• icon Story & Planning
  • icon Choosing Gear
  • icon Camera Movement
  • icon Audio Recording
  • icon Lighting for Film
  • icon Post Production
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philip bloom filmmaking for photographers course
About the Course
Taking the Jump from Photo to Video has Never Been Easier

Philip Bloom returns with Filmmaking for Photographers, the ultimate guide to making the jump from telling a story in a single frame to telling a story over time and space.

This course is aimed at established photographers, but includes new techniques, practice and workflows that makes it equally relevant to filmmakers alike. The course is educational, entertaining and cinematic, with Philip's usual blend of unique humour and tips.

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  • 7+ Hours Long
  • 6 Curated Lessons
  • 4.85 / 5 Average Review
  • Certificate On Completion
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Course Educator
Meet the Instructor: Philip Bloom

Philip Bloom is a world-renowned filmmaker who has shot feature film, factual news and documentary. With a career spanning more than three decades, the past 10 years have seen him specialize in creating incredible cinematic images with a myriad of cameras.

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Course Curriculum
The Lessons
filmmaking for photographers lessons
  • In this first episode, Philip shows you what you will need to turn your stills camera into a filmmaking machine and get the most out of it. Then we look at the first major difference between stills and film (and something that is equally important as the image!), the addition of sound.

    Philip gives us an in-depth look at the various types of microphones and recorders, and demystifies polar patterns to help you get the best sound possible in any type of location. We finish by looking at the art of foley.

  • In this episode Philip explores light and the different approach you require for filmmaking. We’ll look at filming exteriors, how we’re affected by factors like the time of day or year, the weather, the location, and how the movement of that great keylight in the sky, the sun, affects our choices.

    Then we continue to look at interiors and explore how to craft the scene and mood of an environment to becomes a character of its own in your film. We'll look at common lighting styles both photographic and cinematic, how to practice with them and see how they’re used to communicate beyond just what we see. Finally Philip guides us through lighting people, and the particular challenge when we introduce movement.

  • The biggest difference between photography and film is movement. It’s not just how we move but why. In this lesson Philip explains the reasoning behind movement in filmmaking. We will look at the different styles of movement, from basic handheld to gimbals, as well as movement within the frame.

    We'll then look at how lens choice mixed with angle and composition affects what we see on camera and our sense of movement. We will also look at different framing choices and how the 180-degree rule informs the entering and leaving of the frame. Finally we will follow Philip as he plans to block out a large one-shot moving sequence.

  • In photography everything depends on that single image, however in film no single image stands on its own. In filmmaking everything we see on screen is a sequence, and understanding how we construct them is essential to filmmaking.

    In this episode Philip explores how to plan out sequential stories. We discuss how the unique art and psychology of filmmaking can be seen, mastered and broken including the all-important 180-degree rule. Learn how editing starts before we even begin filming and follow Philip to see his process as he creates various sequences.

  • It’s stories that make us watch films, without them our attention span is very limited. As a species we communicate through stories and have passed down our history and lessons for millenia. In this modern age where we have so much content around us the story is even more important, as a good story will make your work stand out in a sea of noise.

    In the past four episodes we have looked at all the key elements that differentiate photography from filmmaking. In this episode Philip puts it all into practice in real world situations, showing how he ties all the previous lessons together to make both a promotional video for private accommodation and then a commercial piece for a restaurant.

  • One of the biggest differences between photography and video is the amount of time you spend in post production. Editing video can be very time-intensive, even for experienced filmmakers. In this episode Philip takes us through key post steps such such as preparing and organising your footage, pacing and timing in editing, and working with audio, music and color, as well as general tips and tricks to get the best possible results.

Course Reviews
What Viewers are Saying
  • It's hard to come up with a superlative that doesn't sound like a cliche. Superb. Brilliant.Awesome. You get the idea. This is an excellent course, taught by an exceptional film maker and teacher.

    Marshall Cant
  • This is an exceptional piece of work. Highly informative, engaging, and funny in the right places. Philip has knocked it out of the park with this course and I looking forward to taking the next one!

    Wayne Rice
  • As a photographer getting into filmmaking, I found this course excellent. It was pitched at the perfect level and demonstrates Phil's complete mastery of his subject in an amusing and memorable way.

    Sarah Loyd
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