Docs in Progress, a Maryland-based documentary organization whom I have long admired, recently offered a Zoom-based class in documentary editing. Taught by H. Paul Moon, the class combined theory and practice through Adobe Premiere. Here are 11 takeaways from that intense and interesting class. Note that these tips avoid the specifics of Premiere but instead…
Tag: the best lists go to 11
11 Lessons from Taking Two Documentary Production Courses
During 2020, I had the opportunity to take multiple online courses thanks nimble film organizations hustling to make their courses available and to Zoom. I took two courses related to documentary production: Short Documentary Production with Thalia Drori Ramirez through Film North and DIY Documentary Mobile with Kia Anne Geraths through Northwest Documentary. The following…
11 Tips for Beginning Documentary Makers
Starting production on your first documentary can be an exciting — and scary — moment. On a couple occasions this summer I asked Twitter followers about their favorite or most memorable advice to new documentary makers. This post rounds up some of those responses. 1. START. Seriously, start. Do something, anything. Conduct some background research,…
11 Lessons from a Web Series Course
Thanks to a certain online video conferencing software that shall remain nameless, I was able to take a two-day course in developing web series through MyFilmNorth. The course was run by Matt Anderson, the genius behind behind the hilarious Theater People web series. A basic definition for a web series is a series distributed online….
11 Lessons from a Fundamentals of Game Design Course
In the last few months, I have taken some courses in game design and development. The first course, titled Fundamentals of Game Design, introduced basic principles to think about when getting started. While simple in theory, the principles are much more complex in practice. The following post brings together 11 lessons from that four-week course….
11 Lessons from an Augmented Reality Course
I recently completed a short course on augmented reality and ARCore, Google’s augmented reality engine. Basically, augmented reality offers a layer of information between the user and the world through a device such as a smartphone or headset. That information might include environmental data, biometric data, visual representations, user instructions, and much more. While AR…
11 More Lessons in 360-Degree Video
I am continuing my way through a 360-degree video short course. While the first lessons offered more of an overview about virtual reality and 360-degree video, these more recent lessons moved into pre-production and gear possibilities (which is the best part, right?). Here are 11 more takeaways from the recent lessons. 1. The audience must…
11 Lessons from an Editing Workshop in Adobe Premiere
In January 2019, I attended a beginner’s workshop in Adobe Premiere presented by Beth Perloff at Film North in St. Paul, Minnesota. The following post brings together 11 takeaways from that two-day workshop.
11 Lessons from a Workshop in Audio Production
In early November 2018, I attended a workshop in audio production presented by Owen Brafford at Film North in St. Paul, Minnesota. The class represents another step toward proposing a multi-media documentary production class. The following post brings together 11 takeaways from that too-brief afternoon workshop. 1. Learn a little physics. More specifically, learn a…
11 Lessons from a Cinematography Boot Camp
In early November 2018, I attended a class in cinematography presented by Jeremy Wilker at Film North in St. Paul, Minnesota. The class represents another step toward proposing a multi-media documentary production class. The following post brings together 11 takeaways from that two-day workshop. 1. Every shot must serve a purpose. This reminder is important…