The Art of Visual Storytelling

Alex Buono

The Art of Visual Storytelling

Alex Buono
4.7
4h 13m
14 modules (view curriculum)

$349
$349
Or buy just this course and own it forever.
Buy Now
  • Total Time:

    4h 13m

Description

Visual storytelling cuts to the heart of the filmmaker, combining all elements of the craft to engage the viewer. Over four and a half hours, Alex Buono will teach you advanced techniques for lighting, lens selection, blocking, camera movement, audio, workflow, camera settings, visual structure, and more, to help you improve your filmmaking results.

Modules

00m

In the opening module Alex gives us an overview of his career before diving into workflow best-practices and how the filmmaking process is managed for the incredibly tight deadlines on Saturday Night Live. He then moves on to cover location scouting with a few hard-earned tips on how to find the best locations and times to shoot.

21m

In the opening module Alex gives us an overview of his career before diving into workflow best-practices and how the filmmaking process is managed for the incredibly tight deadlines on Saturday Night Live. He then moves on to cover location scouting with a few hard-earned tips on how to find the best locations and times to shoot.


Subtitles available: English, English

18m

Continuing pre-production, Alex shows us how he diagrams his scenes and provides a step-by-step breakdown for an example scene.


Subtitles available: English, English

34m

Before kicking off the first live shooting demonstration of the course Alex gives us his take on still versus cine lenses and when and why he likes to choose one over the other. He finishes up the module by demystifying camera compression and color space.


Subtitles available: English, English

33m

In the first live shoot of the course Alex takes us through shooting the master shot from a scene in the SNL short "British Movie Trailer".


Subtitles available: English, English

23m

Using the SNL short "Rosetta Stone" as an example, Alex gives a step-by-step walkthrough of how to shoot a typical commercial featuring flattering high-key lighting, including how to use a hazer to subtly add contrast to any scene.


Subtitles available: English, English

13m

We then move on to shoot an interview scene where Alex shares his tips to get amazing-looking interview footage in almost any scenario, including how using camera filters can give your footage a professional look in very little time.


Subtitles available: English, English

13m

Finally we look at a 4K workflow when shooting on the Canon C500, as Alex uses inexpensive DIY lighting techniques to achieve the same luxurious effect captured in the SNL short "Red Flag".


Subtitles available: English, English

10m

In this module Alex continues to showcase low-cost DIY lighting techniques, and common everyday substitutes for high-end lighting and diffusion.


Subtitles available: English, English

13m

In this module Alex demonstrates how to best use a gimbal stabiliser and ensure you're using the footage to contribute to your narrative. Using both single and dual operator modes he gives a demonstration, showcasing how his team became the first to use to use such a device for broadcast television.


Subtitles available: English, English

27m

We then move on to a detailed breakdown of post workflow for cinema-style HD, and how this differs from 4K using multiple styles of data capture. Finally Alex gives his top tip for quickly and easily achieving any cinematic look using Adobe Speedgrade.


Subtitles available: English, English

18m

Alex delves into his experiences using DSLR and small footprint cameras for broadcast TV. He begins by giving an overview of the transition from film stock to today’s digital cinema cameras, including how he shot the 2009 SNL title sequence using only available light on a Canon DSLR. He then goes on to discuss camera sensor size and how it affects performance, before covering gear recommendations based on his extensive experience shooting on tight deadlines. Finally he touches briefly on timelapse sequences.


Subtitles available: English, English

17m

In this module Alex offers a complete studio primer on how to get the most cinematic shots from DSLR cameras.


Subtitles available: English, English

07m

Alex finishes the course with a history lesson on aspect ratios and how we’ve arrived at the 16x9 standard.


Subtitles available: English, English

About the Educator

Alex Buono

Cinematographer, Producer, Director

2 Courses

Drawing on his experience as the Director of Photography for the Saturday Night Live film unit for 17 years, Alex is able to instantly deconstruct and replicate almost any genre or visual style. His work as a Cinematographer and Producer have earned him an Academy Award nomination as well as multiple film festival awards.

