The Master Course In High-End Blocking & Staging

Reviews of

The Master Course

Digital Diving Board Review

Review by Robert Gregory Browne

Digital Diving Board Review

"Watching these DVDs is quite an investment in time. But it's time WELL spent."

I see a lot of kids spending time in film school and I think it's probably a good thing. Film school gives you deadlines. It gives you access to equipment you might not normally have access to. It gives you camaraderie and collaboration. It gives you contacts. Who knows, the guy you're sharing a beer with after class may be the next Spielberg.

But film school is very expensive. I think NYU runs about 40 grand or so. Not many folks have that kind of money to throw around, even if it's an investment in their future. This is why I love DIY moviemaking. You don't have to wait around for the film school to give you an assignment. You don't have to listen to some instructor's version of reality, telling you how things should be done. You're free to experiment and fail. And to sometimes succeed.

There are, however, certain things you really SHOULD know about before you start your first movie. And if you can't afford 40 grand, you've got to take it upon yourself to study movies, study scripts, read books, watch instructional videos and, most importantly, learn by doing. Get that camera out and see what you can and can't do with it. Every once in awhile, I'll mention a book or a movie or an instructional video I think you should take a close look at. I've already mentioned John Cooksey's excellent videos.

But now I want to show you something quite remarkable, something EVERY director -- DIY or not -- should know before you steps foot on the stage. And the price of this all-important slice of film school education? Less than 500 bucks.

Hollywood Camera Work is a remarkable nine hour, six DVD master course in high-end camera work for the budding director. And I've gotta tell you, there's more info here than you'll find in two years of film school. These DVDs concentrate on blocking and staging, where to put the camera, how to move it - and, most importantly, WHY.

I have to say that when I plugged in the first DVD, I was a little put off to discover that rather than use actual actors, the instructions are staged using 3D models. There's a kind of otherwordly look to these things that made me feel a bit uncomfortable at first. But the narrator explains the reasoning for this -- and it's a good one. Because REAL actors tend to show emotion with their faces and their body language, it's better to use expressionless 3D models and let THE CAMERA convey the emotion.

And that's an important point. How you place the camera has an amazing influence on how the emotion of a scene is conveyed. After about two minutes of watching, I was so caught up on the fabulous instruction that the models didn't bother me at all. In fact, I began to find one of them rather attractive and... uh, wait, I guess I'm getting off track.

The course is designed to be watched over and over and over. The point is that by the time you're ready to step onto a set, these blocking and staging maneuvers will be second nature. You won't have to even THINK about what to do next.

So what do these DVDs cover? More than you can possibly imagine. From stationary blocking, to moving camera, to high-end scene staging. You're taught why storyboarding doesn't work, how to think in parallel, in keyframes; how to pan and track the camera, boom and crane work, script staging -- the list goes on and on.

Watching these DVDs is quite an investment in time. But it's time WELL spent. I urge you to head on over to the Hollywood Camera Work website to learn more.

Film school? We don't need no stinkin' film school....

Review by Robert Gregory Browne