalised.
• Rehearsals with the actors How to rehearse
• Learn by rehearsing with the Actors

Thursday 21^st January 2021 6.30pm – 9pm EST  Final Shoot Preparations:   Ready Steady Go.   Sean Smith 

Tonight you will complete all the final preparations and the preproduction for the movie that you will shoot.

• Final Schedule organised.
• Final checklist for the following – Locations – Crew – Production Design
• Equipment Set Up.
• Call Sheets and how they are prepared
• The Essential Crew – Itemised Director, DOP , Focus Puller, Clapper, Sound Recordist, Boom Swinger, Gaffer x 2,  Grips , Continuity Production Co-ordinator.
• Locations Reccies
• Production Design on a Budget.
• Ready Steady Go. 

Thursday 28th January 2021  6.30pm – 9pm EST The Shoot: How to Shoot your Film

• Director reviews his or her’s plan.
• Walk Through Block the Actors Lock Blocking
• Shot List Preparation – Create your Shot List
• Meeting with your Crew.
• Lighting Plans and 3 Point Lighting Review
• Working a scene and How to get coverage
• Calling a Set to Order
• Clapping a Scene

The 4 Day Shoot within the Next Two Weeks        You Shoot Your Film over Four Days: 

Thursday 11^th February 6.30pm – 9pm EST  Shoot Review and Edit Preparation 

• Review of shooting Day One.
• Adobe Premier Pro Set up
• You learn to edit the movie, on Adobe Premiere Pro.
  We currently have a video tutorial series of 11 tutorials, only available to people on the 5  Month Filmmaking Course. One must use these tutorials with the editing course lessons  and the footage from the film. This way you will edit the entire short film.

• Editing a short film takes time and enthusiasm to complete outside of class time.   
• Allow 20 – 30 voluntary hours over a month,to complete an edit outside of course time.
• Please note that editing is a great skill to learn and there is so much work in the film and video business for talented editors. It also pays well.
  Focus here for opportunity.
• You will need a Laptop or Desktop computer with a minimum of 8GB of Ram and the Adobe Premiere Pro Software available from Adobe

Thursday 18^th February 6.30pm – 9pm EST  Learn to Edit 

You learn to edit the movie, on Adobe Premier Pro.  Editing continues on the film.
You will learn how a film is edited and how to make the film look and sound professional.

• Syncing footage
• We edit the film
• How to edit the material into a complete scene
• You actually edit the film on Adobe Premiere Pro

Please note that editing and colouring is a very valuable skill to learn. There is plenty of work for very good editors in the film business. Postproduction has the most jobs.

The Two Week challenge:   Edit the entire Short Film 10 minutes long

Thursday 25^th February 6.30pm – 9pm EST           The Business of Filmmaking 

After your short Film is complete, how do you find the audience and how do you find work in the film business.

• Film Festivals and your strategy for entering
• What is the best site for Film Festivals
• Earning money on Stock Video Sites
• The Poster – How to get it made 
• The Trailer – Cut the best trailer 
• The Press Kit and the Film Pitch Deck. 

Thursday 4^th March 6.30pm – 9pm EST       Edit Night Three  Finish the post on the film. 

• Colouring the film to make the film look great.
• Music and how to use Stock Sites to source your music.
• Adding music to your film
• Credits and Titles
• Preparing for Sound Mix
• Exporting your Final Film

Thursday 18th March 6.30pm – 9pm EST   The Business of Filmmaking Colm O’Murchu 

• Film Markets and how feature films are sold and make money.
• Colm OMurchu attends the American Film Market and Hong Kong Film Market every year. 
• Predatory Film Distributors and Sales Agents
• Finding the right aggregator or Distributor
• Our Recommendations where you will maximise the return on your Film. 
• How much will you make?
• Your Marketing Plan to maximise the Return. 

Thursday 25th March 7pm – 9pm EST

• The Final Screening Celebration: Via Zoom Screening of the complete finished film and Certificates
  
• Screening of the Best 3 Finished Completed Films from the Group 
• Certificate Presentation and Celebration