Reviews

5
I enjoyed this course although it sort of gallops through the material... Its a great refresher or a starter for a professional-to-be and breaks ice between the storyteller and his camera.
Anton Kulyk
5
Knowledge, knowledge & knowledge! Thank You!
Łukasz Kucharski
5
I really enjoyed this course. Alex has a very solid background on how to create low budget, quick skits. This is usually the goal of most beginner filmmakers. Especially since we need to fill our reels with a number of short films.
Mohammed Al-Shubaiki
5
Regarder cette formation en 2020, permet aux gens de vraiment bien apprécier notre temps! (Watching this training in 2020 allows people to really appreciate our time!)
Patrick Maynard
5
In 2020 some info was a little outdated, but still a great course with lots of important, complete and downright useful information.
Johan Kezer
5
Good entry-level course
Justin Murrell
5
Great course to up your cinematography game and overall a good refresher.
Alec Arnold
5
Wonderful class
chandrashekar thooti
5
Really enjoyed this course. very well planned and shot. Loved the live lighting set-ups really interesting to watch and learned a lot.
Wayne Rice
5
Just amazing. From beginners to experts this is a gem of real practical knowledge!
German Disla
5
Excellent course, I really appreciated the higher level perspective and explanations of his choices. As someone who works in lower level crew positions I've worked with many setups like he demonstrated, but understanding the underlying reasoning for the choices is immensely valuable.
Sean Edevane
5
Absolutely fantastic! Learnt a lot. Thanks Alex & team.
Akhil Patel
5
Informative and straight to the point. I would recommend it highly.
Billy Lim
5
Very educative.
Ibitoye Ifeoluwa
5
I really enjoyed this course. Full of really valuable information.
Douglas Farrelly
5
Good course with clear and interesting presentation, easy enough to follow but packed with really good information.
Alex Antohe
5
Alex is really great! I never really felt bored with any of the topics as he combine different methods of teaching. experiences, visual references, techniques and methods, including choice of equipment.
Percival De Leon
5
Coming out of a still photography background with a already a lot of lighting and DSLR experience, this was the perfect first serious dip into the world of cinematography. Fast paced but super clear and to the point, I learned more in the first video already than in the last few years of still DSLR work! Fantastic primer to the general world of cine production and specifically lighting.
Peter Mankowski
5
Easy to understand for anyone whether you've been in filmmaking for years or even just 5 -minutes. I don't just recommend this course, but also follow Alex on whatever platform you can.
Kendall Apte
5
Interesting course!
Stanislav Khvan
5
Awesome.
P Menangnichet
5
This is a great course! I highly appreciate the breakdown of the different lighting setups as well as the technical information about setting up your camera right and considering your post-production flow before going to the set. A huge thank you to the entire team who brought this course to life!
Tsvetelina Yordanova
5
OUTSTANDING!!! I thoroughly enjoyed this course...loved the lessons followed by the live demos...that was key for me! Thank you so much...looking forward to Alex's second course! Great job!!!!!!!!!!
Carlos Ortiz
5
One of the most comprehensive, practical, and fun filmmaking courses I've ever taken. Alex is engaging, generous, and clearly someone who enjoys sharing nuggets of information, advice, and wisdom. I will keep coming back to this course, as I work on telling my own stories through the magic of films. Highly recommend!
Sharath Pallemoni
5
Alex does a great job of covering a multitude of arguably complex subjects with a fresh voice and interesting content. His energy level keeps things interesting without over-explaining. I only wish I was able to attend the workshop in person. Learned a ton.
Lynn Langston
5
Just Amazing, The Lighting setup Demo was so helpful and also the history of Cinema. Highly recommended, Now going on for the 2nd Part of Storytelling.
Jamphel Tenzin
5
Very nice starting point with an energetic and knowledgable host. Thumbs up!
Rasim Prosic
5
This course is where you should start. Alex covers so much in just the right amount of detail and pace! He's a stellar teacher and film maker!
George Kamper
5
Great class!
Greg M
5
Great Course!
Joel Westermarck
5
Excellent presentation by Alex.
James De Mello
5
Very informative and great way to start
CHETAN N
5
Awesome! To the point, efficient, and clear explanations. Great educational value.
Dustin Lee
5
Good
Ali Saeedi
5
Amazing!
David Brändle
5
Congrats! That guy is a great teacher!
Eduardo Nájera
5
The information in this course is extremely helpful for beginner to intermediate filmmaker. Particularly the lighting setups portion is helpful especially if you don't have a lot of real world experience. Everything is explained in a clear concise manner that is well thought out beforehand. Mr. Buono also has great pace throughout, keeping it slow enough to catch everything but fast enough that your mind doesn't wander. The one gripe I have with this course is that the SNL videos don't play inside the video. This would actually be perfectly fine since they provide you with a link to the YouTube page for that video, however, the link states that it is not available in my country and does not play. I live in the U.S.A. so I'm assuming a lot of other people have this problem. Not the fault of MZed or Mr. Buono so I still rate 5 stars overall.
Oliver Matteck
5
Incredible value in this course. Thank you for not holding back, especially when you used DIY style lighting. I'm off to buy a shower curtain! Legend!
Brendan Lister
5
I love the fact that he gets straight to the point and gives solid information.
Jerome Guy
5
Altough I speak Chinese and my English is not that good I really really recommend this course. It taught me so so much about how to shoot a film. Both how to construct the film and how to get the work done when you get the scripts. Then the lighting. I could't be happier to learn so many techniques. Personally I rate this course five stars.
Yiwen Wang
5
Amazing. It filled a lot of gaps for me about how to make a cinematic picture. Thank you!
khaled allahou
5
Lots of practical knowledge for cinematographers
john luna
5
Very, very good.
Wilbur Nelson
5
Great overview of technology and creative technique... Captivating.
Robert Speer
4.5
Very good! but out of date a bit
ANDRES CARDACI
4.5
Very informative. Loved it.
nermeen kamel
4.5
I absolutely enjoyed Alex Buono's style, sense of humor and experiences he used to teach a crash course in Visual Storytelling. I particularly liked it when we gave the audience ways to create these images with DIY Gear without the expensive equipment that he self admittedly is so lucky to be able to use on SNL. He definitely shows his passion for his craft which rubs off on those who are watching to get better at ours.
brent morton
4.5
Good place to start.
Ajay kumar Padarthi
4.5
Great course for beginners and intermediates.
Terrell Epps
4
Some interesting techniques, but not detailed enough. The most useful parts for me are in the workflow and DSLR revolution episode.
Haoyuan Li
4
Some really useful information in here and it's interesting to watch how Alex lights scenes and seeks to achieve particular looks. As a lone filmmaker on a budget, I valued the parts where Alex talked about achieving professional results on a budget, but it was equally fun to see him making use of high-end equipment too!
John Bolland
4
A bit old on technology, but still relevant on the approach.
Dmitry Kazantsev
4
While the technology has advanced a lot since the shooting of this video, the principals remain the same. Lots of helpful lighting tips and general set/production advice.
Boone Sommerfeld
4
Very instructive even if I was waiting for more storytelling notions.
STEPHANE CAMPA
3.5
so great general info and behind the scenes of shot set ups but a lot of the information, editing software and camera hardware, is about 10 years out of date
Paul McNulty
3
Ravi Kaiwart
Ready to Get Started with MZed Pro?

Make a commitment to becoming a better filmmaker, today. Seven-day money-back guarantee (view full terms here).

Monthly Membership
Annual Membership
Monthly price
$49/month
$29/month
(billed annually)
Unlimited access to all courses
Learn from Academy Award and Pulitzer Prize winning educators
Offline download and viewing with the MZed iOS app
Industry-recognized certificates upon course completion
Over $9000 in course value
7-day money back guarantee